Car-free College Green a vital piece in the public transport jigsaw - Cuffe

The Green Party has welcomed plans by Dublin City Council to install a public transport only ‘gate’ at College Green that would restrict the access of private cars through the city centre.

Endorsing the plan in his submission at the public consultation phase of the project, Green Party Transport spokesperson Ciarán Cuffe said: “This ‘bus gate’ and the south inner city quality bus corridors will provide quicker cross-city journey times and a more reliable service. There have been a shelf-full of consultants’ reports recommending better bus priority measures in the city centre and the success of quality bus corridors have demonstrated that if you give buses priority road space and provide a frequent service, commuters will respond.”

Deputy Cuffe warned that greater priority needs to be matched by better network planning by Dublin Bus. “These measures alone by Dublin City Council won’t improve bus services in the capital. Dublin Bus needs to radically review and modernise its network to attract new passengers. This involves reducing route duplication, getting rid of bus ‘bunching’, introducing clock face timetabling and changing work practices.

“Some concern has been expressed by local traders about the impact of a ‘bus gate’ on city centre retail but recent research shows that shoppers who travel by bus spend roughly equal amounts as those who shop by car in city centre trade and that bus users are more likely to shop in the city centre.” Deputy Cuffe also called on the Council to use this as an opportunity to improve College Green as a civic space for cyclists and pedestrians:

“A detailed urban design plan for the area that improves the footpaths, road surfaces, planting and street furniture should be drawn up by the City Architect and City Planner. College Green has huge potential to be a civic plaza at the heart of the city.”

The ‘bus gate’ is one of a series of QBC proposals to improve bus priority in Dublin City Centre. Further details are available on the quality bus network website: http://www.dublincity.ie/ROADSANDTRAFFIC/QBNPROJECTOFFICE/Pages/PublicConsultation.aspx

Shopping survey: Bus V Car

Dublin Bus conducted an on street survey in Henry Street and Grafton Street in March 2009 to gauge spending behaviour. This survey was conducted by the company, Behaviour and Attitudes Ltd. 300 Interviews were conducted - 150 amongst Dublin Bus users and 150 amongst car users.

The findings showed that: On average car users had been in Dublin City Centre 1.63 days in the previous 7 days, while Dublin Bus users had been in 2.22 days.

Average spend in Dublin City Centre, per person, in these seven days was €74.98 amongst car users and €90.73 amongst Dublin Bus users. This means that the spend by car users per day would be €46 per day and per bus user is €41 per day