Article in today's Irish Mail re car free day

The Swordsman

Car Free Day has achieved the impossible - it's become even more pointless

by Philip Nolan

If there is anything more pointless than holding a Car Free Day, it is holding one on a Saturday. The only purpose it serves is a devious one because it gives the impression that people somehow care about this annual exercise in ludicrous self-denial and it allows environmentalists delude themselves into believing that their message is hitting home.

That, one assumes, is the reason for Dublin City Council's plan to close three Dublin streets on Saturday week and stage family events such as BMX bike demonstrations, opera recitals and, apparently, gypsy performances - though as any motorist knows, the best place to view a gypsy performance is from the driver's seat as you circle north Dublin roundabouts.

Over the years, the car-hating council has turned the screws relentlessly on people whose only crime is to seek value for the extortionate road tax they hand over to it.

Now, the people who make daily life in the city miserable, and who allegedly manage traffic in Europe's most gridlocked city, hope we will leave our cars at home and take public transport to town instead.

Transport chaos

If people actually were to do this, it would be taken as proof by all concerned - from Green Environment Minister John Gormley down - that we finally were buying into their message. And, you know, we actually should take them up on their offer. Personally, I would love nothing more than for every Dubliner - indeed, every urban dweller in the country - to leave his or her car at home on Saturday week and gather en masse at the nearest bus stop or train station and watch the chaos ensue.

Why? Because the double standard at the heart of the private-versus-public transport debate in this country is breathtaking. The people who badger us to leave our cars at home would actually be terrified if we did so, because the simple truth is that we do not have a functioning public transport system in Dublin if you want to take anything more complicated than a point-to-point journey.

We have Luas lines that don't meet up and suburban trains that stop running at midnight. We have too many bus routes emanating from the city centre and not enough joining the communities on the periphery of the city. We have 24-hour bus lanes that are empty all night because we don't have 24-hour buses. We have the only airport in an EU capital that does not have a rail link to the city it serves. We have a bus company that demands you make a journey to the city centre solely to collect the change from your bus fare. We even had a situation where the train station serving the old Lansdowne Road could never be used on match days because it wasn't designed to cope with, er, crowds.

The roll call of our bungling is endless.

Many of these inadequacies are to be addressed in Transport 21, yet with the economy faltering, what chance is there that the EUR34.4billion promised will ever actually be spent? What relief is there in sight for the hundreds of thousands of motorists whose daily lives are reduced to bitter frustration and misery because years of mismanagement are finally catching up with our cities?

It's not just Dublin. The ring road in Cork is jammed at rush hour. So are Galway and Limerick. So is the Nil, every evening from the junction with the M50 all the way to Kilpedder. Twice a day every day, and all day on the hellish M50, Urban Ireland comes to a complete standstill.

Daily traffic flow on some stretches of the M50 amounts to 85,000 vehicles. You know, and John Gormley knows, and Dublin city councillors know, that the public transport system could not accommodate even 10 per cent of the people in those vehicles if they chose to abandon them.

So that's why we get a Car Free Day on one of the two days a week when hardly anyone drives into town anyway, so a spurious impression can be created that the exercise was a rip-roaring success from which we all cycled home humming arias, or walked in a dreamy trance enlivened by jaunty gypsy violin tunes.

Fantasy

It is a Utopian fantasy peddled by ministers who live close enough to the city centre to cycle to their offices and who soon will benefit from the council's latest completely barking plan, which is to reduce city centre speed limits to 30km/h to reduce injuries to cyclists, even though it is clear to anyone that cyclists are so often the architects of their own doom, casually ignoring every traffic signal and weaving between lanes in a fashion that would have you jailed if you did it in a car.

For people who live way beyond the city boundary in the dormitory towns that will end up as dilapidated tombstones for the boom years, cycling is no more an option than going to work on a pogo stick. Their needs will not be served by a Car Free Day on a Saturday.

And, you know, if the council truly had any concern for the environment, there are plenty of other measures it could take with greater effect. For starters, they need to take the blinkers off. We are never going to abandon our cars, so we need to think of creative ways of making sure they do as little harm to the environment as possible.

Dublin is an unusual city, one with only three 'sides', which renders the usual ring road relief system unworkable, unless we bite the bullet and build a six-lane motorway along Sandymount Strand. Don't scoff - no one cares much about family farms which are bulldozed to build motorways, so discommoding the people of Dublin 4 should not be an impediment to progress. An elevated road might even serve the useful function of blocking their view of the incinerator.

Incentives

We need to revise our fondness for traffic lights. Dublin has far too many of them and the stop-start cycle adds to CO2 emissions. When the M50 upgrade is finished and the road has three or four lanes, the right-hand one should be designated a car pool lane, to be used only if two or more people are travelling in the same vehicle, giving an incentive to people to share.

We need to end the nonsense of charging people to use roads they have already paid for. Instead of barrier-free tolling at the WestLink, there should be no toll whatsoever.

We should also do away with the tolls on the Ml, M4 and M8 and encourage people to use these safe new roads instead of the old national primary routes they still favour, because they can't afford to pay EUR40 a month to use a motorway.

A car is never more fuel efficient than when it is travelling at a steady speed in fifth gear, so the motorway is actually more environmentally friendly.

We should end the nonsense of charging EUR12 at rush hour for the Port Tunnel when it should be free. We should demand that tax be paid on emissions, making it more attractive for people to consider electric, hybrid and biodiesel cars.

All of those options, sadly, have a potential political downside, which is why they will never be implemented.

Instead, our politicians and city managers take the route of least resistance, dressing up abysmal policy failures with frivolous events like a Car Free Day on a Saturday.

It is not funny. It is an insult.

gjim

It's hard to even argue against something like that given that it's mostly just structureless and ignorant ranting.

I'm impressed with the claim that

A car is never more fuel efficient than when it is travelling at a steady speed in fifth gear, so the motorway is actually more environmentally friendly.

Unfortunately for the author, this only has validity for most cars if driven at around 50 km/hour.

jimmycrackcorm

The Swordsman wrote:

Car Free Day has achieved the impossible - it's become even more pointless

by Philip Nolan
...
All of those options, sadly, have a potential political downside, which is why they will never be implemented.

Which is saying that people actually don't care. A simple cheap solution would be to implement 100% bus lanes all over the city and put on more busses. The reason the Luas works is because it is effectively a dedicated "Bus" lane with lots of "Busses".

Rashers72

Pity they don't offer free tickets on the DART/suburban trains for the day. There would be no capacity issues, and it might actually encourage people to try it out, and switch (assuming they had no delays!). They did this a few years ago, but I believe there's an issue with reimbursement of Irish Rail by the Dept of the Environment.
As always the public suffer, while the government departments can't get their act together.

PS- could also make it free on the buses, from say 10am-6pm, or something like that. Seem's radical, but since they have not done anything like it in years, I think we deserve it!
LUAS is already at capacity, so I don't know if it could cope with a large number of extra users on a Saturday, but I don't use it then, so could not be sure.

Conar

gjim wrote:

It's hard to even argue against something like that given that it's mostly just structureless and ignorant ranting.

I'm impressed with the claim that

Unfortunately for the author, this only has validity for most cars if driven at around 50 km/hour.

I think its actually around 55 mph or 85-90kph

Wishbone Ash

gjim wrote:

It's hard to even argue against something like that given that it's mostly just structureless and ignorant ranting.

Agree, but it is 'The Mail' I suppose.

We have 24-hour bus lanes that are empty all night because we don't have 24-hour buses.

More of this illogical nonsense. :rolleyes:

We have the only airport in an EU capital that does not have a rail link to the city it serves

Untrue.

We have a bus company that demands you make a journey to the city centre solely to collect the change from your bus fare

The customer is requested to have the correct fare or a card. IMO they shouldn't give any receipts for change. Other countries which have a 'exact fare only' system don't give receipts for obtaining change.

markf909

Only the completely deluded would use public transport to try and make inter suburban journeys in this city.

Whatever about the rest of his article, he isnt wrong here:

... the simple truth is that we do not have a functioning public transport system in Dublin if you want to take anything more complicated than a point-to-point journey.

We have Luas lines that don't meet up and suburban trains that stop running at midnight. We have too many bus routes emanating from the city centre and not enough joining the communities on the periphery of the city. We have 24-hour bus lanes that are empty all night because we don't have 24-hour buses. We have the only airport in an EU capital that does not have a rail link to the city it serves. We have a bus company that demands you make a journey to the city centre solely to collect the change from your bus fare.

Many of these inadequacies are to be addressed in Transport 21, yet with the economy faltering, what chance is there that the EUR34.4billion promised will ever actually be spent?

Prof_V

Regarding the Saturday thing (which I've also seen in the Indo), Car Free Day always takes place, everywhere, on the 22nd of September, regardless of which day it falls on - even Sundays.

Hotblack Desiato

gjim wrote:

It's hard to even argue against something like that given that it's mostly just structureless and ignorant ranting.

Exactly. He should know that the so-called "car free day" is on the same date each year - fixed by the EU.

spacetweek

The premise of the article was correct - we can't have a meaningful CFD in Dublin until the T21 elements are in place - but the substance was mainly an ignorant rant.

Conar wrote:

I think its actually around 55 mph or 85-90kph

Yes, that's it. That's why 55mph became the blanket speed limit on US freeways in the 70s after the oil shocks - it was the most efficient speed to drive at.

Doesn't make the author any less wrong though. Motorways aren't environmentally friendly - most people are travelling at the legal 120k or higher. You could do 90km/h easily on any road, even a 2-laner, assuming moderate traffic - you don't need a motorway to drive your car at an efficient speed.

Plus motorways have other aspects which make them enviromentally unfriendly - habitat severance, oil runoff, etc.

Hotblack Desiato

spacetweek wrote:

Yes, that's it. That's why 55mph became the blanket speed limit on US freeways in the 70s after the oil shocks - it was the most efficient speed to drive at.

:rolleyes: OR they could have made the corporate average fuel efficiency regulations meaningful and enforceable. Part of the huge boom towards 'trucks' and SUVs was because they were not subject to CAFE restrictions, loose as they were.

Motorways aren't environmentally friendly - most people are travelling at the legal 120k or higher.

They're a lot more fuel efficient than sitting in a traffic jam. Also you're not actually obliged to drive at the speed limit...

You could do 90km/h easily on any road, even a 2-laner, assuming moderate traffic - you don't need a motorway to drive your car at an efficient speed.

IF the road can handle the traffic. Sure if we all had empty roads in front of us we could drive a lot more efficiently, but we don't.

Plus motorways have other aspects which make them enviromentally unfriendly - habitat severance, oil runoff, etc.

Which don't apply to say, HQDCs ???

_Kaiser_

Well at the risk of earning the wrath of all the public transport loving, envioromentially friendly PC folk around here, I'm going to completey agree with the author here.

Public Transport in this country doesn't work. Simple as that. It's seen (and subsequently run) as an option for those who have nothing else.
Here's some things that need to be addressed before it even becomes a viabile alternative, never mind an accepted one.. but I'll get to that last part later:

- The capacity issues. I got buses for years before I started driving & standing for a 30/40+ minute journey on a stuffy, overcrowded bus with poor breaks and a bad suspension as it bounces over poor roads and speed ramps the drivers just ignore, is not my idea of "comfortable".

- The maintenance angle. Poor suspensions, brakes, uncomfortable seats, the pool of weater that accumulates on the window sills in the rain, the noise level of some of the AV's, the general dirtiness of the buses

- The lack of inegration with different services. Not just from a ticketing angle, but as the author mentions, the LUAS line is a perfect example. Or how about DART/train stations in the middle of nowhere that involve a 10-15 minute walk to get to where you want to be.

- The ever increasing cost for less value. Fares increase but journey times do too. Add to this the maintenance issues above, antisocial behaviour and unreliable services.

- The fact that the "quickest" way for me to get from Blanchardstown to Coolock (just one of many examples) involves a completely unnecessary detour through town.

- 24 hour bus lanes but no 24 hour buses. Cry all you like that car drivers don't need these anyway at night as the traffic volumes are lower, the fact is that if the lane is there, there SHOULD be buses to use it. But no, despite the huge change in working practises and hours in Dublin over the past 15 years, the Department, Dublin Bus and the others still think that noone needs a bus/train after 11.30. :rolleyes:

- Oh and lest we forget, the almost total lack of ANY options whatsoever if you don't live in one of the cities.

- And finally (though I'm sure there's others I've forgotten), as I alluded to earlier, there's the "image" problem. A result of the issues above and the fact the Irish as a nation have become very materialistic and into status symbols in these post-Celtic Tiger times.

Everyone has been conditioned to think they MUST own their own home (even if it's in an estate in the middle of nowhere, involves a 4 hour commute, and no local facilities), everyone is too busy keeping up with their neighbours (don't believe me? Wait till January rolls around and the first 08-reg car appears on the street. Won't be too long before a lot more join it, in many cases replacing perfectly good 3/4 year old equivalents - but hey, that's why the 2nd hand market is so good so it's not all bad ).

As a result of things like this, noone wants to be taking the bus. Sure isn't that for students and pensioners and poor people? Just look at the aforementioned Coolock/Darndale/Clare Hall area. A very large part of it is served by ONE bus (the 27) whereas back in 1995 it had 3 - the 27, 27A and 42C. There's no DARTs here, no LUAS lines, or Metros and there never will be. Why? Because these people don't have money and don't vote in sufficent numbers so "don't count" to the decision makers in government/CIE.

Or let's take the Blanchardstown area. Again the primary route is the 39 which just keeps getting extended and extended (just like the 27 was in 1996) but the service levels continue to slip. If you lucky enough to live beside the Maynooth line you can use that, but that's only a fraction of the population now living in the D15 area.

Besides, the Irish motorist pays a fortune in road tax, insurance, (illegal) VRT, servicing and fuel costs - much of which the government gets in tax. Why would they (the government) want to seriously persuade people out of their cars? Equally, why should the motorist be forced to leave their car at home when the alternative is the shambolic public transport service I've described above.

Despite what some people here would like to believe, they are at least as entitled to a hassle free, efficent journey as the bus-travelling public.
As the author says, less traffic lights, a review of some of the stupid speed limits (both high and low) in the Dublin area, incentives for car pooling and fast-tracking existing road projects (like the seemingly never ending M50 works) would go a long way to achieve this.
It should also be remembered that a lot of people genuinely NEED their cars - sales reps, engineers, couriers, my local chinese delivery guy! - and that they're not the Devil Incarnate for using them.

Combine this with a SERIOUS effort to improve the public transport options and THEN people (who can do so) might just start to switch. Forcing them (like implementing knee-jerk/easy-way-out but ultimately ineffective options like 30 km/h limits in the city centre area) will achieve nothing except foster further resentment and bloody-mindedness.

(Wow, that was quite a post.. I think it's time for a late lunch!)

Conar

Kaiser2000 wrote:

- The ever increasing cost for less value. Fares increase but journey times do too. Add to this the maintenance issues above, antisocial behaviour and unreliable services.
..............

- Oh and lest we forget, the almost total lack of ANY options whatsoever if you don't live in one of the cities.

This is a massive point.
I'm living in Enfield Co Meath which like it or not is now a suburb of Dublin but its madness how much it costs to get into the city.
Nearly 9 euro is what I get charged to take a train into town, how will people ever be encouraged to use public transport for that.
And they don't build park and ride carparks everywhere so that puts people off too.

Kaiser2000 wrote:

Everyone has been conditioned to think they MUST own their own home (even if it's in an estate in the middle of nowhere, involves a 4 hour commute, and no local facilities),

Don't forget that a lot of people buy houses further out because they don't want to live in the heavily built up areas closer to Dublin too.
This sentiment of people buying outside of Dublin being foolish is so often raised yet I don't see why people care about it.
I live out here because its quiet, small town attitude is nocer and you can see the stars at night (plus many more boring reasons).
Also, if all us foolish people did decide to buy/rent closer to the city your problems would be worse.
(Mini rant over )

markpb

Conar wrote:

I'm living in Enfield Co Meath [...] but its madness how much it costs to get into the city. [...] Don't forget that a lot of people buy houses further out because they don't want to live in the heavily built up areas closer to Dublin too

While I totally agree with every single point Kaiser2000 mentioned in his post, I think he forgot about people like you. You just said "I want to live in the middle of nowhere where it's uneconomical to be served by pt but I want it and want it cheap". I hope for all our sakes people like you continue to be ignored by public transport.

Conar

markpb wrote:

While I totally agree with every single point Kaiser2000 mentioned in his post, I think he forgot about people like you. You just said "I want to live in the middle of nowhere where it's uneconomical to be served by pt but I want it and want it cheap".

Why?
Cos you have the hump? :rolleyes:

Anyway thats not even what I said, like it or not it only costs about 2.50 (not sure exactly) to get the first 18 miles out of Dublin to Maynooth but to get the further 12 it costs more than 3 times that. Wheres the economy there?
It doesn't make sense.
I'm perfectly happy driving but at the same time if they did put on a decent public transport system which didn't cost a fortune I and others would use it from out here. Isn't that what these drives are aiming to do?
People live out here, plenty of them do so you might as well try to get them to use public transport too if this is what these type of no car drives are aiming to do.

markpb wrote:

I hope for all our sakes people like you continue to be ignored by public transport.

If all your sakes rest on us here folk not getting reasonably priced public transport then good luck to you. The word melodrama springs to mind.

markpb

Conar wrote:

Anyway thats not even what I said, like it or not it only costs about 2.50 (not sure exactly) to get the first 18 miles out of Dublin to Maynooth but to get the further 12 it costs more than 3 times that. Wheres the economy there?

The area closest to Dublin has higher population density so it's more economical to serve it using public transport and the cost to the customer is lower. As you go further out, the density drops, costs rise so the cost to the consumer rises and the service level drops.

It's like that in every city in the world but for some reason you think it should be otherwise. I'm sure a dart from your estate to your workplace would be great for you too but I'm sure you can understand why that won't be happening.

If all your sakes rest on us here folk not getting reasonably priced public transport then good luck to you. The word melodrama springs to mind.

*rolls eyes*

If we have to spend more money serving the middle of no-where with cheap public transport, then everyone else who lives closer to Dublin will suffer. Money, oddly enough, isn't infinite so if it's spent on you, it isn't available for anyone else.

Conar

markpb wrote:

The area closest to Dublin has higher population density so it's more economical to serve it using public transport and the cost to the customer is lower. As you go further out, the density drops, costs rise so the cost to the consumer rises and the service level drops.

It's like that in every city in the world but for some reason you think it should be otherwise. I'm sure a dart from your estate to your workplace would be great for you too but I'm sure you can understand why that won't be happening.

Yes this is true, but it doesn't have to rise by so much.
The point being that we are so often hearing that we should be using public transport.
The government has seen fit to widen and widen the commuter belt without providing any public transport which we should all be trying to use.
Enfield may seem like its a long way out to some but it's been rezoned as extra-urban by the ESB, previously rural over the last couple of years and a lot of houses have been built so why not try to get them off the roads.
I'm not saying that all small towns should have great transport, but certainly some of them could be park and ride hubs.

markpb wrote:

*rolls eyes*

If we have to spend more money serving the middle of no-where with cheap public transport, then everyone else who lives closer to Dublin will suffer. Money, oddly enough, isn't infinite so if it's spent on you, it isn't available for anyone else.

Fair enough, I was on late last night and being snotty but I don't really see what your problem is.
Of course the higher density areas should get a higher investment in public transport and by the way they already do.
However expansion is how it works.
I'm sure no one invisaged Lucan becoming the urban sprawl it is today and places like Leixlip, Maynooth, and Celbridge (many more too but I've always lived along the N4 so its just where I know about) would be in a right state if people just said they were far outside of the city so shouldn't really be a priority for public transport.
Dublin doesn't have to suffer by extending a couple of train routes a day along an existing track and providing value seats (not cheap, just value) to some people that are probably adding a lot more carbon to the atmosphere than the average Dubliner due to the distances they are driving.

At the end of the day, if they don't we'll just keep driving and then nobodys a winner.