Dáil debates

Thursday, 10 November 2022

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions

Public Transport

9:40 am

Photo of Richard BrutonRichard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
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8. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport the present emissions profile of the Irish public transport fleet; the past and future trends; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [55845/22]

Photo of Richard BrutonRichard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
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Can the 51% reduction in carbon emissions from our public transport be delivered within the period to 2030? Is there a path with distinctive milestones between now and then?

Photo of Eamon RyanEamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
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I thank the Deputy. Enhancing and decarbonising our public transport systems forms a key pillar of the Government's climate action strategy. Investment in public transport has increased in line with Government policy to encourage modal shift and planned capital expenditure under the national development plan favours new public transport schemes over road projects on a 2:1 ratio.

The Environmental Protection Agency's provisional 2021 emissions data demonstrate that public transport is responsible for less than 5% of Ireland’s overall transport emissions. When considered in terms of land transport emissions, road-based bus services, which carry the majority of public transport passengers, are responsible for approximately 7% of total road transport emissions.

Climate Action Plan 2021 set out our target to have 1,500 electric buses deployed in our public service obligation fleet and an expansion to the network of electrified rail services. Over the past year, my Department has been working with transport modelling teams on the identification of a pathway to achieve a 50% reduction in transport emissions by 2030 and these public transport measures are estimated to deliver 0.4 mega tonne of the total 6 mega tonne annual emissions reduction that is needed by 2030.

This transition has already begun. Last year 250 new hybrid buses for PSO bus fleets were delivered, which has been followed by the first orders for fully battery-electric buses which were placed in July 2021 and March 2022. That will see these 45 single-deck buses and 120 double-deck buses, respectively, delivered by end year.

We have also engaged in the purchase of the first battery-electric rail services, which will have a significant role in improving the public transport service. Thirteen five-car battery-electric units and six five-car electric multiple units were ordered in December 2021 and I expect to do more. I look forward to the Deputy's feedback. That on its own will not be enough. As I said in response to a question from Deputy Naughten earlier, we will need to go further with a range of actions to meet our target. I would happily discuss that further with the Deputy.

9:50 am

Photo of Richard BrutonRichard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Minister. I could not sum together the numbers, but it sounded that 0.4 mega tonnes would be less than one third of the impact of public transport. It sounds like we have some way to go given the decisions already taken. Can we quickly move to a path? For example, we could move fairly rapidly to achieve an electric taxi fleet in our key cities. It would need minimal roll-out of EV charging networks to support them. Are we now dependent and new technologies like hydrogen to achieve 51% within the fleet? Could we have a very clear pathway for each of the elements of the fleet within 12 months just to see how we stand and what more do we need to do?

Photo of Eamon RyanEamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
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The Deputy is absolutely right on the taxi fleet. That is one area where we can make significant changes. Because taxis are used extensively, as well as the vehicles themselves if they switch over, the kilometres they do as a percentage of our overall kilometres is significant. In that regard there are encouraging signs showing we can change. We introduced very generous grants for the switchover. Already 1,177 fully electric taxis, 3,300 hybrid taxis and 40 plug-in hybrid taxis have been introduced into the taxi fleet, representing 24% of the fleet. The taxi drivers using them realise that their running costs and maintenance costs which are important for the taxi industry are a fraction of the fossil fuel alternative.

Regarding the fleet, I agree we need to look at the technology, but we also need to look at the usage particularly of buses. Part of the problem is that those buses are caught in traffic just like all other vehicles. Traffic in Dublin was intense yesterday for a variety of reasons. We need to give buses the space. It is not just the technology, but also their turnaround speed. The efficiency of passenger kilometres because of the buses being used more often is key.

Photo of Richard BrutonRichard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
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I welcome the Minister's commitment to make a move on the taxi fleet. It would justify a significant initiative by the Department to pull together all the interests in that area - the providers, drivers and various agencies that support them - to make a concerted effort in that area. It may need more public money to prime the pump.

I also agree that high utilisation of our bus fleet and the wider public transport fleet is crucial. Is there any innovative thinking on how we can get higher utilisation from our fleets apart from the congestion charge, which would obviously help? A very substantial fleet of buses remains idle for most of the day. Is higher utilisation and finding new more carbon-efficient public transport vehicles a potential avenue?

Photo of Eamon RyanEamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
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This was discussed in an earlier question. The OECD report, commissioned by the Climate Change Advisory Council, provides the model for how we do this and it requires systemic change. Central to that is the reallocation of road space to provide the priority bus lanes which get efficiency. The more frequent services we have, the more people will use it. That also benefits the taxi fleet which has access to the same bus lanes and will get the same prioritisation. They are in a sense part of what the OECD argued for - a move towards a much more car-sharing system. Taxis, in effect, provide that in a very useful way. The key question for local authorities and Members is whether we are willing and able to make the fast reallocation of road space possible to get our entire transport system working, not just for decarbonisation but because the current system with the roads clogged with cars does not work for anyone. The gridlock witnessed in Dublin city centre yesterday evening cannot be solved other than by improvement in public transport services and active travel.