Commuters switch to foot and bike power

AN INCREASE of Northside commuters switching from car to walking and cycling is masking problems with journey times, it was claimed last week.

Nearly half the number of people coming into the city centre every morning do so by bus, rail or Luas but walkers and cyclists are on the rise.

In contrast, the number of commuters using cars has dropped from 40 per cent in 2010 to 33 per cent last year.

Cars remain the most popular method of getting to work but numbers are declining year-on-year according to the new report prepared by the National Transport Authority and Dublin City Council.

After car, the most common way of getting into town is by bus, followed by rail and walking.

However, the Canal Cordon Report – which measures traffic crossing the Royal and Grand Canals – shows there has actually been a decrease in the number of buses from 1,539 in 2013 to 1,504 last year.

In the nine year period from 2006 to 2014, the total number of all buses crossing the cordon has decreased by 10 per cent. Over the same period, the number of Dublin Buses decreased by 19 per cent while private buses rose by 22 per cent.

Cars and taxies are also down by 9.4 per cent since 2008 when 63,976 of them crossed the cordon.

The number of pedestrians crossing the canals jumped by 12.7 per cent between 2013 and 2014 from 17,495 to 19,711 while cyclists were up 14.2 per cent over the same period.

However, Dublin North West TD, Róisín Shortall (Ind) says that while the increase in commuters walking and cycling is welcome it masks a

“real problem

? with journey times in Dublin.

“The travelling public are switching to public transport not because of the quality or frequency of services on offer but because of the ever-increasing restrictions on car use in the city centre,

? she continued.

“In particular, the restrictions arising from construction of the Cross City Luas line have been disastrous for motorists. And some of these restrictions look set to remain in place long after the new LUAS starts carrying passengers.

“People living within walking distance of Luas, Dart and some Quality Bus Corridors are generally well served by public transport but those who don’t live so close to these services are very poorly served

“Places like Beaumont and parts of Glasnevin North and Finglas East do not currently have a quality public transport system, and many commuters living in these areas simply don’t have a choice but to take the car to work.

“The typical door-to-door peak-time speeds from these areas are less than 10 km per hour – that is just too slow.

?

Northsiders will soon learn if they’ll have more transport options over the coming years when Minister for Transport, Paschal Donohoe, announces his decision on six options currently under consideration for a new multi-million euro transport system for Fingal and North Dublin that will link Dublin Airport to the city.

An announcement on the chosen route is expected to be made this summer but reports last week suggested a Luas link that would connect St Stephen’s Green to Broombridge and tunnel under Glasnevin Cemetery before branching to the airport was emerging as the favoured option.