Ireland

CIE puts cost of traffic gridlock at £40 million

Cathal Hanley
Thu Aug 02 2001 - 01:00
Increased journey times
costing CIÉ £40 million

The traffic gridlock in Irish towns and cities has increased the annual operating costs of Bus Éireann and Dublin Bus by £40 million, according to estimates in CIÉ’s annual report.

The costs of traffic congestion have eaten up almost all of the additional £45 million allocated by the Government last year, the report published today said.

State grant aid to CIÉ totalled £160.7 million in 2000 with the extra £45 million spent on increased subsidies and necessary upgrading of the rail network.

CIÉ will have to spend over £100 million on buying 300 buses and new garages due to increased journey times at peak times.

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Commenting on the report, CIÉ chairman Mr John Lynch said Ireland’s economic prosperity is now threatened by a widening infrastructural deficit giving rise to severe bottlenecks.

He said traffic congestion was already costing the economy over £1 billion a year and Irish roads could never accommodate this amount of traffic regardless of increased road investment.

Fine Gael reacted to the annual report by criticising the Government's "abysmal record" on tackling Dublin's traffic problems.

Mr Brian Hayes said: "After four years of Government inertia, Mary O'Rourke now presides over an urban public transport network that boasts an average speed of three miles per hour through the city centre, that is an average walking pace.

Last year’s protracted industrial relations dispute between Iarnród Éireann and ILDA cost the company £15 million in lost revenue from the cancellation of up 1.5 million journeys.

But the report says that on a per-mile-basis, Irish rail fares are the second-cheapest in Europe having risen by 10 per cent in the past ten years while inflation has risen by 27 per cent in the same period.

Increased journey times include:

  • The journey time from Blanchardstown to Dublin city centre was 50 minutes in 1991 and 60 minutes in 1997. It is now 105 minutes.
  • Peak journey time from Donnybrook in Cork to Cork city centre was 25 minutes in 1991, 40 minutes in 1997 and now takes 70 minutes.
  • In Limerick, the journey from Raheen to UL has increased from 35 minutes in 1991 to 40 minutes in 1997 and now takes 70 minutes.