InBus_Win09_1-55:InBusiness 1-61 11/12/2009 16:19 Page 38
FEATURE | Transport
FOCUS ON THE PUBLIC In the meantime, the Department (on a
Although a lot of joining up of the road network national level) and the Transport 21 office in
has yet to be completed, Tim Brick of Dublin Dublin City Council have the coordinating role.
City Council is anxious to concentrate on the Tim Brick dismisses tales of friction between the
crucial importance of the bigger public transport agencies (usually over projects that would have
projects. “Line C1 [the Docklands extension], seen them compete for commuters) as having
the Samuel Beckett bridge and the M50 works been overplayed in the media. “It would be
are all very important projects, as are the naive to suggest that you could have so many
extensions of the quality bus networks,” he says. major projects taking place with so many
“But the really big step up, the quantum leap stakeholders and not have different opinions,”
forward for any modern European city, is the he says. “But, to date, all such problems have
type of work embodied in the Metro, Luas line been overcome. There are temporary
BX [which will connect the blue and red lines] institutional arrangements in place at the
and the Interconnector. The Interconnector has moment – the main one is called the Transport
a specific regional significance in that it ties up 21 Implementation Working Group, which is
Tim Brick, Executive Manager, DCC..
virtually all of the suburban rail lines. That has a chaired by the Dublin City Manager. The chief
significant regional significance; most of the executives of all of the public transport the platform upon which Real Time Passenger
dormitory towns on the North East right up to operators – the RPA, Irish Rail, Dublin Bus, and Information (RTPI) can be introduced. The
Drogheda and Dundalk, the South East Bus Éireann – all sit on that. There are also programme is part of an overall plan to ensure
segment, and the West of the country are subgroups set up on joint communication and a greater predictability of service.
suddenly linked together. That’s a huge contingency planning, which also feature Bus Éireann is also currently trialling its real-
step forward.” representatives from each agency. These time passenger information system. The system
committees give the whole project a sense of will enable passengers to access real-time arrival
FUNCTIONS AND DUTIES common purpose and a forum to ensure the and departure information for all routes via the
Many believe that Transport 21 should have various agencies aren’t going off on a tangent company’s website, SMS and passenger
begun with the establishment of a wider and doing their own thing.” displays at bus stations. Other joint solutions it
Transport Authority to co-ordinate all of the plans to roll-out in the future include
often-competing agencies. However, initially INTEGRATED TICKETING introducing local public transport pilots with the
some of the agencies were reluctant to transfer Instituting an integrated ticketing system was Rural Transport Programme and the HSE to
powers to such a body and the necessary one, initially fraught, communal process that provide more cost effective local services; the
legislation (the Dublin Transport Authority Act) now seems to be powering ahead. “Certainly introduction of real-time passenger information
to create the body was only enacted last year. the earlier stages of the integrated ticketing at bus shelters; trialling on-street ticket vending
Indeed, it was midway through 2009 before a project were very difficult and there were machines; working on integrated ticketing in
chairman, John Fitzgerald, and a CEO, Gerry challenges getting everybody around the table. line with the RPA schedule, and cost-benefit
Murphy, were appointed by the Minister, so the That was addressed when a board was set up,” analysis of routes.
DTA itself only came into force on December explains Tom Manning of the RPA, the agency
1st (with the NTA to follow next year). The DTA overseeing this endeavour. “All the agencies CONTINUED COMMITMENT
will gradually subsume the various functions have introduced the precursor to the smart card As far as Tim Brick is concerned, a continued
and duties currently distributed through and next year there’ll be testing of an integrated commitment to the wider process is crucial,
different agencies and committees. “The fact prototype. At the end of the year, a Dublin Bus pointing out that ‘these are not optional vanity
that the DTA hold the purse strings means that and Luas smart card will be introduced.” projects but absolute necessities if we are to
to a certain extent they’ll have the power to call Dublin Bus is also currently undertaking a deliver the type of services found in and
the tune,” notes Maurice Treacy, who hopes the pilot phase of the rollout of an Automatic connecting most other European cities’. “If we
DTA will herald increased co-operation Vehicle Location and Control (AVLC) system are to retain our competitive position
between agencies. throughout its fleet. The AVLC system will be internationally, we have to go down this route,”
he says. “Even if we just considered the local
context, we couldn’t tie the future to the private
“WE SAID AT THE TIME THAT WE WOULD COMPLETE commuting car.”
THE MAJOR MOTORWAYS FIRST, THE NEXT PRIORITY
Indeed, he says, ambitious projects such as
the Metro North and the Interconnector “are
WOULD THEN BE METRO NORTH FOLLOWED BY THE
just the start. They lay the foundation for a 20
DART UNDERGROUND, AND THAT THE FOURTH
to 30 year programme where the remainder of
the network is built out and the country
PRIORITY WOULD BE TO KEEP PROVIDING FUNDING
develops a 21st century transport system to be
proud of. We don’t have a choice, really. We
FOR PLANNING AND PROJECTS.” – Maurice Treacy
have to do this.”
38 InBusiness Winter 09
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