A recent survey by IBEC painted a dire picture of traffic gridlock in Dublin and throughout the Republic. If the full implications of the report are to be believed, two out of every five Dublin businesses plan to relocate outside the city as a result.

Two earlier surveys of Irish business people carried out by Deloitte & Touche found that between 61 per cent and 65 per cent of companies say that "traffic is having a negative impact on businesses". So is the traffic problem getting better or worse?

The Deloitte & Touche survey found that the unpredictability of journey times is the aspect of traffic that is having the largest impact on businesses, with 56 per cent of business people mentioning it, but this represents an improvement on the situation six months ago when 85 per cent of businesses felt that journey times were unpredictable.

Other improvements for businesses are commuting times that are too long and time-consuming (mentioned by 49 per cent of companies this year, down from 71 per cent last year); long travel times to see customers (47 per cent now compared with 66 per cent last year); staff leaving to work closer to home (25 per cent now compared with 41 per cent last year); demand from employees for more flexible working hours (down from 38 per cent to 23 per cent); and employees seeking shorter working hours (down from 17 per cent to 9 per cent).

Three things are combining to improve Dublin's traffic. Firstly, the Government, state bodies, local authorities and transport companies can be congratulated for implementing a number of infrastructure projects, which are beginning to pay dividends. The list of achievements, in terms of facts and figures, would be impressive for any European country: 46 new rail carriages; €550 million spent improving rail lines/stations; 200 new buses; quality bus corridors; and roads projects.

For lobby groups to continue to attack the Government's record in this regard is clearly unfair. Sure, more could be done but not a whole lot more as infrastructural projects, by their nature, take time.

The public sector has taken the bull by the horns and is now winning the PR battle. Ironically, it was the growth in the use of private cars that created much of public transport's bad press. The number of vehicles grew rapidly in recent years - between 1995 and 2000, annual vehicle registrations increased by 170 per cent in the Republic, with half that number in the capital. Bus journey times that doubled over the 1990s.

Yet more could be done here such as information in the form of on-street displays of plans, signs to show where Luas stations will be, public information to attack the disinformation that is often pedaled out by the various lobby groups.

Businesses are taking direct responsibility for dealing with traffic problems. According to the Deloitte & Touche survey, 67 per cent of companies now offer employees flexible work arrangements. Most of these are offering flexible working hours on a daily basis (65 per cent), while others are offering part-time hours (50 per cent), teleworking (36 per cent) and allowing employees the option to work from multiple locations. Representative bodies could do more to ensure that their members, both employers and employees, take up these offers.

Further improvements are needed. The survey asked business people to suggest ways to improve congestion in the Dublin area. Thirty per cent say better public transport would improve congestion. This represents strong backing for the Dublin Transportation Office strategy of replacing car use with public transport but we must sustain the high level of investment that we have had in recent years. Some 13 per cent say traffic restrictions should be introduced in certain areas.

It is good for business to recognise that traffic should not have access to all areas and that people prefer to work, shop and live in traffic-free areas. While recognising that vast improvements have been made to systems, 9 per cent of business people are still frustrated by traffic light sequences that are inappropriate and result in existing roads being used inefficiently.

There does not appear to be the same level of interest in getting the simpler things (such as technology) right as there is more of a PR gain from announcing major spends on physical trains and buses.

Of those polled, 9 per cent advocate car-pooling, staggered work hours and flexible working.

Business people can take direct control of a limited, but nonetheless important, series of actions that can improve traffic and result in a more efficient and effective workforce. Deloitte & Touche has produced a "10-point plan for reducing traffic stress" (available free from www.deloitte.ie), which every business can follow.

Big improvements have been made to Dublin's transport infrastructure and more are in the pipeline. Businesses and individuals will now have to respond by changing the way they work and use transport.

Brendan Jennings is a partner in Deloitte & Touche

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