Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 27 May 2004
26 Mr. Morgan asked the Minister for Transport the measures he is taking to reduce the rate of private car ownership and the volume of road traffic in view of the fact that the traffic rate has already reached levels predicted for 2010. [15885/04]
View answer49 Mr. Ferris asked the Minister for Transport the action he is taking to promote the use of public transport, in view of the fact that 64% of all commuters travel to work by car, as either drivers or passengers.[15887/04]
View answer69 Mr. Crowe asked the Minister for Transport if he has a strategy for encouraging motorists to use public transport more frequently. [15884/04]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 26, 49 and 69 together.
Higher population and economic growth have led to a significant increase in car ownership in recent years, particularly in the greater Dublin area. To encourage people to use public transport more often, there has been a significant increase in the capacity and quality of public transport in recent years and further expansion is planned. In fact, I am informed by the Dublin Transportation Office, DTO, that, as a consequence of the major Exchequer investment, preliminary analysis of census figures shows a modal shift in favour of public transport.
In terms of bus transport, the capacity of Dublin Bus and Bus Éireann has been significantly expanded, particularly at peak times, with capacity increased by almost 25%. A key element in improving bus performance has been the provision of quality bus corridors, QBCs. So far, there are nine QBCs in operation in the Dublin area — Malahide, Lucan, Stillorgan, Finglas, north Clondalkin, Rathfarnham, Tallaght, Swords and Blanchardstown. QBCs have delivered significant benefits in reduced journey times for commuters and further expansion of the network is planned. This year, my Department is making available to the DTO about €27 million in quality bus corridor network projects in the greater Dublin area.
Extended cycling facilities associated with the QBC network are also being provided. The provision of QBCs in other urban areas around the country is also underway. A sum of €8 million is being made available in 2004 for the development of QBCs in Cork, Limerick, Galway and Waterford. To further assist the performance of bus services, the use of the hard shoulder on certain roads, including those linking Dublin and satellite towns, is being examined. Amendments to road traffic legislation are required and the forthcoming road traffic Bill will make provision to facilitate this.
Alongside bus service provision, rail based commuter services are being expanded. The first phase of the DART upgrade project is now underway, for completion by end 2005. This project involves upgrading the power supply to enable longer, eight car, DART trains to run over the full DART network. To accommodate this, platforms at DART stations are being lengthened and stations are being made wheelchair accessible. Some 40 additional DART cars will also be put into service as part of the project.
On the Kildare, Maynooth and outer coastal suburban corridors, 80 new diesel rail cars have already been introduced, providing a significant increase in the passenger carrying capacity of these corridors. A further 36 rail cars will be added to the fleet in 2005, further increasing the outer suburban rail capacity. In addition, Irish Rail is developing proposals to provide four tracks on the Kildare line and to open new stations on that line as well as on the Maynooth line.
At the end of June, the first of the Luas services will commence operation, with both lines providing the capacity to move over 20,000 people at peak time each day.
The introduction of demand management measures to encourage the greater use of public transport is also being looked at by the DTO, which has a travel demand management study currently nearing completion. The study is looking at measures for better managing the demand for travel, particularly at peak times, and for more efficient use of Dublin's transport infrastructure. I await the outcome of the study.
