Dublin Chamber - 5-point plan to tackle traffic gridlock

A 5-point plan to tackle traffic gridlock in Dublin has been announced by Dublin Chamber of Commerce.

Dublin Chamber state that, in the absence of an adequate public transport system, many employees are forced to commute the equivalent of a day and half of working time each week - nearly 10 hours. The Chamber believes that action must be taken immediately to address this issue and have produced an emergency plan to sort out Dublin's traffic gridlock.

In the plan, Dublin Chamber urges that the following emergency actions be taken immediately -

1. Increase the bus fleet currently serving the Dublin Region by 200 within a year. Private operators should be given unfettered access to the city with immediate effect - in particular in relation to the development of new routes not covered by Dublin Bus.
2. Work on the M50 extension should be conducted 24 hours-a-day, 7-days-a-week in order to ensure that this project of national strategic importance is completed ahead of schedule.
3. Accelerate progress on all projects listed in T21 to the stage that they are ready for procurement by the end of 2008, if resources permit.
This will require that the NRA, RPA and CIE are adequately resourced - perhaps by the deployment of public servants from other State Agencies and bodies, such as local authorities.
4. Build 3,000 Park and Ride spaces for DART and bus users on land in public ownership.
5. Require, from September next, all secondary schools to provide a bus service for their pupils. This service should be tendered.

As a Public Service Obligation may arise, some routes should be subsidised where this need is clearly demonstrated.