Dublin's "dire traffic problems" could be alleviated by introducing a congestion charge similar to London's, according to Mr Derek Turner, transport director for the British capital.
Addressing members of the Statistical and Social Inquiry Society of Ireland in Dublin last night, he said the imposition of a £5 per day charge on motorists in central London had dramatically reduced traffic congestion.
Despite widespread scepticism about the effectiveness of the new charge, which was introduced on February 17th, Mr Turner said it had worked "far better than we thought" by reducing the volume of traffic on London's streets by 18-20 per cent.
Yet there had only been a "slight increase" in traffic using the inner ring road, on the boundary of the charging zone, because many journeys previously made by car had simply disappeared while bus patronage had gone up by 5 per cent.
Mr Turner said there was no question that the congestion charge had changed people's behaviour. It had also greatly improved bus journey times, thus encouraging more commuters to use public transport.
"It's a 'win-win' situation for everyone." Describing Dublin's traffic problems as "so dire they make much of London look quite good", he said it would be possible to apply the same policy here, even though the city does not have an equivalent of the London Underground.
"Dublin has an extensive bus system and what we've seen is a big switch to buses, and if you can get the buses running more efficiently by reducing congestion people will use them. There has not been such a big move to the Tube."
Mr Turner said the revenue in London, estimated at £130 million in a full year, would be invested in public transport and highway improvements, so all road users would benefit. But introducing the charge required political will.
Mr Owen Keegan, Dublin City Council's director of traffic, said he had long accepted the economic case for congestion charging as a way of rationing scarce road space.
The issue in Dublin was where it should be applied most effectively.
"Despite a huge increase in traffic levels in recent years, we've managed to reduce the volume of traffic in the inner city by 12 per cent through better traffic management. Traffic congestion is now much more severe further out."
He said there was a case for a congestion charge within the area bounded by the M50 as a way of changing motorists' behaviour, just as parking charges had done.
"I've never taken the view that an alternative should be in place as a pre-condition."