Michael Moynihan
Question:210. Deputy Michael Moynihan asked the Minister for Transport the key initiatives taken to improve transport services in both urban and rural Ireland since 27 June 2020. [61768/22]
View answerTuesday, 13 December 2022
Questions (210)
Written answers
As Minister for Transport, I have responsibility for policy and overall funding in relation to public transport. The National Transport Authority (NTA) has statutory responsibility for securing the provision of public passenger transport services nationally. The NTA also has national responsibility for integrated local and rural transport, including delivering the Connecting Ireland Rural Mobility Plan, which is a major national public transport initiative with the aim of increasing public transport connectivity, particularly for people living outside the major cities and towns.
The Young Adult Card (YAC) was introduced on PSO services on the 9th of May and then extended to participating commercial bus operators on the 4th of September. This will not only promote modal shift in the transport sector among this age group but should also contribute towards a reduced reliance on private transport with associated benefit of transport emission savings.
The scheme is of great benefit to students attending third level institutions, as students can avail of a 50% reduction over the normal adult fares charges on the entire route, assuming that the origin of the journey and the third level institution are both in the Irish State.
The 20% fare-reduction initiative was introduced as part of a suite of Government measures to help combat the rising cost of living. The fare reduction was rolled out to all Public Service Obligation (PSO) services outside the Greater Dublin Area from the 11th of April and nationwide from the 9th of May. These discounted fares will benefit the hundreds of thousands of people across the country who use PSO public transport every day in 2022. The fare reduction is funded until the end of this year.
In 2017 the NTA launched BusConnects, a plan to fundamentally transform Dublin’s bus system, so that journeys by bus will be fast, reliable, punctual, convenient and affordable. The NTA is introducing the new bus network on a phased basis. The implementation commenced in 2021 and will continue over a number of years. All 11 phases will be subject to additional Government funding.
- Phase’s 1 and 2 of the ‘Bus Connects - Network Redesign’ were successfully launched in June and November 2021 respectively.
- Phase 1 involved the introduction of the ‘H-Spine’ which is in the Howth to City Centre corridor. Phase 2 involved the introduction of the ‘C-Spine’ which is in the West Dublin and East Kildare areas.
- Phase 3 of the BusConnects Network Redesign launched on 29th May in the north of Dublin. This phase introduces northern orbital routes called the N4 and N6. The introduction of these new routes coincided with the removal of the previously existing 17a and 31d.
- Phase 4, the ‘G-Spine’ which is in the ‘Ballyfermot - City Centre – Docklands’ area was introduced on the 16th of October.
- Phase 5, the southern orbitals is planned for introduction in Q1 2023.
- The final six phases (F-Spine, E-Spine, D-Spine, A-Spine, B-Spine and any other remaining routes) will be rolled out through 2023 and 2024.
Currently, routes identified through the Connecting Ireland consultation process are being prioritised to provide emergency public transport services to areas where the population and transport demand has increased due to the requirement to house Ukrainian refugees in rural locations. This is being achieved by accelerating network improvements, including additional stops, route modifications, and more services to increase connectivity.
In light of the NTA's responsibilities for the Connecting Ireland Rural Mobility Plan, I have referred your question to the NTA for direct reply to you in relation to the rollout of services. Please advise my private office if you do not receive a reply within ten working days.
A referred reply was forwarded to the Deputy under Standing Order 51