Briefing for the incoming Government 2011

Co-authored by  Miles Deas & James Nix on behalf of PlanBetter

Download: Future Transport Policies in Ireland Final – PDF

Preface

With the economic downturn and need to meet emissions targets, policies have a renewed emphasis on affordability and environmental sustainability.

The idea of building a way out of the transport problem is obsolete. There are more economic, workable solutions that better maintain our health and environment.

Better alternatives to car travel are needed to help encourage a greater shift away from private car trips to more sustainable modes.  A general change of focus towards investment in public mass transport modes such as bus, coach and rail, but also cycle and pedestrian travel is necessary.

We have seen significant investment on approximately a dozen motorways over the last decade. While limited and localised road enhancements are required across Ireland, there no justification for more long-distance motorways. Sound policy can retain the benefits of the new roads build in the Celtic Tiger period for many years to come.

Higher oil prices are inevitable. There is already sustained upward pressure on oil prices with a barrel of brent crude trading at $80 – $120 over the last few months.

We are on a course that will see the oil price levels of 2008 exceeded. While all of society will be affected, the poorest will lose the most mobility as the price of travel rises. Research in the US indicates that road traffic will drop 41 per cent by 2030 as transport fuel consumes an ever rising share of disposal income. (For more information see www.peakoiltaskforce.net and www.postcarbon.org).

We now have a choice: to base future transport policy on what happened yesterday, or on what is expected occur in the future. Will we align investment in transport and hedge against oil price rise?

Major infrastructural projects have an extremely limited role to play. Whether road or rail, mega-projects involving large-scale construction will be useless unless they provide a solution that is low-cost, readily applicable and easy to replicate.

The emphasis on the period to 2020 has shifted to maintenance, connectivity and accessibility to public transport – although many in policy-making have yet to acknowledge this.