Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

We have been talking about this subject since. I was very involved in the Platform for Change plan in the late 1990s and early 2000s, up to 2001. I remember with such clarity discussing the options and coming down on the metro because of the clear modelling which showed that if we did not do so, we would not be able to make the numbers work and would have bus jams on D'Olier Street, and, hey presto, we now have bus jams on D'Olier Street. This is not new but we must sort it out now big time and quickly.

I commend Mr. Conor Faughnan. I agree with the simple analysis he gave. He said one cannot accommodate the buses and trams across the pinch point at Trinity College. The trams cannot move so the buses will have to. It is a tough reality, but he hit the nail on the head when he said that. I wish to ask three questions, if I may, and I appreciate the opportunity to contribute. First, I agree with what was said about Dublin Bus. I am not surprised about what Mr. Coyne said about Dublin Bus's customer satisfaction ratings because that is my experience of talking to friends, family and others. Dublin Bus services have improved. The Wi-Fi services, the real-time information, just the overall service in Dublin Bus is good in very difficult circumstances, and we commend the company on that. However, I have a real concern. We had the chairman of TII before the committee earlier. I know TII is not in charge of the BusConnects project but, informally chatting to him afterwards, we kind of agreed nothing seems to be happening. Where are we in delivering the big BusConnects project, which might help us to ramp up and improve Dublin Bus services? When can we expect them to go to tender and come into operation?

Second, regarding light rail, I know my colleague, Deputy Catherine Martin, was asking for a representative of Transdev to come before the committee so I am very glad Mr. Lunden-Welden was able to come today to respond to these questions. I have two immediate questions. I am a light rail customer and, like so many customers on the green line, I now face a situation whereby three, four or five trams pass by before I can get on one. It is like the Tokyo underground at present at Milltown, Beechwood, Windy Arbour and any of the other stations. We are squeezing on like the Tokyo underground. In the old days there were photos of people pushing passengers onto the trains. That is what we need. In these circumstances, what is Mr. Lunden-Welden's advice to someone in a wheelchair who is looking to access light rail on pretty much any Luas service, particularly at peak hour on any inbound or outbound train? We heard from Dublin Bus of the concern about public transport speeds being 40 km/h. I was talking this morning to a friend who goes from Broombridge to Adelaide Road every day, a perfect customer for Luas cross city. He says he is quicker walking from Broombridge to Adelaide Road. I am interested to know Luas's times, particularly because Mr. Keegan said in his presentation that we may have to look at losing some of the priority for Luas in the city centre. Given it is so slow, it seems, and the current situation, I am interested in Mr. Lunden-Welden's views on losing priority in terms of Luas's speeds.

Finally, I know Dublin City Council is hampered here because it is operating within the constraints given that we did not proceed as we should have done with the metro. I agree fully with what was said earlier about the need for a mayor for Dublin. My experience of those 25 years - I do not know about Deputy Murphy's - is that inevitably there was inter-agency rivalry and too many different authorities. We really need someone to pull this together. I am very interested to hear from Mr. Keegan some specific details on cycling because I am also a cyclist. Who designed the cycling elements of this scheme? It is not just College Green; what has happened in Stephen's Green is a travesty for cyclists and a missed opportunity to provide all sorts of counter-flow and other measures. I have several friends who, particularly at College Green, have come off their bicycles, some with broken arms, others with various other injuries. I myself have cycled on College Green. I am a very experienced cyclist, very comfortable on streets and very well able to cycle in Dublin but I am terrified coming from Pearse Street direction going right up Dame Street. It is incredible that anyone designed that facility with cyclists in mind. Cycling is part of the solution here. The experience we have had when we put in high-quality cycling corridors, like along the Grand Canal, is, I understand, an almost immediate 50% increase in the cycling numbers. The answer to this problem we have of how to get everyone into the city and around is surely to provide the key cycling networks we need such as the Liffey Valley cycle route. The canal cycle route has been upgraded further and works have been carried out on the College Green plaza. Does Mr. Keegan have the necessary funding to make this happen?

Does he have the necessary staff resources, the design teams and the in-house expertise to address the fact that cyclists are completely forgotten about in the Dublin transport system? We are the most vulnerable but are being left behind and this has to stop. Dublin can and should be a brilliant cycling city and there is huge pent-up demand for someone brave enough to create a safe space on our streets.

If we followed Mr. Conor Faughnan's advice and did what the city council has always planned to do, which is to do the plaza with the introduction of the cross-city Luas on College Green, is there a preferred route? Has a decision been made as to whether the reorientation of buses would mean using Parliament Street, Christchurch or Westland Row? I know that Dublin Bus has to ensure that this works with BusConnects but I think it can do so, given the priority afforded to buses on the quays. Where is the alternative north-south crossing point in the city centre? Garrett FitzGerald was right that Trinity College presents a fundamental problem in the middle of the city and limits the scope for crossings. How do we cross over if we do not cross College Green?