Call for regional buses to use hard shoulder

An Taisce has supported Bus Éireann's call for buses to be allowed to use the hard shoulder on roads between Dublin and satellite towns.

Bus Éireann has said its commuter services on routes such as Dublin and Kells, Co Meath, and Dublin and Naas, Co Kildare, are severely hampered by traffic congestion.

The company said its buses leave Kells every 15 minutes in the morning, and meet congestion in Navan, Dunshaughlin, Dunboyne and other towns along the route, as well as parts of Dublin where there are no bus lanes.

Consequently, many buses are delayed by up to an hour or more reaching Dublin and return schedules are disrupted. Bus Éireann said the problem is costing it €13 million a year.

It has lobbied the Department of Transport and the National Roads Authority to allow it access to the hard shoulders. Spokesman Mr Cyril Ferris said the hard shoulder was an unused lane stretching all the way out to satellite towns.

An Taisce, in the absence of a positive response from the Department, has backed the company's request. It said Bus Éireann and Dublin Bus journey times could be halved if the measure was introduced.

An Taisce also claimed the move would save the Exchequer millions, and that congestion cost both companies €18 million in 2002.

A spokesman said the Dublin to Naas journey, about 30 miles, can often take two hours at peak times. "This dual-carriageway route is a classic example of where better usage of existing road space could be made of, if the central authorities were to give it the green light.

"By cutting the travel time by possibly an hour, not only would such a move be popular with daily commuters, but it would also have massive benefits for those undertaking longer trunk journeys, i.e., to Limerick, Cork, Waterford, Kilkenny, Carlow, or Killarney." Even applying the same formula to the Belfast, Cavan, Navan, Wexford, and Galway routes would have enormous gains.

"Whether it is Bus Éireann, an expanded Dublin Bus, or private operators, all would gain, but most especially the public, the environment, and also the economy," said the spokesman.

An Taisce also believes the move would give "tangible advantages to those who wish to choose public transport as opposed to the private motor car".