Bus Éireann has introduced a 42-hour daily bus service to Warsaw to draw business from the 45,000 Poles now living in Ireland.
The service via London to Poland reflects the arrival of tens of thousands of workers from the former eastern bloc countries, such as Poland, since their entry into the EU.
The route is the first daily service between the cities, although Polish-owned bus company Polonia Transport is already providing a thrice-weekly service. This is in addition to daily flights between Dublin and Warsaw from Polish airline Lot and four Aer Lingus flights a week between the cities.
A single fare on the Bus Éireann service, which started at the end of last month, costs €139. The return ticket costs €199. Although the service costs less than some of the air fares quoted on the route, it will appeal only to travellers who are not pressed for time.
The nightly departure from Busáras is at 8.15pm. Those who left Dublin on last night's service will not arrive in Warsaw until 2.15pm tomorrow. The return service leaves Warsaw at 11.45am and arrives in Dublin at 6.45am, two mornings later. Unrushed as the service may be, it offers views of the countryside in Britain, France, Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany. The route also serves other large Polish cities such as Gdansk, Krakow and Lodz.
