A proposed ban on cars in the city centre will leave motorists reliant on our public transport, writes Michael Casey- a punishment we don't deserve
A RECENT report for Dublin City Council recommends the permanent banning of cars passing through the city centre. They would instead be re-routed along orbital by-passes.
Some 200,000 cars enter the city every day and this is expected to double by 2020 if no changes are made. Traffic models predict that the road space will be totally inadequate. Therefore, it is concluded that all through traffic must be banned from the city centre.
The proper functioning of cities is part of a national spatial strategy (NSS) - which we had, until it was swept aside by the Government before the ink was dry. Can we assume that, since decentralisation is now dead in the water, we can breathe life into the NSS? No chance.
The long-awaited Dublin Transport Authority, which was supposed to follow the broad parameters of the NSS, has still not got off the ground. We have bits and pieces of infrastructure around Dublin which are a testament to the absence of joined- up thinking. And now we have a proposal to ban cars from the city centre. Tomorrow we may have a proposal to move Dublin Port elsewhere. We once had a proposal to exterminate badgers because it was believed they caused bovine TB.
This is a sign of failure on the part of the Government, local authorities, planners and various other quangos and public bodies. The mistakes go back to the 1960s, when daft decisions were taken about maintaining the height-line; this led to low-density housing and later to urban sprawl on a massive scale. What we are being told now is that Dublin city is not "fit to purpose".
Let's be clear about it; this proposal has nothing whatsoever to do with carbon emissions or the environment, but it has everything to do with inadequate and poorly-designed infrastructure in the city.
The bicycle lanes are extremely dangerous and you can't park anywhere near a Dart or Luas station because the local authorities have turned most of these spaces into very expensive pay-and-display zones. The much-vaunted park-and-ride proposals never really materialised.
Why should the private motorist be penalised because of the mistakes of the public authorities? Private motorists are a large sub-set of consumers who have been virtually ignored by successive governments over the years. Because of the (illegal) vehicle registration tax and other stealth taxes, we pay more for cars than any other EU country - despite repeated promises to the contrary. Car insurance and motor taxes are also extremely high.
Some years ago, Dublin drivers were dealt a savage blow. About half of their road space was taken away and handed over as a free gift to a state monopoly known as Dublin Bus.
To make matters worse, the buses often travel in convoy and overtake one another, thus depriving the private motorist of the only lane he or she has left. There was no consultation about bus lanes, no recompense. The bus lanes are grossly underused. Private motorists with one or two passengers should be given access to these lanes immediately. In most modern cities there are special high-occupancy lanes.
The Dublin Bus monopoly continues on its inefficient way and is apparently untouchable by the Competition Authority or the National Consumer Agency. A ban on cars would be grist to the mill of Dublin Bus.
It would make sure that consumers had no alternatives and would further increase the power of the transport monopolies who between them have not even managed to introduce integrated ticketing.
But why should they bother to make any improvements? They are monopolies after all.
Indeed it is surprising that various consumer bodies and the AA have not lobbied more aggressively on behalf of car-drivers. It is as if the private motorist is regarded as some kind of leper in today's eco-friendly world. This attitude plays right into the hands of the transport monopolies.
Even if there was financial provision for additional buses, it would be madness to put them at the disposal of Dublin Bus without a radical restructuring of that company. More buses would simply increase its monopoly position and give it even more scope to flood certain routes which show any signs of competition from private bus companies.
One of the best things to happen to the transport sector in Dublin is the Patton Flyer, a super-efficient minibus which plies between Dalkey and Dublin airport for a reasonable price. It should be noted, however, that the Department of Transport has not yet given them a licence and has in fact reported them to the police - so much for competition and consumer choice.
Are motorists really supposed to throw themselves on the tender mercies of Dublin Bus or any of the other state transport monopolies? In Paris or London you do not have to wait longer than two or three minutes to get a bus or metro.
In Dublin, the wait can be anything up to 40 minutes - and longer outside rush-hour. You simply cannot run a modern economy on that basis.
Some of us had hoped that the electronic cottage would catch on and that we could avoid commuting in and out of the city, but the trend is unfortunately moving the other way.
Would the road space be inadequate if the Luas hadn't deprived us of a large proportion of it, including some of the most important arteries in the city, and if Dublin Bus hadn't taken over another huge chunk for its completely underused bus lanes? This is but another way of saying that it is the authorities who have created the problem.
What is needed is some fresh and comprehensive thinking and not more piecemeal solutions which penalise the wrong people. If a car ban is the best that Dublin City Council can come up with, it is a very poor look-out.
If a ban is implemented, it will be essential that private motorists be compensated fully by a reduction in car-related taxes.
Consumers who have been treated shabbily over the years cannot continue to pay for the mistakes of the public sector. Consumers are potentially the most powerful group in society; the recent Budget has at last woken this sleeping giant.