15th May 1999
In a statement the Green Party candidate for Crumlin-Kimmage, John Goodwillie, has questioned whether Dublin Bus has enough buses to provide adequate frequency on the Quality Bus Corridors being established. The scheme depends, he said, on regular bus services being available to people. "The purpose of the bus corridors should not be," he said, "to squeeze the existing amount of cars into a smaller space, but to persuade some people to leave their cars at home and take the bus instead.
"The Quality Bus Corridors are already behind schedule and one of the reasons is the lack of buses. It is a scandal, he said, that the Government's delay in allowing Dublin Bus to order extra buses is jeopardising the scheme. It is disgraceful that Dublin Bus is subject to obstacles set by the national Government instead of being responsible to a democratic Dublin local authority.
"As Dublin traffic becomes more and more congested, it is essential to have a City Council which will keep up constant pressure to have the Quality Bus Corridors and cycleways implemented. The implementation programme is already behind schedule, as is the Luas. The Celtic Tiger has made the traffic predictions outdated, but this makes it more essential to implement the limited projects that are already under way.
"In order to prevent future difficulties, it is necessary to have greater integration between traffic and planning, so that major housing developments are located along traffic routes.
"The presence of people on the street, even if they are only walking to a bus-stop, will make the City a more pleasant place to live in and reduce crime," he said.