Sir, - John Henry of the Dublin Transportation Office was quoted (The Irish Times, January 7th) as saying that the reason for the emphasis on buses in 1998's Operation Clearway was because "that's the only possibility to get people to shift from their cars to buses."
Now I know that Mr Henry did not really mean that, or, at least, that he was talking only in the very short term. It was the DTI research itself which showed that motorists would move willingly to Grade A public transport, i.e. comfortable trains or trams, not buses. Even with Luas available, the consultants' projections suggest that far more bus passengers than motorists would change to travelling by Luas.
So what can be do while we wait (and wait) for Luas? That brings me to what I am really annoyed with Mr Henry about in the context of getting motorists out of their cars: we already have a potentially first-class public transport asset available but we are not employing it to its proper potential: namely the Suburban Rail Service. Take the Northern Suburban Rail Line which runs through my constituency:
We cannot use this line on Sundays.
We cannot get a train home from 10.05 pm.
We have actually lost two trains on this line since last September.
Can Mr Henry, Iarnrod Eireann and the Minister, Mrs O'Rourke, not see that when a Fingal motorist is on the brink of making a switch from car or rail, such a service is gravely in danger of failing the credibility test with that driver? Iarnrod Eireann complains than it cannot improve the service on cost grounds. Well, then, will the Minister not come out and offer to kick-start improvements on the line with a subsidy? The cost would be trifling in comparison with what her Government is spending on roads!
Needless to say, the same arguments apply to the western and southern branches of the Suburban Rail Service. It is insane not to have a double track as far as Maynooth. The Arklow service is a disgrace. Facilities for cyclists are virtually non-existent in comparison with European cities. There is no sign of a road-pricing policy. And so on and on.
As the gridlock continues, is there anyone out there listening? - Is mise,
Trevor Sargent TD,
The Green Party, Dail Eireann, Dublin 2.