The Government has approached German companies operating in Ireland for proposals on how to resolve Dublin's traffic congestion.
The initiative has seen the Minister of State at the Department of Transport, Ivor Callely, visit Munich on a fact-finding mission to see how the city changed from Dublin-style gridlock to become an example of excellent transport infrastructure in under 10 years.
Since his visit to Munich in April, officials from the Department and the Dublin Transport Office have met regularly with leading representatives of German firms based in Dublin, such as BMW and Siemens, through the German Irish Chamber of Industry and Commerce.
The meetings will culminate in a transport conference to be organised by Callely later this year. It's also expected that some of the infrastructure policies seen in Munich will be contained in the proposed 10-year strategic transport plan for Dublin.
Funding for the plan is currently being discussed by the Departments of Transport and Finance and it's expected to be brought before the Cabinet in the next Dáil term.
One of those involved in the discussions to resolve Dublin's gridlock is Conrad Schmidt, managing director of BMW Group Ireland. He says the Irish economy cannot develop efficiently if "employees spend two or three hours a day in traffic. You cannot efficiently commute, transfer goods, services and individuals to other parts of the city and country if there is poor infrastructure."
Schmidt is also concerned at the poor quality of the roads in many parts of the country. "At BMW we spend millions every year making safer cars," he says, "but even the safest cars get damaged if the roads are in a bad state. These contribute to damage to cars, damage to tyres and as a consequence eventually deaths."
Just over 10 years ago Munich was struggling to cope with a rapid growth in population and had imposed disincentives for motorists using the city centre. Schmidt says the result was a city centre bordering on decay as businesses left.
To counter this, BMW joined an initiative with industry, Munich's city council and its chamber of commerce to seek solutions to the infrastructure problems in the city.
These groups signed the Inzell initiative in 1995 which led to a change of mindset, says Schmidt. An immediate result was more focused public transport development. Control of public transport ticketing in Munich was given to one private firm.
"We also have very well conceived park-and-ride facilities on the outskirts of the city."
These are among the elements that Minister Callely intends to incorporate into the Dublin transport plan. He is also thought to be enthusiastic about council garages in the city centre, which stop car owners from having to park on city centre roads.
Munich now has a traffic system which allows a driver to "travel from the city's north side at lunchtime on a Friday into the city centre by car in exactly 20 minutes," says Schmidt.
"You can find parking very easily and make use of the car's navigation system to find the best route around any congestion".
He is cautious about applying the same remedy for Dublin, but notes similarities in population and what can be achieved by fixing the basics.
Schmidt feels the contribution from the German companies has been well received by the Government. "It's a very good initiative but much now depends on the lead from the public sector and the Government. I would caution against believing there are quick fixes."
