Dáil debates

Wednesday, 3 May 2006

Priority Questions.

Public Transport.

2:30 pm

Photo of Catherine MurphyCatherine Murphy (Kildare North, Independent)
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Question 66: To ask the Minister for Transport his views on the results of the Dublin Bus network review in terms of the number of buses that are required; if he is working or plans to work towards implementing the recommendations in the report and within the timeframe proposed in the report; the measures he has taken or intends to take to deliver on that timeframe; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16529/06]

Photo of Olivia MitchellOlivia Mitchell (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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Question 67: To ask the Minister for Transport his proposals for the expansion of the capacity and frequency of Dublin bus services; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16527/06]

Photo of Martin CullenMartin Cullen (Waterford, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 66 and 67 together.

The Department of Transport is considering an application from Dublin Bus for funding for 200 additional buses to be delivered in 2006 and 2007. The application is being considered in the context of Transport 21, the bus network review completed recently by Dublin Bus and the bus market reform process. I expect to make a decision shortly on the application having regard to the outcome of my deliberations on bus market reforms.

The Dublin Bus network review, completed recently by Martin Voorhees Associates, MVA, for Dublin Bus, demonstrates the continuing key role of the bus in meeting Dublin's transport needs. It also provides a comprehensive assessment of the challenges facing the bus service arising from traffic congestion, growing peak-time demand and the perception of the service as fragmented and limited.

The review outlines a staged plan for the improvement of the network including the provision of additional buses on a phased basis commencing with 200 in 2006 and 2007. An application for funding for 200 buses is under consideration.

The review also proposes significant changes in the service including substantially more cross-city services, limited stop express services from outside the M50, high frequency orbital services and local self-contained networks in some of Dublin's larger towns. It also calls for radical additional traffic management and bus priority measures to favour bus movements.

Dublin Bus is consulting widely on the review with the Dublin local authorities, the Dublin Transport Office and the quality bus network office. Having regard to the outcome of this consultation process and developments in bus market reform, the Department will discuss with Dublin Bus and other interests how best to pursue the development of Dublin's bus network and services.

Photo of Catherine MurphyCatherine Murphy (Kildare North, Independent)
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An early decision on this matter would be welcome. Fewer new routes have been developed in the orbital areas. Developing these would make a significant difference to public transport.

Will the 200 extra buses be for Dublin Bus only? Will there be any private sector developments? It seems there is a dispute between Fianna Fáil and the Progressive Democrats as to the extent the Dublin Bus network will be privatised. Does the Minister expect to see the 200 additional buses introduced this year?

The review identified a further 200 buses for a second round of bus route development. It also identified deficiencies in depot spaces. Will this be considered along with the introduction of the additional 200 new buses? Problems with terminus and depot space will affect the smooth functioning of these badly needed services.

Photo of Martin CullenMartin Cullen (Waterford, Fianna Fail)
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I have no plans to privatise, or even part-privatise, Dublin Bus. I agree with the Deputy that there are opportunities with the orbital and other routes into Dublin city centre. Transport 21 provides for a 60% increase in the number of buses operating in Dublin. Other factors feeding into that are all different parties to the delivery of bus transport as a passenger mode in and around Dublin. We are agreed there should be market reform and the 1932 Act must be amended. Much progress has been made in this. I hope to go to Government during this session with the final outcomes of those deliberations. There has been a positive response to the application before us and new buses will go into the market this year in reply to the package applied for by Dublin Bus.

I will deal with all those issues in the round shortly. Dublin Bus is in discussions with the local authorities, the DTO and the quality bus network project office on foot of the review and those inputs are important.

Photo of Olivia MitchellOlivia Mitchell (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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Ten years ago Dublin Bus had just less than 1,000 buses. Now it has just over 1,000 buses despite the fact that the population has gone up by over 250,000 and geographically Dublin has grown beyond recognition. This increased demand, however, is completely unmet. Yesterday the south side of Dublin experienced total gridlock — traffic in the city is on a knife-edge and there is a need for dramatic action. The Minister always said he was waiting for the Dublin Bus review to grant more buses to the company and to make a decision about competition. Now he has the review and there is no excuse for further procrastination. Some buses will be allocated but will Dublin Bus get the 200 buses it requested by the end of next year, with a further 200 by 2009? They must be ordered now if they are to be available.

I am sceptical because the report commissioned in 2001 and paid for by the taxpayer stated that an additional 500 buses were required by this year but only a handful of buses have been allocated. There is gridlock in the city and the gap between the supply of and demand for public transport is growing. Will there be an early decision about competition and the allocation of buses to Dublin Bus?

Photo of Martin CullenMartin Cullen (Waterford, Fianna Fail)
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The Deputy is right about the number of buses but capacity in Dublin Bus has increased by over 40% in the past few years. The type of bus the company is now using has a much greater capacity than those that were used eight or nine years ago. While the numbers have increased marginally, the capacity to deliver passengers around Dublin has increased by over 40%.

The second point is valid. All the issues have been examined and I have largely completed the necessary discussions. I want to see not alone the 200 buses required going to Dublin Bus but the private sector adding significantly to that capacity. That is part of the market opening process. We are close to the end game in these issues and I want to bring them to a conclusion very quickly during this session. We are focused on outcomes and the one we want most is for passengers. We want to ensure that the bus is seen as an alternative to the car, and quality bus corridors have an important role to play in that regard.

3:00 pm

Photo of Olivia MitchellOlivia Mitchell (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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I welcome that if it happens as the Minister outlines. On the detail of the review, and understanding why Dublin Bus will concentrate on high capacity routes that have quality bus corridors, it will be at the expense of many new residential areas around Dublin. In my constituency there are areas where thousands of houses have been built without a single bus route. They do not have a quality bus corridor and they will not have one. Effectively these areas are being ignored by Dublin Bus.

By adopting this approach, Dublin Bus is cherry-picking routes in advance of competition and leaving the less productive routes to the private sector. Is it still the Minister's intention that only 15% of new routes will be made available to the private sector? That is the same as doing nothing at all. Dublin Bus has squatted on routes so that no new routes remain to be provided. If a bus is provided in the morning and one in the evening, so far as the company is concerned, that is its route.

There is a need for the Minister to be proactive to ensure the newer areas around Dublin are not ignored simply because they do not have a quality bus corridor. Traffic congestion inhibits the provision of public transport as far as Dublin Bus is concerned. It is a chicken and egg situation. If there is too much traffic, Dublin Bus will not put on a bus and if a bus is not provided, there will always be too much traffic. Somebody needs to be proactive to ensure services are provided where they are required rather than where it suits Dublin Bus to provide them.

Photo of Martin CullenMartin Cullen (Waterford, Fianna Fail)
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While I agree with the Deputy I do not want all the new services to be provided on the basis that they will operate only on quality bus corridors. That would leave a huge proportion of the population of an expanding Dublin without a good quality bus service. I would expect and demand of Dublin Bus that it service the market, as it has always done, in a general sense. The private sector, in conjunction with Dublin Bus, can add a great deal of capacity. One of the issues that has been raised consistently with me is connectivity on the orbital side. Not everybody who gets on a bus wants to come into the centre of Dublin. There is a good deal of orbital business available.

The Deputy mentioned capacity. Having discussed this with the private sector in this country and internationally, I want to guarantee a substantial tranche of growth in the market to the private sector. In other words, from now on a certain percentage must go to the private sector so that it does not have to compete with the State companies and so that it gets a guaranteed foothold in the market. That is part of the negotiations. I am not sure if the Deputy's interpretation of what I am doing is exactly that. That is the way forward. I have had discussions with the unions in Dublin Bus. All accept there must be an opening of the market but it must be done in a way that will get private sector capacity into the market and give it the confidence to make substantial investment in what is an expensive capital intensive business. We are close to that position.

Photo of Catherine MurphyCatherine Murphy (Kildare North, Independent)
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The Minister said a number of buses would be put in place in 2006. Given that he is in dialogue with Dublin Bus, has he any indication of how many buses will be put in place and the lead-in time for same? The report identifies issues such as depot space. Clearly it is not just a question of putting buses on the road; the other infrastructure is also required. It is desperately difficult to find space in the city centre for a bus terminus. There have been similar problems in north Kildare. That issue will have to be addressed if the service is to function smoothly.

A point was made about outlying areas. I hope Dublin Bus will be in contact not only with the Dublin local authorities but also with Kildare County Council given that Dublin Bus serves that area. While a service is provided in those areas, there is significant additional potential given that these are the people who are most likely to end up in their cars because they have the longest journey. Therefore, there is a greater incentive for the provision of a new bus service along new routes. I hope they will get the priority to which the Minister referred.

Photo of Martin CullenMartin Cullen (Waterford, Fianna Fail)
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The plan is to provide 100 additional buses in 2006 and a further 100 buses in 2007. I hope we can deliver. I agree with much of what the Deputy said. I have a view on this but it is not something I have discussed at any length. There should be a new national bus terminus on the perimeter of Dublin. All inter-city connectivity coming to Dublin should go to a major new terminus outside Dublin which would redistribute people going to all the different areas of Dublin. It is not true that everybody travelling on an inter-city coach into Dublin wants to end up in O'Connell Street or in Busaras. While that is a matter for the future I would like to see it as part of the plan that there would be a new major national bus terminus for all inter-city traffic on the periphery of Dublin, where passengers would be redistributed to all the different points to which people want to go: north, south, east, west and city centre Dublin. That issue should be considered for the future.