Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 1 February 2024
4. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Transport if his Department has conducted any analysis of the impact of fare reductions on the number of people using public transport, in particular rail travel; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4301/24]
View answerThe transport system is in a terrible situation. Anybody who tries to commute into and out of the major cities is stuck in excruciatingly slow, crawling traffic. Traffic jams are blighting all the major routes in this country and people are living in commuter hell, spending three hours a day getting into and out of work. They are trying to rely on public transport but it is collapsing, with frequently cancelled services forcing them back into their cars.
This Government is absolutely committed to improving public transport throughout the country, as is demonstrated through the significant service and infrastructural investments in recent years as well as the various fare initiatives that have been introduced. Over recent years we have reduced average fares on all public service obligation, PSO, services by 20%, helping people with cost-of-living pressures; introduced and expanded the young adult card, reducing fares by a further 50% for young people just as they are making choices about how they travel independently; and introduced a new 90-minute fare to enable easy interchange between different types of public transport.
These fare initiatives are making a positive difference for citizens and have supported the quick recovery of the sector post Covid. At the height of the Covid restrictions, public transport passenger numbers fell to less than 10% of pre-pandemic levels, whereas I am pleased to say passenger demand is now well ahead of pre-pandemic levels. As of early December 2023, PSO services were averaging at 109% patronage Monday to Friday and at 154% at weekends versus the same day in late February and early March of 2022.
The NTA provides weekly updates to my Department on public transport passenger numbers on all modes and the authority has undertaken analysis regarding the impact of the various fare reductions on public transport passenger numbers. This analysis shows evidence of the immediate and short-term impacts of the 2022 fare reductions on passenger numbers when there was a significant increase in passenger demand.
There is also evidence public transport passenger numbers have recovered faster in the post-pandemic period compared with other countries and it is highly likely the lower fares contributed to that growth. All of this points to the positive impact of fare initiatives on our public transport system and the contribution of the initiatives to its overall recovery.
I welcome wholeheartedly the reduction in the cost of public transport and I encourage the Government to reduce it even further but there are a number of reasons people will choose public transport. One is cost but another is the ability to be confident it will arrive at all. In many parts of the country at the moment - this is critical - public transport is not arriving. In commuter counties such as Meath, for example, buses are frequently cancelled. There might be nine cancellations daily of the NX bus service from Navan and there could be multiple cancellations of the 109 from Cavan and Navan into Dublin, and that means the next bus that comes is usually full, with 50 or 60 people left at bus stops. With such a lack of consistency, people cannot be sure they will get into work on time, and if they cannot get into work on time on a consistent basis, they will be forced back into the car. People nearly need to leave towns such as Navan two hours in advance of work to be sure of getting into work on time in a car, and that is because there are not enough mechanics or bus drivers in the system.
People's minds are exploding because they are standing at bus stops every day to find buses being cancelled and they arriving at work later every day.
It is true we have challenges in getting bus drivers and mechanics across all networks and all bus operators. We are addressing that. Availability of mechanics is very tight. As with many of the systems in our economy, we are at full employment. It is a challenge but we are addressing that. When bus passengers feel frustrated where a bus is cancelled, there is an immediate regulatory tool to impose fines and make sure the public service standards that have been set, are met. The other key element of this, to really make our system work, is the reallocation of road space to improve the speeds of buses so that the driver and passengers all have a much faster journey time. This improves efficiency and service for everyone. That is going to be the key arbiter of whether we are successful in rolling out public transport in the coming years. That requires local political commitment and difficult decisions. Taking road space is contentious and not easy but it is the only way to go. We are starting to do that at scale in all our cities and throughout the country. That is going to be the key measure of success.
I do not want to be overcritical but this Government is fluent in excuses. No matter what we bring to the Government on lack of delivery, its ability to give a flow of excuses is incredible. It has to be realised that this Government has been poor in rolling out public services. In the past year, the Minister brought all the ministers for energy in the European Union to this country to discuss the issue of wind power. This Government has only built seven wind turbines offshore in the past 20 years. We have far more verbiage than we have delivery on many of these issues. I agree we should be giving more space to public transport. However, dozens of people were driving in the bus lanes and on the hard shoulders to get to work today because they were stuck in traffic for hours and could not bear the idea of being late again as a result of a system that is crushed. When Dublin empties out later today, people will be in exactly the same crisis but in reverse. This is a serious crisis and it has to be dealt with.
For the past two years, this Government has delivered a new or enhanced rural bus service every week. The numbers have doubled in the past year so I do not agree with Deputy Tóibín’s analysis in terms of inability to deliver new services.
I also fundamentally disagree if he is saying it is acceptable that a car would be in the bus lane. It is not. That is illegal and subject to a fine and penalty points. Through some of the measures we are looking at, such as increased use of cameras and other mechanisms, we will make sure the enforcement of bus lanes is rigorous. If we do not keep them clear, the whole system will not work. The real challenge now will be to reallocate space and build new bus lanes. That is what BusConnects is fundamentally about. It is a core change that is going to be delivered. As these corridors are built from such places as Clongriffin and Liffey Valley, we will have a system that works for everyone. However, I do not disagree with the Deputy’s analysis, the current car-dependent system whereby everyone is stuck in traffic works for no one. The bus system is going to be the core of the alternative solution which is more sustainable, efficient, social and cost-effective.
