A chara, – The response to the Covid-19 outbreak is undoubtedly going to result in some societal changes, certainly in the short to medium term. While one would hope that we do not continue to view every passing stranger as a potential biohazard, there will undeniably be issues for our public transport system.
Whether through official restrictions or individual wariness, the days of packed buses and trains are gone, certainly for now.
The old “pack ’em in” method – or “maximising efficiency”, as those of a certain economic persuasion might call it – is not going to work in an environment where people won’t tolerate another person’s breath on their neck.
The conundrum for government over the next number of years is how to provide room for passengers to feel safe on public transport, while having a public transport network that is effective enough to encourage people to avail of it and leave their cars at home.
The latter remains of a pressing concern for environmental reasons, if we are to avoid an even more catastrophic event further down the road.
The answer is going to have to be investment.
Investment in more buses and trains, and more drivers and engineers.
If we want to avoid driving people back into the apparent safety of their own cars, we need to stop viewing public transport as something that needs to be run on a profitable or break-even basis.
We have seen recently that Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael have produced a somewhat utopian set of aspirations for the next government.
Only time will tell if their road to Damascus moment is genuine, but in a post-virus world, if they want people to avail of public transport, thereby reducing congestion and emissions, they are simply going to have to invest in the system and not treat it as a burden to be reduced. – Is mise,
SIMON O’CONNOR,
Crumlin,
Dublin 12.