Public Transport Cutbacks being put in the correct context.

AlekSmart

http://www.independent.ie/national-news/taxpayerwill-have-to-foot-bill-for-m3-toll-shortfall-1855553.html

After a suitably brief lacuna,Noel Dempsey`s "arrangements" with the Multi-National Toll Road operators (Present AND Future) now gets it`s first public airing...and it`s a cracker lad`s...

Guaranteed money for old rope and all delivered nicely gift wrapped by a compliant and ever smiling Minister for Transport...with,of course FULL Cabinet approval.....I presume ?

Anybody prepared to take another look at the reasoning behind The State suddenly needing to demand serious cuts in the Public Bus & Coach services throughout the Country....;)

A few posters have in the past expressed bewilderment and amazement at the decision to reduce Publicly funded Transport Services which in many cases were making slow progress towards offering alternatives to the private car.

Bewilder no more oh Citizens,cos Eurolink,a PRIVATE Toll outfit are about to benefit greatly in so MANY ways from Minister Dempsey`s somewhat generous commercial "arrangement".

Yes my people it`s the old "Minimum Traffic Level" clause that I just KNEW was buried deep within some sub section of the thousands of such things in the contract.

So now we know Dempsey`s gang DID negotiate a deal Guaranteeing a transfer of public funds to yet another favourably disposed private entity even IF their product (A Toll Collection Facility FFS) faild to reach it`s supposedly commercial targets.....You could not WRITE this into an episode of Father Ted....

If Eurolink needs to ramp up traffic volume then let them CUT their damn Toll Rates like any other "Commercial" business in the current climate...But no...Not in the world of Fianna Fáil...in this continent..the private pal simply opens for business,charges a "Mutually Agreed" (Most Likely Excessive) Toll and then gets "Compensated" if the breathless public decide NOT to enrich the Civic Minded Compay directly....It`s a Win-Win Situation...IF you`re a dodgy Minister in a Dodgy Party sitting amongst an even Dodgier group of your peers.....:mad:

Well....at least we now KNOW whats driving Fianna Fáil Public Transport Policy..........Somebody MUST be due a Lump Sum outa this lark ?? :eek: :mad: :eek:

Cookie_Monster

Similar thread in motors too.

It is unbelievable isin't it.

LEt the NRA pay the difference out of their (set) budget. It was them who gave all the volumes etc in the first place presumably and probably penned the contract to.

Apparently Dublin Kells return will be €11.20 :EEK:

antoinolachtnai

Eurolink don't just collect the tolls, as I understand it - they also operate and partly capitalized the road.

It wasn't (as far as I know) Eurolink's idea to build a road there. They just responded to a tender.

They couldn't have built the road on a PPP without being able to forecast and have some security in the cashflow. It's capital expenditure.

Bus services are quite different. They are more about operating expenditure. If passenger numbers are falling dramatically, it's hard to justify increasing the subsidy.

Cookie_Monster

antoinolachtnai wrote: »

Eurolink don't just collect the tolls, as I understand it - they also operate and partly capitalized the road.

It wasn't (as far as I know) Eurolink's idea to build a road there. They just responded to a tender.

They couldn't have built the road on a PPP without being able to forecast and have some security in the cashflow. It's capital expenditure.

They took the risk to respond and take the contract without guarentee of income. Or at least that what should of happened, as what happens in every other business not connected to the Irish Gov

antoinolachtnai

Like I say, it wasn't their initiative to open the road. They responded to a tender.

How could they have taken the full risk? It was clear as night and day that there just wasn't the demand there for a motorway on that axis. The cities/towns it links are just too small, and there's an alternative route.

Euro_Kraut

This is an excellent example of Govt policies that run contradictory to each other. Its a scandal that the Dept or NRA will not tell us what the agreed volume is. As the funders of this project we have every right to know. Shows real contempt for the citizens of the country. The commercial success of a private company takes precedence over public transparency.

AlekSmart

Again,this entire little scam has sfa to do with policy of any sort,green,sustainable ,foreign or any other sort.

It ios yet again evidence of an Administration that is inherently unwilling,unable and resistant to devising strategies and sticking with them.

IF Noel Dempsey was in any way concerned about sustainable Public Transport options he would firstly Exempt ALL Large Public Service vehicles operating licenced services from ALL Road Tolls.

This would be a standard feature of ALL Government Toll contracts.
Further incentive PAYMENTS could be made to operators who can MAXIMISE their vehicle loadings through any given Toll "Facility".

Is that sort of concept beyond the ken of any Irish Government Adviser or Minister ?

This latest scam is just that,a means to compensate a "favoured" private entity from the public purse into the future with (of course) much of the detail still somewhat unclear...(top man on holidays...where would you hear the likes of this ???).

The current situation regarding alternative routes to the M3 is somewhat fraught AFAIK,with several local lobby groups attempting to highlight or otherwise frustrate Mr Dempseys Royal County HoneyPot scheme.

It is also worth noting that the current rumblings from the CIE parent boardroom is that cuts in Railway expenditure can not be ruled out,something which is probably music to Mr Dempsey`s ears as the awful prospect of a 15 minute frequency Railway service looms over his beloved M3 Motorway.......Oh well sure that`s what risktaking is all about in Ireland.

Zoney

Where are the "Green" Party?

Cookie_Monster

Zoney wrote: »

Where are the "Green" Party?

up their own holes

Chris_533976

So can they technically increase the toll to €20 each way, say to the government "we arent getting our number of cars per year" and then the government would have to pay up?

The Word Is Bor

The initial price would be laid down in legal documents and any increase would have to be in accordance with the PPP documentation, i.e. indexing of toll in line with the economic wellbeing of the state. They'll never be revised down.

AlekSmart

TWIB may well be Colm McCarthy in drag...`cos thats a VERY concise summation of Fianna Fáil`s adaptation of PPP policy.....:D

Essentially it follows the "Chipper Principle"......price goes up with each seasons new spuds....but never comes down when the black bits creep back in !!!!

It`s The Economy,Stupid :eek:

Carawaystick

The Word Is Bor wrote: »

i.e. indexing of toll in line with the economic wellbeing of the state. They'll never be revised down.

The tolls rise according to CPI rises, but they sure as hell don't fall with CPI falls. This Omission seems hard to fathom outside of any incompetent or malicious decision making.

I think todays' revelations about why the Navan Railway wasn't built have all become clearer now - the thread about the railway being blocked by the Motorway etc all are clear. I should try to get involved in the next tribunal to investigate this when the current govt retire.