Planning, procurement and regulation of transport needs to be integrated into one agency. David Labanyi reports
Responsibility for traffic-management initiatives in the greater Dublin region will shortly be transferred from local authorities to the new Dublin Transport Authority, (DTA) which is to be set up in shadow form this autumn.
One of the top priorities facing the new agency - to be headed by Trinity College Professor Margaret O'Mahony - is dealing with the chronic congestion in Dublin. The cost of this gridlock is estimated to be costing businesses in the region more than €2 billion a year. The new Authority will incorporate the functions of the exiting Dublin Transport Office (DTO) and take responsibility for the planning, regulation and procurement of public transport in the greater Dublin area.
Prof O'Mahony and an establishment team including John Lumsden and Pat Mangan, assistant secretary generals at the Department of Transport, and Colin Hunt, Mr Cullen's special adviser, have drawn up a report on the new Authority, which was submitted to the Minister for Transport and is awaiting publication.
John Henry, director of the (DTO), said the development of the Authority would see planning, procurement and regulation of transport in Dublin centralised into one agency.
"The DTO is doing and has done very well since it was established in 1995. But it has only a planning role and has no real powers. It can only work by consensus and agreement."
Mr Henry said much of the DTO's work "was behind the scenes negotiations between different parties. Acting as an arbitrator and trying to make consensus."
He says the process of transferring power from local authorities, semi-state transport companies and Government Departments to the new Authority is going to be a challenge.
"We met with the DTA establishment team and got into the whole process of how you go about transferring power from one agency to another. Because if the new Authority is to be quite powerful it has to take power from somewhere else."
Another immediate task facing the new Authority is resolving the issue of bringing private bus operators into the Dublin market.
Mr Henry criticised the Minister for Transport, Mr Cullen, for the current hiatus. "We need additional buses now. Either get on and get the private sector in quickly or give Dublin Bus the buses they are seeking. But don't leave this vacuum in which people are being very badly served."
He said a funding request from Dublin Bus for new buses had not been accepted becasue the Government was "trying to reserve some additional future capacity, to restrain Dublin Bus from growing and leave space for private firms to come in." However, he said the process had dragged on and was now leaving commuters with a substandard service.
Another key challenge for the DTA is to finally roll out integrated ticketing. Mr Henry says the system "could be rolled out in the morning" and that the delays are because of squabbling between the various state agencies and also the Luas over how to allocate the money collected from an integrated ticketing system. "The Rail Procurement Agency have been unfairly criticised. The system is essentially ready. This project is an example of the need for a Transport Authority with wide ranging powers."
The project to provide an integrated ticket allowing passengers buy a single ticket for buses and trains in Dublin was first mooted in 1999. Although it was due to be introduced in 2002 the project has been hampered by delays.
Mr Henry did raise one cautionary note about the new Transport Authority - which appears to be proceeding without having a land-use function. This would have given it a say in planning decisions with the goal of encouraging higher-density developments better suited to public transport.
"This land-use function appears to be politically difficult and the current thinking is that it will not be included. With a car, as anyone who commutes knows only too well, there is a maximum density that roads can handle. And a reliance on cars creates low-density housing. The problem with this is that low density areas are difficult to serve with public transport."
He added that the weakness of Dublin's public transport system explained why the city has effectively abandoned participation in Car-Free Day.
"We just don't have the supply of public transport for it to be viable."