Vol. 512 No. 3
88 Mr. Callely asked the Minister for Public Enterprise if she will stipulate that, in the allocation of Exchequer funding on public transport services, particularly Bus Átha Cliath, the provision of new vehicles should be user friendly, fully accessible and equally environmentally friendly; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [25833/99]
It is the policy of my Department that all transport operators, and in particular State transport companies, should provide the highest possible degree of accessibility within the overall resources available to them. My Department also strongly supports environmentally friendly public transport. The allocation of Exchequer funding for public transport services takes account of these policies.
By the end of 1999 it is expected that Dublin Bus will have approximately 33 accessible buses in operation and from the year 2000 all new buses purchased by Dublin Bus will be low floor and fully accessible.
The recently published national development plan includes significant initiatives in relation to the accessibility of public transport, including the establishment of a public transport accessibility committee to advise in relation to the accessibility of public transport for mobility impaired and disabled people and a requirement that each CIE operating company establish an accessibility unit and appoint a full-time accessibility officer. In addition to including accessibility requirements in relation to new investment, the plan also provides £10 million to part-finance accessibility improvements to existing public transport infrastructure and facilities not otherwise benefiting from investment under the plan.
My Department has allocated a sum of £20,000 to part fund a trial, which commenced in September 1999, involving the use by Dublin Bus of a single deck bus fuelled by liquid petroleum gas (LPG). In addition, Dublin Bus, in a joint venture with Bord Gáis Éireann, is operating, on a trial basis, a single deck bus using compressed natural gas (CNG). Any decision on the more general use of such alternative fuels must await the outcome of such trials. There are also a number of operational issues which would need to be examined by Dublin Bus prior to the use of such fuels.
