Use of hard shoulders by buses proposed

Meath, Wicklow and Kildare buses bringing commuters to Dublin would be allowed to use hard shoulders on major roads to beat gridlock under a plan being formulated by the Department of Transport.

The Minister for Transport, Mr Brennan, wants to allow the use of hard shoulders as quality bus corridors (QBCs) in a bid to ease chronic congestion on the main arteries to and from Dublin city.

The plan would alleviate congestion for buses travelling to and from locations in Meath, Wicklow and Kildare.

Officials at the Department of Transport are working to identify the most serious congestion areas within a 20-mile radius of Dublin city centre. A pilot programme involving two routes will become operational from next January.

Depending on the success of the pilot scheme, it may be extended next year. A number of legislative changes may be needed in order to allow its full implementation.

A spokesman for the Minister said complications may arise if vehicles broke down on a busy stretch of road where the hard shoulder was being used as a QBC.

"As things stand the hard shoulder acts as a safety valve for breakdowns. If you take that away you would have to have something else in place," the spokesman said.

Meanwhile, the new Quality Bus Network (QBN) office is finalising plans for additional QBCs to be put in place in the next two years.

The QBN office will begin a process of public consultation on most of the schemes before the end of the year.