Bus
In general, we believe that efficiency, reliability, regularity and on board safety of the bus service is paramount if BusConnects is to instigate the modal shift away from private car use and over to public transport. Every effort must be made to ensure that buses are not blocked by private modes of transportation, or indeed by delivery vehicles or illegally parked cars. Enforcement and monitoring of bus lanes will be crucial, and the NTA should outline the specific measures that will be employed to prevent this, including looking at the use of ANPR. It has to be convenient for people to take the bus. Real time information must be available and reliable, and bus shelters must be secure, well lit, provide shelter, not hinder passage on footpaths and not face away from the direction of oncoming buses. Furthermore, it must be noted that:
- Bus Connects plans/timelines have not taken into account the significant local opposition in many areas to some of the key infrastructural changes they propose, and potential delays do not seem to be factored in.
- With a significant portion of this decade’s projects centred around upgrading the bus system, the margin for error if this fails to instigate a modal shift to public transport is concerning. Luas lines to Finglas, Lucan, Bray and perhaps Poolbeg are all proposed in the strategy, with no clear time lines given, and construction of these lines depends on demand for travel exceeding what can be met by bus. This ignores international research which shows how provision of high quality trams can dramatically increase demand for public transport. The Strategy assumes that the upgrading of the bus network will have similar consequences and this assumption may not prove true.
- The City Centre Bus Network Redesign needs to be accelerated to facilitate the pedestrianisation of College Green and other key pedestrianisation projects in the City Centre that are critical to public realm improvements, pedestrian and cyclist safety, the economic survival of the City Centre and reducing our transport emissions.
Rail
Our primary concern around the rail and light rail elements of the strategy centre aound the timelines for delivery. We believe these must be reviewed and reduced. If we are to wait until after 2042 to deliver key light rail and other public transport projects, we simply will not – cannot - reach our 2050 transport emission reduction targets. Furthermore:
- The Poolbeg West Luas should be prioritised and installed in conjunction with the development at Poolbeg West as was the case for Cherrywood and Adamstown SDZ’s.
- We need to increase the Green Line in terms of frequency in preparation for Cherrywood coming online. A strategy is already in place for addition rail cars but that will only increase capacity to a certain point. Frequency needs to be incorporated also.
- There is no proposal for a rail or light rail link crossing the south west of the city, with the proposed 2042 Combined Rail Network map illustrating a large gap in the South West compared to the rest of the city. There is obvious and untapped potential to fill that gap with an extended Metrolink, and serious consideration should be given to extending it to the South West. The feasibility of constructing an underground system that terminates in the city centre as opposed to maximising the potential to carry passengers from both outer reaches of the suburbs into the city should be reexamined.
While Luas plans include running a line through Terenure post-2042 as part of the red line redesign (Tallaght-Knocklyon-City Centre), we must consider the impact of proposing a Luas / light rail solution in the future for communities that will have undergone significant reshaping to accommodate BusConnects.