If Public Transport Good For The Environment Why Do You Not Use It?

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DUBLIN CITY ON A WET SATURDAY

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As I believe that Public Transport is good for the environment I was pleased by the following news: 

The Luas light rail system in Dublin made a profit last year of €5.6m, according to the Railway Procurement Agency's annual report. This is well up on the €200,000 surplus recorded in 2005. he agency said the money would be reinvested in the Luas lines, which carried 26m passengers last year, up from 22m the previous year.  

However here in Dublin, with the exception of the very limited tram system, public transport (especially buses) cannot be depended upon so the majority of people use their own cars. Despite the popularity of the LUAS tram system the use of private transport in Dublin has increased rather than reduced over the last three years.

In case you are wondering I should mention that I do not own a car and that I use public transport but I am not very happy with the quality of service on offer. I do not cycle as such an activity is just too dangerous here in Dublin however it would appear that the Irish Tourist Board are planning to do something about this problem:

• Fáilte Ireland is to launch a new €30m strategy aimed at reversing the massive drop in the number of tourists visiting Ireland for cycling holidays. In the past seven years, tourism figures have fallen by 80,000. Since the year 2000, the numbers of tourists visiting for cycling holidays here has fallen dramatically from 130,000 to 50,000. Bad road signage and dangerous cycling conditions caused by cars travelling at higher speeds on Irish roads are being blamed for the decline.

In general the answer is that the same trip carried out by public transport is better for the environment than the private car, however, the answer is sometimes more complicated. For instance, if someone buys a car they may change their journey completely rather than shopping locally, they may go to a more distant shopping centre.

Nearly all the car traffic growth since 1950 has been caused by long car journeys replacing short bus and walking ones. We do know from experience in mainland Europe that good, cheap public transport means that many people will choose not to buy a car. We also know from London that regulated, integrated public transport really can attract people out of their cars, reduce pollution and make towns and cities a better place to live in. But good public transport is only part of the answer. Planners must only agree development at places that are easy to get to by public transport, otherwise car use and the associated environmental damage such as pollution, noise and new roads will continue to increase.

Is Park and Ride good for the environment?

Park and Ride is very popular and appropriate sites can be good for the environment and for other reasons. However, in almost all cases it has been shown to increase car mileage. Often bus-based Park and Ride use Green Belt sites which may not be good for the environment.

There is a lot you can do which does not have to cost much time or money. Public transport generally produces less pollution than using a car or taxi, so using trains, buses and trams more and private transport less is a good start. Walking and cycling are not only good for the environment but make you healthier and feel better too. Air travel is particularly bad for the environment, but you can offset the damage by planting a tree that will absorb the pollution you have produced - in fact you can do this for any journey.

There are several websites which can help you calculate what you need to pay (the Future Forests website http://www.carbonneutral.com/shop/ for instance is a good one).There is a lot of information available, particularly on the internet, about how small changes to your life can make a big difference to the environment. Almost all libraries now offer free internet access, so why wait?

Dublin Luas Network

The system runs off a 750 V DC overhead power supply, and one two-unit tram can carry 235 people. The international standard rail gauge of 1435mm is used, rather than the Irish 1,600mm.
The system was built comprising two lines:

1. Red Line (Line A): Connolly Station to central Tallaght


2. Green Line (Line B): St. Stephen's Green to Sandyford

In the original plans, the Red Line was divided into Line A from Tallaght to Abbey Street and Line C from Abbey Street to Connolly Station, whilst Line B was the alternative name for the Green Line.

This terminology, which split the network into three lines, is not currently used. Early reports also discussed a Line D from Broadstone to Ballymun and Dublin Airport and an underground Line E from St Stephen's Green to Broadstone - these would have formed a third line, from St Stephen's Green to Dublin Airport. However no firm details were set, though several proposed routes were investigated with a completion date of 2005 envisioned at the time. (One early configuration of the proposed route to Ballymun had a road-bound alignment following Drumcondra Road, Collins Avenue Extension and Ballymun Road.)

The Red Line runs in an east-west direction through Dublin's Northside, then crosses the Liffey and travels south-west to the town of Tallaght. The Green Line is entirely in the south side of Dublin city. Apart from the city-centre section, where it runs down Harcourt Street to St. Stephen's Green, it follows the route of the old Harcourt Street railway line, which was reserved for possible re-use when it closed in 1958.

The Red Line and Green Line are not connected to each other, with a 15 minute walk between the two closest points. Services run at regular intervals, from every five minutes during peak times to every 15 minutes late at night. The last tram leaves the terminus at 00:30 (23:30 on Sundays and public holidays).

THE FUTURE

2009

Line C1 – Connolly to Docklands extension (Red Line) - The extension will run along Mayor St, Upper and Lower. There will be 4 stops: George's Dock, Mayor Square, Spencer Dock (serving the new Docklands railway station, approximately 500 metres away) and terminating at the Point Depot. Construction started at the beginning of June 2007

2010

Line A1 – Tallaght to Citywest link. This will be a 4 km (2.5 mi) extension. Construction has not yet started.

Line B1 – Sandyford to Cherrywood extension (Green Line). This line may be converted to a metro at a later stage. This extension of the Green Line will be 7.2 km (4.5 mi) long. Construction commenced on 26 February 2007. The planned route leaves the old railway alignment after Sandyford to Central Park stop, crosses the M50 and runs down Ballyogan Rd. with stops at Glencairn, The Gallops, Leopardstown Valley and Ballyogan Wood. It then crosses the M50 again, re-joining the alignment at Racecourse stop, west of Glenamuck Rd. Continuing along the original alignment it passes by the original Carrickmines station to Carrickmines stop and Brennanstown stop. The Carrickmines stop will incorporate Park and Ride facilities, both it and Brennanstown will be accessed by new roads from the M50 side, not from the Brennanstown Rd. side. Beyond Brennanstown the route crosses open countryside, diverging slightly from, but paralleling the old alignment to Laughanstown stop, Cherrywood stop and ending at Bride’s Glen stop, adjacent to Dell.

2012

Line D – City Centre to Liffey Junction. This will serve Grangegorman, the site of the new DIT campus. This line will link with the Maynooth line. Construction has not yet started.
Line BX – City Centre link for Red and Green Lines. The route has not yet been decided, so construction has not yet started.

2013

Line F – City Centre to Lucan. Possibly linking with Metro West. Construction has not yet started.

2015

Line B2 – Cherrywood to Bray environs extension (Green Line). This is an extension of 6.8 km (4.2 mi). On 6 June 2007, the route of this Luas extension was announced. It will run from Cherrywood to Fassaroe, and will run very close to the M11 motorway, eventually crossing it near the Wilford interchange. Construction has not yet started.