Government urged to release more data on Transport 21

The Government needs to release much more information on its €34.4 billion Transport 21 investment programme so that there can be an informed public debate about the policy choices, according to a major report released yesterday.

The report, compiled by transport specialist Prof Austin Smyth of the University of Westminster, queries why the Government has not followed established practice in other EU countries by spelling out the economic justification for its plans.

It also calls for councillors from local authorities in the greater Dublin area to be represented on the board of the proposed Dublin Transport Authority to voice the views of their constituents and ensure a degree of democratic accountability.

Prof Smyth's report - previewed by The Irish Times on August 28th - suggests that many of the "policy-delivery problems" in the transport area resulted from the "arbitrary remits" of the various bodies charged with overseeing transport policy.

Now officially published by the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport (CILT), it recommends that procurement of new projects should be handled collectively to meet the needs of transport operators such as Iarnród Éireann, Dublin Bus and Bus Éireann.

It also recommends that the regulation of transport should be independent of these organisations, potential private-sector stakeholders and be "at arms length" from Government to avoid potential political interference.

The report argues that there are contradictions between Transport 21 seeking to restrain car use in the greater Dublin area while pursuing a major roads programme elsewhere that would erode the competitiveness of a "modestly enhanced" inter-city rail network .

"This will pose an even greater challenge in meeting our commitments under the Kyoto agreement on greenhouse gas emissions," said Prof Smyth. "It will also promote further spatial dispersal and rural isolation without necessarily taking the heat off Dublin."

Referring to widely-varying estimates for the cost of the proposed airport metro line in Dublin, he asked why so little information had been made available when the Government "seems so confident that a metro is economically justified".

The CILT is holding a half-day conference, Transporting Ireland, in Dublin on Wednesday, October 18th. Further information may be obtained from the institute, telephone (01) 6763188 or email info@cilt.ie