Fiona O'Malley (Dún Laoghaire, Progressive Democrats)

I welcome the opportunity to speak on matters of transport because those of us who represent a Dublin constituency are deeply concerned about the level of congestion our constituents meet on a daily basis on the M50 or smaller local roads as a result of traffic works or the introduction of quality bus corridors. I refer in particular to the Rock Road, in my constituency of Blackrock and Booterstown, which causes me great anxiety, and the proposed Mount Merrion Avenue QBC.

I would like to think we could come up with new ideas on dealing with fast transport corridors because there is no doubt that public transport is the only viable alternative for a major city. If we are to address the problems of congestion we are dealing with currently and continue to build on the investment made in Transport 21, we will have to come up with proposals that are a little more imaginative.

I want to refer briefly to the use of bus lanes. Unfortunately, in my constituency, on the extension of the very successful Stillorgan quality bus corridor it was decided to include a 24 hour bus lane beyond Foxrock church. I do not know who is responsible for the decision. I tried to get the council to stop it. Those 24 hour bus lanes should be banned. I do not understand why or where in the country we need a 24 hour bus lane. The day we have 24 hour bus services we might have an argument for 24 hour bus lanes but there is no need for them now.

We must also examine the way the road surface is used and be able to use it to maximum ability. I take issue with what is proposed along Mount Merrion Avenue in my constituency. We must employ systems that work in other countries. It is never necessary to reinvent the wheel but, unfortunately, we constantly feel the need to do this.

Essentially, there are three lanes along Mount Merrion Avenue. It is an old avenue, with a glorious vista down to the sea, and if one stands at the top of it and looks downwards, it typifies our county because it brings one from the mountain to the sea. It is proposed that some of the trees along the avenue might be cut down to allow for a quality bus corridor. The project is being delayed because of the strong opposition to it. A fair amount of negotiation and dealing has been done but we are not quite there yet.

Why can we not employ the road surface in a flexible manner and have transferable lanes? There is space for three lanes but there is not enough space for four. In trying to put a QBC on the road, the trees will have to be cut down and some of the grass verges removed. I do not believe that is necessary, nor do the people who live on the avenue.

I would welcome a system where the use of transferable lanes, using new technologies and so on, is encouraged. That is done in other countries, in particular in Los Angeles. When I made that suggestion, the point was made to me that it would be impossible to police and people would not observe it. People adapt quickly and if they are given guidance it would be very easy for them to do it.

On the use of bus lanes, much of the congestion in the city is construction traffic — lorries bringing rubble to or taking rubble from construction sites. A proposal worth examining is that outside peak times heavy goods vehicles should be allowed use those bus lanes. I accept people might have concerns because, generally speaking, cycle lanes share bus lanes and issues of safety might arise but we could examine that aspect. The heavy goods vehicles that are carrying these loads cause much of the congestion and we should examine ways of trying to alleviate it. Roads are about moving traffic, people and goods and we need to maximise our ability to do that. Studies indicate that construction traffic is at its peak at 1p.m. throughout the city. The use of bus lanes is clearly compatible for HGV construction traffic in particular.

In a proper transport system we need to have integrated ticketing. It is unfortunate we do not; I go back to the point made earlier. We spent a good deal of money and a lot of time on developing an integrated ticketing system. That has been done in hundreds of other countries. I do not understand why it is taking so long to do that here. It is not fair and I am beginning to think it is in somebody's interests not to have the data available to the Department of Transport that will allow it open up a variety of routes. There is not a Member in this House who would not support the expansion of bus licensing.

My view — this is where I share the perspective of Fine Gael — is that while we need additional buses they do not necessarily need to be Dublin Bus buses. I would welcome the introduction of licensing to the private sector. Fine Gael is to be commended on its attitude in that regard but the Labour Party motion is slightly reckless in that it wants 500 additional buses. The problem I would have with that is that, as we all know, Dublin Bus demands a subsidy of €100,000 for each bus it puts on the road.

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