Mr. Ray Coyne:

I thank the committee for the invitation to speak today about the transport strategy for the greater Dublin area, GDA. The 3,600 strong team in Dublin Bus and I are in the business of contributing to evidence-informed policy-making. That is important because we are ambitious to have integrated public policy and better outcomes for the people of Dublin. This means we need to start thinking now about Dublin’s transport future. The prospects are good but only if we plan ahead. At the heart of this, for us in public transport, is the vitally important greater Dublin area transport strategy.

Public transport, as we all know, is key to the sustainable development of Ireland and the continued economic prosperity of our people. Our buses are more than just a means of transporting people across the capital; they are vital to creating connected communities with good amenities and good jobs. The centrality of public transport to our lives and the success of our country means we need to broaden the conversation on transport policy so I welcome the opportunity to appear today.

Before casting an eye to the future, it is important to highlight the progress made in recent years. Over the past seven years, we have reinvented, strengthened, and modernised our services, and our company. We have been independently recognised as Ireland’s best indigenous employer. Customer numbers have gone from 122 million to a pre-pandemic high of 139 million in 2019. Today, the company is Ireland’s largest public transport provider. We carried 70 million customers in 2021, and we hope to get back to more than 150 million customers travelling per year as our society recovers from the pandemic.

With the introduction of five new 24-7 routes alongside our Nitelink services, we have begun the process of introducing all-day and all-night services across the capital. We have done all this while facing the most difficult of headwinds in the form of a once-in-a-lifetime pandemic and the challenges posed by Brexit. I take this opportunity to recognise the commitment and skill of the Dublin Bus team, which is vital to our success. Whether they work maintaining, driving or cleaning our buses or working on our customer support teams, we would not be able to run high-quality bus services without them. This progress has, of course, been achieved in co-operation with the NTA and Government. In our submission to the NTA, we focused on: the full delivery of the BusConnects project; the delivery of sustainable bus services which meets climate change requirements; the future when it comes to technology and new customer offerings; and short- to medium-term improvements to bus services and the broader operating environment. Focusing on these goals provides the opportunity for us all to pull together and play our part so that we can secure the gains which have been the achievement of thousands of workers across the public transport industry.

Key to building on our recent progress is the BusConnects project. It is a key part of the GDA transport strategy to improve public transport and address climate change in Dublin and other cities. Dublin Bus is assisting the NTA with the implementation of the BusConnects Dublin area network redesign. We have successfully implemented phases 1 and 2 of the network redesign. We look forward to assisting the NTA with phase 3 in the coming weeks and with phases 4 and 5 in the second half of 2022.

The successful delivery of BusConnects is vital to the future of Dublin Bus and is also critical to the achieving the company’s goal of being the State’s delivery partner of choice. The bus is the largest mode, and will remain so. It is vital, therefore, that BusConnects is fully implemented during the 2022-2030 period.

On immediate measures to build support for public transport, our view is that a number of solutions could be put in place for the short to medium term which would improve urban bus public transport, the public realm, enhance the customer experience and increase the use of sustainable transport. These measures will provide mobility to the many, for the benefit of all and will help build support for the GDA transport strategy. They include: exploring additional bus-based projects; additional 24-7 services; and strengthening and protecting bus lane priority.

On exploring additional bus based projects, many of the service initiatives and infrastructure projects as part of the ambitious transport strategy for the GDA will take time to deliver. The bus is the most cost-effective and flexible mass public transit service offering. Encouraging customers to use public transport is a key requirement for a sustainable future. In advance of new fixed rail lines or metro, investment should be focused on building public transport patronage on identified corridors and then migrating customers to the fixed rail or metro services. Buses with high levels of service and demand-responsive transport, DRT, have a role to play and can be introduced in advance of rail-metro construction and realigned subsequently. This will give significant benefits to communities long before the introduction of rail-based services.

On additional 24-7 services, there is a strong need for stakeholders from across society to work together.

Whether it is public health, climate change, economic modernisation or public transport, there is a growing expectation that businesses have a role to play in addressing broader economic and societal issues. At the heart of this must be all partners working together to deliver a truly 24-hour Dublin. High-quality 24-hour bus services are needed to deliver an all-day and all-night city. It is our view, as stated in our report, that the broader economic needs of the city justify accelerating the introduction of 24-hour services on routes such as the 46A, 155 and many others. This will allow operators and customers to build on the success of the existing 24-hour services 15, 39A, 41, C1 and C2, plus C5 and C6.

Over 30 years ago we introduced our first bus lane on Parliament Street. That transformed bus services across the capital. Those bus lanes need to be protected and improved. When it comes to bus lane enhancement, we believe it is appropriate to move away from time-specific bus lanes and towards a 24-hour designation for all bus lanes on all days of the week.

Over the past two years there has been a significant increase in the number of people cycling. This is good for Dublin. Cycling makes our city quieter, more efficient and a nicer place to live. People must be able to cycle safely in the capital. Public transport companies like Dublin Bus and cyclists are natural allies in the fight for a more sustainable Dublin. We have supported, and will continue to support, the introduction of appropriate cycling infrastructure across the GDA.

The pandemic period was a particularly tough one for businesses across the GDA. A key question for Dublin Bus now is how we can help support economic recovery as normal activity levels resume. We have a key role to play in public transport and bringing people into the city centre and other urban hubs across the GDA but we can also use our size and scale to make the GDA a nicer place to live, work and visit. Over the last few months we have seen increasing pedestrianisation of streets, with Merrion Row and Capel Street being the most recent examples, and other public realms being changed or reclaimed for people and businesses. Dublin Bus is supportive of this emerging trend. We hope consensus is reached between all partners regarding the increased pedestrianisation of Capel Street and South William Street. I think Capel Street has now been agreed. These are just some short-term measures that could be used to help improve the customer experience and increase public transport usage, which we all know is vital to building a more sustainable Dublin. If we do not take these steps, congestion will inevitably get worse, commute times will get longer and emissions will rise in line with population growth.

Over many years we have seen the benefits of embracing technology in our lives and businesses. In its purest form, technology makes things easier to use and by design, better. We have seen the benefits of technology in the transport industry over many years, leading to greater accessibility of our buses through access ramps, induction loops, audio announcements and colour contrasting interiors, as well as through the zero tailpipe emissions buses that are on order, traffic light priority for public transport and timely information for customers. We are now at a point where the technology and transport industries are significantly integrating. If we plan together and capture the benefits technology and transport can offer, we can facilitate modal shift and achieve our climate targets.

Short-term initiatives include the use of account-based ticketing using a token, which can be a smartphone, smart watch, debit card or QR code. In March, the Government agreed funding to progress this under the next generation ticketing project as part of BusConnects. Account-based ticketing will provide faster journey times and allows for dynamic pricing and demand management. It will also provide a single payment system for the whole transport network and can give people the cheapest fare for the journey undertaken in real time. Account-based ticketing can significantly simplify and enhance the customer experience and provides significant insights through data that can further benefit our customers. It is also part of an emerging ecosystem called MaaS or mobility as a service. This is next level integration, where a single payment system will allow multiple transport options to be selected on demand by use. This would include bike shares, car shares, e-bikes, e-scooters, micro-mobility, taxis and public and private operators.

Technology will also provide a platform for enhanced reliability and efficiency of service provision through greater use of data, analytics and artificial intelligence. Historically, traditional companies have not been imaginative enough with their assets and the benefits technology can bring. There is an opportunity for Dublin Bus to further build on its reputation through the early adoption of new technology to create and capture value for our customers and the State. Examples include the use of predictive maintenance to increase reliability and real-time capacity deployment to meet customer needs as they arise.

Technology is also an enabler for the sustainable development of our city by assisting with increased movements by way of an integrated multimodal transport system. Many public transport users are also car users and there will always be a need for public and private modes in our cities. We must ensure priority is given to high-capacity transport modes but that they work in harmony. We need to achieve modal shift in an appropriately managed fashion. This will require a consensus on the introduction of demand management principles in our city, which technology can facilitate. Examples include fixed automatic number plate recognition; kerbside management services; bus-only roads, which would be time bound or congestion dependent as needed; dynamic road speeds for all vehicles; end-to-end priority for public transport modes; congestion charging; and the introduction of demand-responsive transit. Many of these opportunities will require us to be both learners and leaders but I am confident that we are ready. Dublin Bus is accelerating plans and working with partners to harness the potential of demand-responsive transit and other transport innovations. It is my firm belief that the technology and innovations are there to deliver during the lifetime of the strategy, but only if consensus can be reached.

In a world that is changing before our very eyes, it is right that we think about and plan for the long term. Dublin Bus believes that the NTA’s ambitious GDA transport strategy will make a significant contribution to the economic, mobility and sustainability needs of a thriving, ambitious and progressive city. The years up to 2042 will see us operate in an environment where economic and social development has a significant impact on the role of public transport. Investing in transport is key to our continued economic growth and to delivering sustainable jobs now and in the future. This means we, as advocates for a public transport and a better GDA, must be proactive in providing the city with modern, dynamic mobility solutions. Dublin Bus is a solutions provider and it is in this spirit that we engaged with the strategy. While there is no doubt that external factors will reshape our region, the GDA that emerges over the lifetime of this strategy must be more liveable and more sustainable. To do this we must develop more liveable communities where businesses can flourish and people can use buses, bikes, e-scooters and their own feet to get around.

In the more immediate term, we must look at bus-based measures that will help the GDA recover from the economic impact of the pandemic and ward off the growing threat of congestion. Now is not the time to place a limit on our ambition for transport in the GDA. We must embrace technology as the means to removing the barriers to public transport. The ability to easily pay for and use public transport will be essential if we are to attract people back to our services. Beyond this, Dublin Bus believes that continued investment in public transport through BusConnects, combined with an increased willingness to accelerate many of the measures set out in the 2022-42 strategy, will transform the GDA. That is the ultimate prize for investment in public transport and the creation of a successful GDA, which will be a better place to live, visit and work, not just a better public transport system. I thank the committee for taking the time to listen and I am happy to take any questions members may have.