Do not blame drivers for gridlock, says Faughnan

Dublin drivers are being told to switch to a public transport option that just does not exist, the public affairs manager of the Automobile Association (AA) told a conference on urban transport in Dublin yesterday.

Addressing "Urban Transport In Ireland/Europe Future Options", Mr Conor Faughnan said the capital's traffic "is a disaster that will continue to get worse unless the Government stops scapegoating the motorist and treats the issue with the seriousness it deserves".

Describing the level of financial support given to Dublin Bus as "pathetic", Mr Faughnan said Dublin Bus simply could not meet the needs of the city. Saying it was "factually and morally wrong" to blame car-drivers for the gridlock, he challenged traffic planners in the Department of the Environment, Dublin Corporation and the Dublin Transport Office "to go into areas like Knocklyon, Swords, Blanchardstown and Clondalkin and tell the people just how they are meant to get to work".

Mr Faughnan said the M50 was unfinished, there was no port tunnel, no Luas, no park-and-ride sites, no integrated ticketing, no DART extensions and only one quality bus corridor (QBC) fully operational. He said the current economic boom and the quality of life of Dubliners was threatened.

However, the Minister for Public Enterprise, Ms O'Rourke, said the economic boom was contributing to the problem. While "congestion has arisen from the slower than anticipated implementation of DTI projects," she said, it was "also due to faster than anticipated economic growth".