Mr. Hugh Creegan:

Questions were also asked about the level of engagement with the BusConnects project, with specific reference to the degree of consultation with local authorities to date. It is fair to say that because the BusConnects project straddles all the local authorities, we have taken the lead role in trying to pull together the principles, the approach, the routes and everything else. There has been a limited level of engagement with the local authorities so far. Now that we have reached the stage we are at, we will ramp up that engagement over the coming months. We intend to develop the BusConnects project on a collaborative basis with each of the four local authorities in Dublin over the coming period.

It has been suggested that the development of park-and-ride sites should be front-loaded as the BusConnects project is pursued. It will be difficult to make bus-based park and ride successful until the bus lanes are in place. As we said during a previous visit to this committee, we might be able to do one or two park-and-ride sites in advance but others will have to wait until the bus lanes have been provided. Nobody is going to get out of his or her car to get on a bus that has a congested journey in front of it.

We were also asked about the sequencing of the projects, with specific reference to whether any part of the overall project will be front-loaded. The 16 bus corridors cannot all be constructed concurrently. The whole city would grind to a halt if we were to try to attempt that. We have not prioritised any particular one at this stage. Our current thinking is that we may be able to divide the city into quadrants and tackle one corridor per quadrant. As we finish each corridor, we could move on to the next one. We envisage that some version of that will be attempted. A carefully thought-out sequence will have to be followed in due course if this project is to be delivered.

The changes to the bus liveries were mentioned. Under the Dublin Transport Authority Act 2008, we are required to operate all transport operators under a single brand. We are conscious that as additional operators start to operate services, all services will need to be integrated rather than fragmented. These two goals - the legislative requirement and, as more operators start to provide bus services, the need to ensure the bus system looks like an integrated system rather than a fragmented one - are driving our thinking on the bus liveries.