Seán Sherlock (Cork East, Labour)
Link to this: Individually | In context

Question 92: To ask the Minister for Transport if he will report on his recent decision to allocate €2 million per annum to An Taisce's green schools travel programme up to 2012; the incentives he is planning to encourage public servants to travel to work by public transport and by bicycle; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23316/08]

Noel Dempsey (Meath West, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context

My Department, through the Dublin Transportation Office, funded An Taisce's Green-School's Travel Module on a pilot basis in 2007. The pilot, which involved 49 schools and 20,000 pupils in the Greater Dublin Area, delivered an average 10% decline in car use for school journeys — the decline was replaced by an 8% increase in walking/cycling and 1% increases in use of public transport and mixed mode travel.

A week ago I announced that my Department, in association with the DTO, will increase funding to the Module to €2 million in 2008. Subject to continued progress, I will maintain funding to the Module on an annual basis up to 2012.

Through this financial commitment I hope to achieve:

Expansion in the number of participating schools from 49 in 2007 to 274 in 2008 and rising incrementally to over 1,150 in 2012;

An increase in the numbers of pupils from 20,000 in 2007 to 265,00 in 2012;

Cycle training delivered in schools;

Extension of coverage from the Greater Dublin Area in 2007 to all provinces in 2008.

My Department has provided funding to the DTO for the One Small Step campaign. It encourages drivers in the Greater Dublin Area to examine their car usage patterns and to think about using other ways of getting around, such as walking, cycling or public transport, whenever they can.

The campaign promotes cycling and walking as one of the best ways of getting fresh air, regular exercise, saving money, saving journey time and benefiting the local and general environment. The campaign involves a number of organisations both public and private sector. As part of the campaign my Department has produced a workplace travel plan to promote alternative ways for staff to get to and from work.

I have undertaken to publish a Sustainable Travel and Transport Action Plan (STTAP) this year, the public consultation process for which is recently completed.

An element of STTAP is likely to require significant modal shift from the private car to walking, cycling and public transport. In parallel with the preparation of STTAP, the Department commissioned research to help in the development of a National Cycle Policy, through the implementation of which I hope to have 10% of all trips made by bicycle by 2020.