9.4. Park & Ride and Interchanges
Rail Park & Ride
The Area Based Study for North Kildare proposals for a rail-based Park & Ride to encourage motorists onto public transport (Options 8 & 9) appear to have been distilled into a choice between a rail-based park+ride at either Collinstown (Intel, Leixlip) or west of Maynooth (DART+ depot near Kilcock) in Section 9.4 Park & Ride and Interchanges.
Celbridge Community Council agrees with the study’s assertion that a Park & Ride option near Kilcock would capture strategic demand off the M4 before it enters North Kildare proper whereas the Collinstown option would attract local residents thereby necessitating significant capacity to cater for both strategic trips (i.e. getting longer distance journeys off the motorway) and local demand from Celbridge and Leixlip.
Bus Park & Ride
The proposal for North Kildare appears to be for a bus-based Park & Ride at one or other of Junction 5 or Junction 6 on the N4/M4. Locating the bus-based Park & Ride close to Junction 5 would appear to offer the greatest scope in terms of servicing the Park & Ride site with bus services. A rethink of routes would be important to have more Dublin-bound routes take the Lucan By-pass to ensure attractive journey times.
9.6. Next Generation Ticketing
Operational silos between transport operators should be invisible to the population who should be able to avail of multi-modal transport seamlessly and in a cost-competitive manner.
The recently introduced 90-minute fare under BusConnects does not include regional bus routes so someone boarding the 120 GoAhead bus on the Clane Road in Celbridge who needs to take a bus, Luas or train, once they get to Dublin city, would incur high charges. Fare structures should be set to minimise the cost of public transport as an essential measure to ensure that public transport is an attractive alternative to car dependency. Innovation in the area of ticketing would benefit hugely from the application of Human-Centred Design techniques.
9.7 Mobility as a Service
Celbridge Community Council welcomes the inclusion of Measure INT8 recognising the role that Mobility As A Service (MaaS) might play in the GDA transport system.
9.8. Behavioural Change
Measures INT9, INT10 & INT11 relating to Behavioural Change are essential to ensure that citizens capitalise on investments in transport infrastructure and make the shift from car dependency to active modes of transport and/ or public transport. However, provision of enabling infrastructure first is crucial before these efforts can enjoy success.
9.8.1 Smarter Travel Workplaces and Campuses - The location of zoned areas for future employment campuses needs to be aligned with existing public transport services to ensure that companies can commence smarter travel practices from the get-go. Allowing the development of future employment campuses based on future public transport services in locations that lack existing facilities on the doorstep is not an appropriate practice.