Billy Hann, Dublin Bus’s Chief Executive, has pleaded with municipal authorities in Dublin not to dilute the Dublin Central Transport Strategy. Hann insists that the scheme, envisioned to solve the traffic jam crisis engulfing Dublin, ought to be implemented exactly as initially intended and promptly next month.
Hann’s comments were made in the wake of a recent move by the council to scale down the plan’s constraints and a declaration from Richard Shakespeare, the council’s chief executive, that he was mulling over a request from various businesses and politicians for a postponement of the plan to spring of next year. Mr. Hann expressed profound worry that the plan might be forgotten if postponed until post the forthcoming general elections.
The original plan presented last year, included round-the-clock “bus gates” on landmark streets like Bachelors Walk and Aston Quay, restricting these routes to only public vehicles. But last Monday, council members were informed that these constraints would only apply from 7 am to 7 pm daily. Additionally, despite private car owners not being allowed to traverse directly east or west along the Liffey Quays through O’Connell Bridge, only a 50 metre segment of Aston Quay would be off-limits for cars.
Mr. Hann criticised time-controlled bus lanes as having little effect. According to him, car owners tend to use bus lanes irrespective of the time if the lanes are restricted to certain hours, while total 24-hour bus lanes tend to get more respect. He warned that lax regulation and monitoring will lead to plan failure, hence should be avoided.
Hann recommended, instead of lessening the challenges for car users during the bus gates’ operation hours, implementing the initial strategy and forming a supervisory group to suggest necessary tweaks.
Mitigation plans are already underway, but Hann questioned the necessity for them. The original strategy progressed to comprehensive consultation, hence Hann couldn’t fathom why it wasn’t being executed entirely, while allowing for a review phase to make occasional amendments or transformations to tackle any unpredicted repercussions. He described the quays as a significant chokepoint and showed a preference for a review over a debilitated or trimmed-down scheme.
Recent weeks saw Fine Gael Minister of State for Enterprise, Emer Higgins, intervening in the affairs of the council. A series of discussions were subsequently held with several city commerce organizations and car park proprietors. Mr Shakespeare was urged to postpone the execution of the plan from August until spring 2025 and to take an economic impact analysis, initiated by the City Centre Traders Alliance, into consideration.
Mr Hann opined that any hesitation would lead to greater congestion in Dublin. He remarked, “One of our largest barriers to achieving punctual, consistent bus services is city congestion. Maintaining the current state of affairs means constant gridlocks filled with buses and cars. It’s crucial that this plan is implemented sooner rather than later. If it gets deferred to 2025 due to the upcoming elections, the plan may never see the light of day, which is something I adamantly wish to prevent.”
In other news, Mr Shakespeare has overturned his previous refusal to interface with civic society groups advocating for the immediate and full execution of the plan. He had initially declined meeting requests from several organizations including the Irish Heart Foundation, the Dublin Commuter Coalition, An Taisce, Irish Doctors for the Environment, the Jesuit Centre for Faith and Justice and various cycling advocacy groups. However, he has since conceded to a meeting.