Sir, - At the risk of shattering the noble aspirations of Mr Martin (April 25th) we are sadly qualified to shed light on the very recent history of Liffey transport, as our trading name indicates.
The obstacles are not technical but exist solely in the posture of those who now control the eastern termini on the waterway. Our company won the Dublin Millennium Enterprise Competition and we were presented with our prize by Bertie Ahern, TD, in a ceremony at the Point Depot on December 2nd, 1988. An extra cash prize of £5,000 was also donated by the then Minister for the Environment, Padraig Flynn, TD.
Using a 65-seat waterbus, we established our first route plying the 2km shuttle between City Quay and the Point Theatre for showtime transits. Tens of thousands of theatre patrons filled the vessel between 1994 and 1996 and we proved that Dubliners happily used water transport if it is fast, comfortable and frequent. Guinness, which operated the barges to which Mr Martin refers, generously assisted us with a brand sponsorship deal and we proudly carried its name aloft on our superstructure. The magnificent granite steps at intervals along the quays proved ideal for all tidal levels and we did not have a single injury claim.
Encouraged by this, we turned our eyes westward towards Heuston Station. Aided by grants from Forbairt and Leader we ordered an alloy vessel with extremely shallow draft and a low bridge-clearance profile. Simultaneously we designed a suitable embarkation structure for Heuston. On September 12th, 1996 we successfully ran transits at various tidal levels arriving abeam Heuston in five minutes from Tara Street DART. Much support came from Dublin Port Company, which allocated Berth 14 to us, fronting the lobby door of Jurys Custom House Inn, a valuable riverside target market.
Meantime, control of the quaysides and river was transferred to Dublin Docklands Development Authority under the Urban Renewal Acts Order 1994. On September 23rd, 1996, and to our utter disbelief, the DDDA erected a new white wire-mesh fence to close the ancient Commons Street public ferry steps opposite Jurys Inn and ordered us to vacate the river. Later, more such steps were railed off. This is despite the fact that the findings of the Riverrun Consortium Report to DDDA stated that "waterbuses and river taxis are fundamental to docks development" and recommended the "removal of any quayside obstacles".
While DDDA has avoided any public statements and has provided no rationale for its decisions I can only come to the conclusion that DDDA has a marketing policy which requires a sterile pastiche ambience, and a Tupperware river devoid of the lively movement of public ferries and the bustle of water taxis. - Yours, etc.,
Capt Michael Reynolds, Liffey Line Ltd, Key Largo, Ashford, Co Wicklow.