The most ambitious and comprehensive scheme to smooth the path for buses and cyclists from the outer suburbs to the centre of Dublin has been officially inaugurated by the Lord Mayor, Senator Joe Doyle.
"As somebody who does not drive myself, I have for many years campaigned for measures to improve our public transport services, so I am delighted to open the Malahide Quality Bus Corridor (QBC) and Cycle Route," he said yesterday.
The scheme is only the second such QBC to be introduced in Dublin and the first to be accompanied by a separate, dedicated track for cyclists. Its aim is to demonstrate that buses and bicycles offer a faster means of travel for commuters during peak periods.
According to the Lord Mayor, the latest QBC will mean a faster, more frequent and more reliable bus service, a safe route for cyclists, better facilities for pedestrians and improved road safety all round, with a measurable reduction in road accidents.
Pedestrian crossings have been specially designed to cater for mobility-impaired people while kerbs at bus stops will enable wheelchair-users to gain easy access to new low-floor buses. The needs of shopkeepers on the route for casual parking have also been met.
"The mark of a quality transport system is that it gives increased mobility and accessibility to all citizens," Senator Doyle said. "While much more needs to be done in this area, this QBC is certainly a step in the right direction. I welcome it wholeheartedly."
Though buses and bicycles account for only 3 per cent and 5 per cent respectively of all vehicles moving along North Strand in the morning peak period, Dublin Corporation points out that they carry more than 50 per cent of commuters in this corridor.
Recent surveys of the Malahide Road QBC, which has been in operation for the past four months, have shown that it now takes 30 per cent less time to get to the city centre by public transport than by car - encouraging many commuters to make the switch.
Mr Christy O'Sullivan, who heads the corporation's environmental traffic planning unit, said its target was to bring about a 20 per cent transfer from cars to public transport in the Malahide Road corridor during the morning peak period. He stressed that the provision of more bus capacity would be crucial to the success of the scheme, which has been installed at a cost of £1.7 million. "That's a challenge which Dublin Bus has to rise to if we are to maximise the value of this QBC."
Dublin Bus has renamed its No. 27 route the "Malahide Road Flyer" to herald its faster journey times. But there are still not enough buses on the route to cope with increased passenger demand, with many morning peak buses full before they reach Donnycarney.
The Minister for Public Enterprise, Ms O'Rourke, announced last month that Dublin Bus had been authorised to purchase an additional 150 buses to increase its peak period capacity by 20 per cent. However, these will not go into service until next April.
In the meantime, the corporation is pressing ahead with the construction of three more QBCs and Mr O'Sullivan said the remaining five recommended by the Dublin Transportation Initiative in 1994 would be in operation by the end of next year.
Given continuing economic growth and surging car sales, as well as delays in major projects such as Luas and the Port Tunnel, he said the only short-term solutions to Dublin's traffic problems were to provide more buses and encourage more people to cycle or walk. In this context, he welcomed Budget concessions to public transport users, notably the lifting of benefit-in-kind tax from the provision by employers of free bus and rail passes to their staff, and also the tax incentives to develop new "park-and-ride" facilities.
