Dublin's traffic ills would not be cured by congestion charges, writes Conor Faughnan
Brian Hayes was effusive in these pages recently in his support for congestion pricing as a way to control Dublin's traffic jams. The London experience, he suggested, demonstrates such a charge would cut down car use and free up public transport.
If this was true the measure would be supported by most motorists. Sadly, it is not. Dublin's traffic disaster is not caused by a self-indulgent population too elitist or lazy to take public transport. Our problem is that we do not have public transport alternatives for them to take.
London's case is very different. The congestion charge area in London is quite small (Marble Arch is outside it) but it does include the financial district and main centres of employment. There are a million jobs in the affected area, so the scale is vast by our standards. Prior to the introduction of the charge, 87 per cent of all commuters travelled to the area by public transport; less than 13 per cent used cars.
Most suggestions about how to apply such charges in Dublin look to charging for access across the natural boundary formed by the canals. According to the DTO only 20 per cent of commuters in that central area now use public transport; 72 per cent use private cars.
Why? Dublin's commuters do not sit in traffic jams because they enjoy them. They do so because they have no other way of getting to work. Motorists in their tens of thousands would jump at the chance to leave the car behind.
Some portions of our public transport system work well and these are heavily over-subscribed. The DART serves some of the wealthiest suburbs of the city and provides an excellent service. The problem is lack of capacity. In recognition of this Iarnród Éireann is investing €170 million in DART and suburban rail. This will provide additional carriages and the upgrading of signals and stations. Money well spent.
Likewise, certain of the quality bus corridors work well, and, as with the DART, motorists happily abandon their cars to use them.
There have been improvements in public transport in recent years. Particular credit is due to Dublin Bus for the enhancement in the quality of the service. But if all, or even a substantial portion, of car users decided to take public transport tomorrow, the system would be overwhelmed. It just could not cope with the numbers.
This is the essential difference with London. Where 87 per cent of people use public transport to start, you can treat residual car use through measures like road pricing.
Many cities are watching London with interest. I am convinced the scheme will eventually prove successful but the case is not as unambiguous as Brian Hayes made it seem. Since the introduction of the congestion charge, car traffic in the affected area is down by 20-25 per cent. And yet public transport usage has only increased by between 1 and 2 per cent. It is not clear what has happened to the rest of the people, nor what the full effects on local businesses will be.
A full cost-benefit analysis of the impact of congestion pricing is being prepared but the jury is still out.
Back in Dublin, if we imposed a congestion charge of, say, €8 to enter the city centre, the consequences would be severe. It would be a major disincentive to businesses and workers to locate there and would substantially increase the cost of living for many. But what it would not do is compel people to use public transport that simply isn't there. Nor would it magically enable us to create it.
The AA discussed the issue with the Transport Minister, Mr Brennan, recently. He argued that we need to make dramatic improvements in infrastructure and public transport before congestion charging can even be considered. We need to finish the Port Tunnel, the M50, the Luas, and also to consider the construction of a metro. These projects are not easy or cheap, but, in their absence, a congestion charge is worse than useless.
It is a bit like trying to solve the shortage of hospital beds by putting a tax on illness. It is fashionable to pretend that traffic jams are caused by people who drive cars but this is a delusion. Those people are not the source of the problem, they are just the most obvious victims of it.
We need park-and-ride sites, integrated ticketing, extra cycling facilities, and investment in bus and rail. We do not need new taxes.