Private car use in Dublin city centre has dropped significantly and public transport journey times have reduced along the quays since the Dublin City Transport Plan came into force last month.
Public transport use has increased and footfall is also up in Dublin city centre since bus gates were introduced on sections of the quays just over four weeks ago.
The figures were revealed at the first meeting by the National Transport Authority to monitor the implementation of the new traffic measures which took place yesterday evening.
It was told that a recent survey shows a 60% decrease in private cars using the quays which has resulted in a reduction of more than 400 cars per hour transiting through the city.
On average there are 270 fewer cars an hour on the south quays and 170 fewer an hour on the north quays.
The meeting, which was chaired by Lord Mayor of Dublin James Geoghegan, as part of a commitment to try to ease concerns that had been raised about the plan, also heard there were improvements for public transport.
There has been an 11% rise in the number using public transport since 25 August.
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The National Transport Authority also reported that public transport journey times on the north and south quays have reduced by around 24% over the past month.
That was echoed by Dublin Bus who have said they are seeing increases in reliability and frequency of their services since the plan came into force.
Dublin Town who have a number of stations to measure footfall in the city centre reported footfall for the month of September was up on the same time last year. That came after lower than average numbers were recorded visiting the city over the summer months.
The retail sector reported a mixed experience since the plan came into force.
Some told the meeting that the increased footfall figures have not translated into footfall in shops. Use of the Brown Thomas and Arnotts carparks was said to be down between 10-15%. There were also some concerns raised in relation to drop-off zones, loading bays and the ongoing issue of safety in the city centre.
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IBEC, the Dublin City Traders Alliance, and the Minister of State for Enterprise Emer Higgins had all called for the plan to be paused until next spring because of concerns that it would have on sales and jobs in the city centre.
Disability groups were also present at the meeting and raised the prospect of blue badge holders being given access to bus gates in the future, which the NTA said it would explore.
The group concluded the meeting by agreeing to focus on encouraging more people into the city centre in the run up to Christmas.
The group is due to meet again at the end of November when it is expected more data will be available on traffic trends.
The measures which were introduced last month are the first in a series of phases of the Dublin transport plans with further changes due to come into effect next year.
'Minor' impact on other services - Dublin Bus CEO
Dublin Bus said the new traffic measures have improved their journey times along the quays but have had some impact on other services.
CEO Billy Hann said there have been some knock-on effects to traffic, but that he believes these issues can be resolved.
"Early indications are very positive. We have over 1,000 buses operating on the north side and the south side of the quays on any given weekday.
"Journey times since the changes have been introduced have decreased. So that means quicker journey times for the passengers," Mr Hann said.
He added: "There have been some minor knock-on effects to other parts of our network, particularly going north from O'Connell Street, because of the left turn off Bachelors Walk but that's been addressed by Dublin City Council.
"It's not creating any major issues for us. We've seen a little bit of an effect down in Phibsborough and on the Whitworth Road but again, it's very, very minor. It's not significant in nature. It's nothing that can be addressed by the Dublin City Council," Mr Hann claimed.
Menswear retailer Louis Copeland said he believes the Dublin City Transport Plan has put people off driving into the city but wants the message to go out that the centre is still open to private cars.
He also said he has seen higher footfall in his branch in the Dundrum Town Centre since the measures came into effect.
"There's a lot of confusion about that from the public out there. There's a lack of people coming into town because they don't know what's going to happen when they come into town.
"And actually, it's easy to get into town. We need people to get back in and get their confidence back," Mr Copeland said.
