Clamping, tow-away and the "increased visibility of gardai" led motorists to be more disciplined this Christmas, the Dublin Transportation Office (DTO) has said. The chief executive of the office, Mr John Henry, said Operation Freeflow resulted in an average improvement of 20 minutes in Dublin Bus schedules and led to "substantial improvements in access to Dublin city centre" during Christmas. The increased number of public transport passengers, the uptake of the Park and Ride services and the "general improvement in motorist behaviour" suggested the public responded well to the initiative, Mr Henry said.
Pedestrian surveys carried out over Christmas suggested the number of people shopping in Henry Street had increased 47.5 per cent over last year, and the number in Grafton Street had gone up by 32 per cent.
Pre-Christmas bus passenger numbers were up by 3 per cent, while Nitelink passenger numbers increased by an average of one-fifth over last year. Over 9,000 passengers used the Nitelink service on Saturday, December 19th. The Park and Ride service had reached a peak of 1,146 passengers in one day at Whitehall.
"Based on this experience, the Dublin Transportation Office is confident that with a year-round Operation Freeflow, major improvements could be achieved in relation to Dublin's traffic problems", Mr Henry said.
Mr Conor Faughnan of the Automobile Association said the DTO's figures proved Operation Freeflow worked. "What is needed now is an absolute commitment to the project so that this success is maintained right through the year. Let us not make the same mistake again and allow it to fall flat on its face just because Christmas is over."
