Dubliners are being urged to leave their cars at home on Thursday as the city takes part in an international campaign to encourage commuters to explore transport alternatives.
Criticising the Government, however, the Green Party said that the coalition had failed to provide people with a sufficient choice of public transport and claimed that spending on road-building was four times the expenditure on public transport.
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Organisers of "In Town Without My Car" Day hope that commuters can eventually break the habit of automatically deciding to travel by car. |
Speaking to ireland.com, spokesman on Transport Eamon Ryan accused the Government of "utterly failing to deliver a balanced transport system".
"They're covering up a remarkable failure and a remarkable imbalance in our transport planning and no amount of spin and no amount of pamphlets and talk can cover up that fact," he added. "They need to start putting the pedestrian first rather than always the motorist."
Ireland is one of 34 countries, including Finland, Japan and Venezuela, hosting an "In Town Without My Car" Day and a series of events have been organised for the greater Dublin area by each of the transport agencies.
Speaking at the opening of a Travel Advice Centre on South King Street, Dublin, today, Minister for the Environment Dick Roche said that there have recently been major improvements in transport infrastructure in the country and that people should try to choose public over private transport whenever possible. Mr Roche plans to travel to work via DART on the day.
The advice centre will remain open from 8am to 6pm today, Wednesday and Thursday and is staffed by representatives from the Department of Transport, the Dublin Transportation Office, Dublin City Council, Dublin Bus, Bus Eireann, LUAS, Iarnrod Eireann and the Coach, Transport and Tourism Council.
Minister of State at the Department of Transport Ivor Callely
The events are taking place as part of European Mobility Week and form part of a continent-wide campaign to encourage debate about the necessity for changing the way transport is addressed in the region. The week includes a number of other initiatives such as the announcement of new routes by Bus Eireann and the introduction of the Luas Smartcard.
Minister of State at the Department of Transport Ivor Callely told ireland.com that he hoped that people would take a look at the alternatives available to them on Thursday and that it was now quicker to travel by quality bus corridor than by private vehicle.
"Since 1990, we have seen a 100 per cent increase in car ownership. We've come from about 800,000 cars to 1.6 million. We're asking people to look at the alternative, and if they were to get out of their cars, they may find that there's a healthier option, a quicker option and possibly a cheaper option," he added.