BUS journey times through Dublin city centre have fallen by half since the controversial bus gGate started operating last July.
City traders claim the ban on cars using College Green in the morning and evening peak is killing business.
But up to 90 million Dublin Bus passengers a year will experience a marked reduction in their commuting times if the system is allowed remain in place.
New figures from Dublin Bus and Bus Eireann show journey times on all routes through the city centre have fallen since the bus gate opened.
Before the bus gate it took an average of 20 minutes to travel from O’Connell Street to Nassau Street, with journey times of 35 minutes not uncommon. Now, it takes just 11 minutes — or 18 minutes in very heavy traffic.
Dublin Bus also said that in September 2008, journeys through O’Connell Street, College Green and Dame Street in the morning peak took between three and 18 minutes to complete, with the average time almost 10 minutes.
With the College Green Quality Bus Corridor — or bus gate — in place, journeys are now taking between two and ten minutes, with an average of five minutes.
“We have ten routes which all show the same thing,” a Dublin Bus spokesman said. “For bus passengers, it’s all about knowing the journey times. It’s an extremely important priority for us. The bus gate is not a high capital project, but it has had a major impact.
“It’s of huge strategic benefit. It has calmed the whole city centre and taken out the congestion that affects all road users. We carry 140 million passengers a year, and up to 90 million would be affected by this, and 40pc of all buses travel along that route.”
Bus Eireann also said it had seen a number of benefits for commuters including reduced journey times, more consistent operating times and improved reliability of the services in terms of arrival and departure times.
“Feedback from customers on these services has been very positive about these benefits, which carry a large number of commuters in and out of the city every day to key population centres such as Ashbourne, Kells, Navan, Trim, Mullingar and Drogheda,” a spokesman for Dublin Bus said.
Improvements
“In general, there have been improvements in running times of peak-time services of between five and 10 minutes on each departure, which has been greatly welcomed by customers,” he added.
Cars are banned from using College Green from 7am to 10am and 4pm to 7pm, Monday to Friday.
Retailers have threatened to take a High Court case against the ban, claiming it is responsible for a loss of trade.
Brown Thomas and Brown Thomas car park, Louis Copeland, Weirs, Q Park, Park Rite and Trinity Street car park have all threatened legal action, while the Dublin City Business Association claims that business is down 30pc because of the ban.
It wants the ban lifted until next year, when a new bridge opens across the River Liffey which will be able to accommodate car traffic.
- Paul Melia
Irish Independent
These could be related:
