A radical transport plan is required for Dublin, as the city's traffic is set to double over the next ten to fifteen years.
Stop anyone in a Dublin city centre street and ask for their opinion on the capital's public transport system, and the replies are unsurprising,
If I were to talk about Iarnród Éireann, I would say to Mary O'Rourke, resign.
Behind the scenes, however, the Dublin Transportation Officer [DTO] is planning for the decades ahead. John Henry of the DTO estimates that by 2016 half a million people will commute into the Dublin city area for work every day. This means that there will be just as many cars on the roads during the off-peak times are there are at rush hour.
Plans to improve Dublin’s public transport have been approved by government. The two Luas lines running from Tallaght to the city centre and Sandyford to the city centre are due for completion by 2003. Planning on a metro rail system will commence soon. It will run mainly above ground and link to the Sandyford Luas line. New Dart carriages have recently arrived, and the Quality Bus Corridors have been deemed a success. The aim is for these services to create
A spider's web effect around the city, linking Dart, Luas, Metro and bus services together.
Public opinion on this new plan is mixed. One man who spoke to RTÉ News thought that the capital’s transport system was quite good, but not everyone’s experiences have been as positive, such as this young woman’s,
The other day I was waiting for an hour and a half, and I ended up getting a taxi
It’s not just people in Dublin who have a preference for their car. Fifty four per cent of the Irish population travel to work by car, eleven per cent walk, three per cent cycle, six per cent use other means and the rest work from home. Only nine per cent travel by bus and rail, although this figure is much higher in the capital.
An RTÉ News report broadcast on 22 September 2000. The reporter is Carole Coleman.
