Dublin traffic less congested with 14% fewer cars, says council

DUBLIN'S RUSH-HOUR traffic has improved significantly in the past 10 years with 14 per cent fewer cars entering the city each morning and 56 per cent fewer lorries, according to Dublin City Council.

The number of commuters using bicycles has increased by 17 per cent in the last year alone, according to the council's annual traffic survey, which counts the cars, lorries, cyclists, motorcyclists, buses and pedestrians entering the city between 7am and 10am.

The numbers of cars coming into the city, at 63,269 in November 2007 down from 73,561 in 1997, includes taxis which have increased in numbers in the decade. The increase in taxi journeys during the morning peak, up 79 per cent since 2002, coincided with the deregulation of the industry and the subsequent overall increase in taxi numbers.

In 1997, taxis accounted for 3.9 per cent of cars coming into the city, in 2002 this had risen to 7.2 per cent.

Car commuters still account for the vast majority of traffic entering the city each morning.

However, their numbers have been falling steadily since 1997, with the largest drop between 1999 and 2000 when numbers fell from 73,147 to 67,935.

Chairman of the council's traffic committee Labour's Seán Kenny said the decrease in car commuters could largely be attributed to improvements in public transport.

"Luas came on line during this time, and Dart services were extended. There was also an increase in the number of quality bus corridors which has encouraged more people to take buses."

Lorry numbers have taken a more dramatic dive, down 56 per cent in the decade. The biggest drop was in the last year when the council banned five-axled vehicles from the city centre between 7am and 7pm and the Dublin Port Tunnel opened.

During this time, the number of goods vehicles entering the city during morning rush hour fell 37 per cent to 1,445.

The decade was not good in terms of increasing cycling rates. Although there were years when numbers rose slightly, the general trend was downward - until last year, when the number of cyclists entering the city rose 17 per cent. With the fall in preceding years, this brings the overall increase for the decade to just 1 per cent.

Last year's boost was probably linked to the removal of large lorries from the city, Mr Kenny said. "There is more awareness of climate change, and people are becoming more health conscious but it's also safer to cycle because of the heavy goods vehicle ban."

Bus numbers have increased by 19 per cent in the decade, with Dublin Bus accounting for about 80 per cent of buses coming into the city each morning at each year's count, until last year when it fell to 76 per cent of the bus count share. The total number of Dublin Bus vehicles coming into the city last year was down by 1 per cent, while private buses increased by 20 per cent in the last year.

Motorcyclists have increased by one-third over the decade from 1,816 to 2,429. However, the second most popular way to get into the city is on foot, with pedestrians up 12 per cent from 16,679 to 18,594. The largest increase was in the last year when the number of walkers increased by 9 per cent.