The number of commuters driving to work in the centre of Dublin has fallen for the first time in many years, according to official figures.
The most recent "cordon count" showed that 6,000 fewer cars are crossing the canal ring to enter the inner city during the morning peak period, a drop of 8 per cent compared with the previous year.
The figures, described as "very significant" by Mr Tim O'Sullivan, executive manager of Dublin City Council's traffic division, emerged at an Anglo-Irish Encounter conference in Liverpool at the weekend. Mr O'Sullivan attributed the decrease to a package of measures, including the removal of up to 15,000 on-street car parking spaces, and improvements in public transport.
The decentralisation of offices to business parks on the outskirts of Dublin was also a factor, aided by the completion of all but the final phase of the M50 where commuters account for 70 per cent of morning peak traffic.
The implementation of quality bus corridors (QBCs), the provision of more buses and DART extensions to Malahide and Greystones have boosted public transport's share of the "modal split". More people are also walking or cycling to work.
The next step would be to begin reducing an estimated 30,000 private off-street parking spaces in the city centre, either through planning restrictions or the imposition of some form of taxation, though this would take some time.
"What we're seeing is a lot of DTI (Dublin Transportation Initiative) measures coming to fruition," Mr O'Sullivan told The Irish Times. "If we survive all the road works in the city over the next few years, we'll be flying."
One of the recurrent themes of the Liverpool conference, attended by transport specialists from the Republic, Britain and Northern Ireland, was the need for strong political leadership for measures aimed at changing people's behaviour.
The conference was told that London's Mayor, Mr Ken Livingstone, is to press ahead next spring with the introduction of a £5 charge to drive into the centre. The figure was fixed on the basis that "£3 would make no difference and £10 would cause a riot".
The instant success of Ireland's 15 cent tax on plastic supermarket bags in changing shoppers' behaviour was cited as an example of what could be achieved by using fiscal measures to deal with environmental problems - even if it was delayed for five years.
The dramatic shift in commuting patterns on the Stillorgan Road following the introduction of a once-controversial QBC, with bus passenger numbers up by 150 per cent, was also cited as evidence that relatively simple measures can make a big difference.
But there was general agreement that securing a consensus on the need to restrain the growth in car use would be one of the biggest challenges of the next decade. This would involve trying to break the link between economic growth and the growth in travel demand.
The conference heard presentations on the British government's £180 billion 10-year plan for restructuring transport, Ireland's current National Development Plan and case studies on London, Dublin, Manchester, Liverpool and rural Wales.
Describing the state of transport as a public scandal, Encounter concluded that "Mondeo Man" could not be allowed to dominate policy. Instead, politicians would have to put the people and their needs at the top of the agenda.
