Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)
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190. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport if he will amend the Road Traffic Acts to allow for the vehicles of a charity (details supplied) to use bus lanes as is the case in many other jurisdictions while on route to hospitals. [52597/21]

Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
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While I acknowledge the very valuable contribution made by volunteer services, I do not intend at this time to extend scarce and valuable bus lane access to additional users without careful consideration of the impacts, including the potential for delays to buses and emergency services who currently have such access, and consultation with those affected, including such services, the Garda Síochána and relevant state agencies.‎

The current bus lane network was created at considerable expense to the public, with the express purpose of providing on-street priority for bus-based public transport. Bus lanes are designed to make bus journeys faster and more reliable, so as to encourage people out of cars and onto public transport. This, in turn, reduces both congestion and air pollution and is considerably more environmentally sustainable than car-based transport in the long run. As the populations of our urban centres increase and public awareness of the importance of sustainable transport grows, it is likely that bus passenger numbers and, by extension, the provision of bus services and the demand for bus lanes will continue to increase year on year. As a result, it is critically important that bus lanes serve the purpose for which they were installed in the first place.

Since bus lanes were first introduced, there have been many requests to allow other classes of traffic to use the lanes. These have included requests on behalf of motorcyclists, multi-occupancy vehicles, electric vehicles, hackneys, animal ambulances, prison vehicles and others. My predecessors as Ministers for Transport and I have consistently rejected these requests, on the grounds that any addition to the categories of vehicle permitted to use the lanes would inevitably reduce their efficiency for performing their original purpose, which has become even more critical in light of the current climate emergency.