The percentage of commuters using private cars has risen dramatically in the past 20 years, according to the latest Central Statistics Office (CSO) figures. This shift to private transport, in spite of heavy investment in Dart and Luas and the establishment of quality bus corridors, suggests consumer needs are not being met and major structural and administrative changes are required.
As drivers picket the Dublin Bus depot at Harristown and tens of thousands of commuters face a fifth day without services, the likelihood of motorists giving up their cars becomes even more problematical. There has been much talk in Government during the past 10 years about improving public transport. But promised competition on a limited number of Dublin bus routes has not materialised. An integrated ticketing system for trains and buses, originally planned for 2002, will not be delivered until 2010. And a Dublin Transportation Authority that will regulate routes, fares and services in Kildare, Meath, Wicklow and Dublin has been long awaited.
Rising oil prices, global warming and worsening traffic congestion should be powerful incentives for commuters to use public transport. But trade unions have resisted change and competition. Managements have been ineffective. And governments led by Taoiseach Bertie Ahern have been paralysed by indecision. Until services are structured around consumer requirements and public transport becomes more reliable, comfortable and frequent, the private car will remain king.
Dependence on the car is not confined to commuters. More that half of all parents now drop their children to school, adding to cost and traffic congestion. Forty-four thousand of these twice-daily trips involve travel distances of less than one kilometre. There is no evidence that school-going children are less safe in Ireland today than they were 20 years ago, but there is plenty of data that points to a growing obesity problem among young people because of a lack of exercise. Changing economic and social circumstances bring about altered lifestyles and patterns of behaviour. And parents may become overly-protective of their children. Walking to school, where short distances are involved and weather permits, could benefit them socially as well as physically.
Car ownership has doubled in recent years, as has the number of people at work. And, in spite of a perception that Dublin city has grown wealthy at the expense of other regions, the level of car ownership is lowest in the capital. That is all the more reason to push ahead with the development of an efficient and user-friendly public transport system.