Chapter 9 Integration and Inclusion
Section 9.3 addresses International Gateways including Dublin Airport and Port. Dublin Airport is located approximately 8 km from the Meath County boundary. Consideration of additional access from the western side of the airport should be given more substantial support in the Strategy. The N2 Corridor can play a significant role in this regard. This would also improve access to the North West of the County. This route can also assist in alleviating congestion on the M1 south of Swords, which is generally operating beyond its capacity at peak hours.
Measure INT 6 – Fare Structure
- It is the intention of the NTA to revise the fare structure for transport in the GDA in the short-term. This new fare structure will be monitored throughout the period of the strategy and further changes implemented where appropriate.
- As part of the Bus Connects Dublin programme, fares will be simplified in a way that will make interchange between Bus, Dart and Luas seamless, resulting in a more affordable, efficient and integrated public transport system.
- The new fares structure will comprise of a short-distance fare on single leg journeys (approximately 3 kms or less) and a 90-minute fare that will allow a customer any combination of travel on Bus, Dart/Commuter Rail and Luas services.
- Provided customers commence the final leg of their journey within 90 minutes of the start of their overall trip, the new 90-minute fare will permit travel on all Bus, Luas and Rail services in Dublin including Dart and Commuter Rail services (up to a certain distance on the heavy rail services).
The inclusion of Measure INT 6 is welcomed in the context of public transport services which exist and are planned for County Meath. Fares are a key factor in encouraging a shift to public transport use particularly in counties with high levels of out bound commuting. Parking costs should also be factored into the overall cost of fares. The daily and weekly cap on public transport fares should be retained and extended to all parts of the GDA.
The 90-minute fare will not address the concerns set out by the Council in its previous submission as customers in the outlying areas of the GDA, for example Drogheda, Navan Laytown, Gormanstown and Enfield may still be impacted by disproportionately higher costs which acts as a disincentive to public transport usage. It is therefore requested a that the 90 min restriction is reexamined in this context and a more detailed analysis takes place regarding the aforementioned settlements to see if they can be facilitated with improved rail frequency and pricing thus creating, accommodating and enhancing a modal shift from the private car to rail.
The inclusion of a section referencing late night transport is welcome, it is important that measures to support access to public transport for the night time economy are developed for the region and not limited to the city.