Fine Gael today called for the Dublin bus market to be opened to competition.
Publishing a policy document entitled A Better Route,Fine Gael Transport Spokeswoman Olivia Mitchell said allowing new operators into the market would lead to more buses and more routes and would encourage more passengers to use public transport.
"Fine Gael believes that a competitive market with effective regulation to secure standards and quality of service offers the best model for the provision of public bus transport services in Dublin," she said.
The party is proposing a regulated competition model comprising of two main elements - competitive tendering and the appointment of a bus regulator.
"The regulator would define the service levels required, the routes, the quality, the frequency, the comfort levels, the price, and then the competitive tendering system would produce the operator who would deliver this service at the most competitive price over a five-year period," said Ms Mitchell.
The party is basing its policy on what happened to the London bus market in the early 1990s, saying additional passengers would mean the need for a public service subsidy would be greatly reduced.
"Experience in London, where a similar approach was adopted in the early 1990s, saw passenger journeys increase by a massive 54 per cent over a 10-year period. Public subsidies also dropped by 45 per cent," she said.
"If Dublin had a similar experience to London on foot of opening up the market we could see a 75 million jump in passenger journeys from their current 2004 levels of 150 million," she added.
The party is claiming this type of change would radically transform the bus market in Dublin and mark a huge shift in use of public transport.
Ms Mitchell stressed the importance of an integrated transport system for the capital, saying feeder buses should be provided to Luas stops, more park-and-ride facilities should be created, and new routes provided to the outer suburbs. She said there was no point in spending millions on quality bus corridors if there weren't enough passengers using the bus service.
When asked about the government's Transport 21 plan, Fine Gael Finance spokesman Richard Bruton said it was merely a "reproduction of proposals first published five years ago.
"The plan had no costings and no valuations. I'm not confident it is anything but a pre-election stunt," he said.