The Government should consider increasing taxes on petrol as part of a policy aimed at restraining the growth in road traffic, according to a major review of transport infrastructure investment needs by DKM economic consultants.
The review was jointly commissioned by the Government and the European Commission in advance of formulating the next EU-funded National Development Plan covering the years 20002006. The consultants say there needs to be a high level of investment in transport infrastructure "in the light of identified backlog and rapid traffic growth", and this should focus on the road network.
Within Dublin and other cities, the review recommends that road investment "should be kept to a minimum with the greatest priority attached to public transport improvements", to provide an alternative to private car use. It favours introducing "demand management" measures such as higher fuel taxes and road-pricing to discourage car use, particularly at peak times, with tolls in some cases high enough to be prohibitive.
The consultants say the National Roads Authority should also review its policy of using commuter traffic levels to estimate road investment needs. This might apply to all areas within 100 kilometres of Dublin's M50 by-pass motorway.
They suggest that the NRA should also consider the need for an outer orbital route to the north and west of the M50, and examine "the prudence or otherwise" of assuming endless improvements in road capacity.
DKM is sceptical about the value of some rail investment proposals: "We do not believe that major investment in the provincial rail system, in addition to the improvements already achieved, is easy to justify . . . Costs and benefits, including non-traffic benefits, should be assessed on a line-by-line basis. If some lines have inadequate traffic to justify the levels of investment sought by CIE, this is a reality which needs to be faced."
Similarly, the consultants say that when the costs of the Government's Luas light rail scheme have been ascertained, the benefits should be reassessed on a system-wide basis, before capital commitments are made to fund it.
"A choice needs to be made between Luas and suburban rail. Even rapid traffic growth would not support investment in both, although the choice of one does not logically preclude the other in a more distant timeframe."
Referring to Dublin Airport, the review says a fixed link either by Luas or suburban rail would attract more passengers than are likely to use the DART extensions to Greystones and Malahide. It calls for consideration of other options, such as a proposed rail link between Spencer Dock across the Liffey to the planned DART station at Barrow Street and proposed rail improvements to the Cobh-Blarney line in Co Cork.
CIE should carry out a case-by-case review of populations in the catchment of suburban rail stations in Dublin and Cork, and further investment should be conditional on development taking place in their vicinity, DKM says.
The review calls for a reversal of the decision not to charge tolls at the Lee Tunnel in Cork and also recommends a more detailed cost-benefit appraisal of the £180 million Dublin Port Tunnel as a "stand-alone project". This evaluation should also consider the economics of a full Eastern Bypass, with alternative assumptions about tolling, including prohibitive tolls for city-centre access.
Finally, the consultants say the next EU-funded transport operational programme "should not contain any measure of grant-aid for State or regional airports" and that the resources available for sea ports should be reduced.
