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THE NATIONAL TRANSPORT Authority (NTA) is asking members of the public to provide their views in a statutory review on the Greater Dublin Area Transport Strategy.
Included as part of its review will be assessments on a number of potential future transport projects, such as a Metro to Terenure-Rathfarnham-Knocklyon, a Metro to UCD-Sandyford and the assessment of a rail line to Navan.
Major projects under the strategy also include the Luas Cross City, Metrolink, the Dart+ programme and BusConnects.
The strategy was first adopted by the government in 2016, but the NTA is now seeking views on what people’s priorities are for the transport strategy into the future and has today published a paper on what issues should be addressed.
Acknowledging that we’re living in “uncertain times”, the NTA said there’s a chance now to strengthen the strategy so that it will be fit for purpose well into the future.
“We need to ensure that the policies and proposals we bring forward are the ones that are the most relevant and focused on transforming people’s quality of life by making it easier for people to get around,” it said.
It pinpointed three items it needed to particularly consider, including adapting to post-Covid life in the greater Dublin area, delivering a sustainable transport network that meets climate change requirements, and the potential for future transport options such as electric bikes and e-scooters.
By law, the NTA is required to review its strategy every six years. It said by starting the review now, it could get all the feedback, data and information from the public and stakeholders to complete the review by early 2022.
It hopes to provide a revised draft strategy review by mid-2021. Ahead of that, it will review a number of studies including an assessment of a Metro to Terenure-Rathfarnham-Knocklyon, a Metro to UCD-Sandyford and the assessment of a rail line to Navan.
In looking at its progress to-date, the NTA said that tens of millions of euro had been invested in walking and cycling projects, such as the cycleway along the seafront in Clontarf and the off-road pedestrian/cycling route between Baldoyle and Portmarnock.
It also pointed to an additional 180 buses in the Dublin bus network, investment in real time passenger information and the landmark project BusConnects which has begun its work, along with rail improvements.
Looking ahead the NTA listed a number of future projects in the pipeline, including Metrolink, Dart West and the BusConnects new services network. All of these are due to begin work or start planning next year.
Members of the public can give their views on the strategy by completing an online feedback form at www.nationaltransport.ie.
NTA CEO Anne Graham said: “We now need people’s help. We want to hear people’s views on what should be considered in the preparation of the new Transport Strategy for the Greater Dublin Area.
“We’re asking people to read our discussion document and then go to the website and respond to questions in the feedback form. This will help us shape our approach so that the revised Strategy we publish next year, reflects the views of the public.
“Next year, we will publish a draft of our revised Strategy. That will include specifics on all our proposals for the region, investment plans, projections, transport modelling etc.
“At that stage we will be inviting members of the public to consider the draft plan in detail; assess it in terms of future transport needs at regional, local and even household level; and provide us with feedback on what we are putting forward.”
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Maybe they could get rid the tax discs as well and use the same technology. Actually while they are at it scrap motor tax and put 1c on each litre of fuel that way everybody pays no motor tax dodging anymore and if your car I’d genuinely off the road you will not have to go a tell a guard.
Nothing like using a crisis for a big brother power grab.. Never let a good crisis go to waste as the old saying goes.
It makes more sense to git rid in tax disks. They are only checked by the Garda. Insurance disks are checked by people involved in an accident too.
The average motorist may use 40 /50 ltrs per week . 50 cent per week I think you would see an increase of at least 10 cent per ltr for it to work. Not to bad if you use 50 ltr pw but I use 150ltr pw !! In a car not van or truck. Should I pay up to €800 per year on Tax
Lot of people have gotten rid of tax discs anyway…simply can’t afford them.
@Lee Jones: Good idea but as it wouldn’t have a guaranteed revenue they’ll never go for it. At least they can have an almost flawless projection on the amount of registered cars with the disc. Anything that is of benefit to you usually doesn’t happen.
@Barry Davidson: €710 road tax for a 00 e class,madness.
They abolished discs in the U.K. a few years ago. Automatic plate recognition by DVLA cars and police – not paid/up to date means you can’t get an MOT test and no insurance means you can’t Tax your car etc. All 3 systems can be checked (MOT/tax/insurance).
Australian system works well. Around $700 per year registration which covers tax and third party insurance. If you want to get fully comp you arrange it yourself.
But that would make sense. Sense doesn’t work in Ireland, greed does.
@guru that’s about €1000 in todays money. Quite expensive. Halve the price and you got a deal.
No it’s not. It’s a shade under €500. So there’s half the price. We got a deal?
I just looked up the Garda.ie website and it says that “An Garda Síochána uses Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR)……the roll out of ANPR in An Garda Síochána was completed in 2010. Am I missing something as if this is true then simply it should only need a connection to the Insurance database. Is there any joined up thinking between the Garda, the Minister and the insurance industry?
I’m sure whatever happens it’s going to cost tens of millions.
And probably can’t handle muddy reg plates.
@Frank, I got a fixed penalty notice for a mondeo breaking the speed limit in Tuam, yet I’ve never driven in Tuam, and don’t have a mondeo. The mondeo in question had 1 number different to my motorbike and the camera read in incorrectly. Stupid computer!
How is the government spending a fortune on a computer system to stop you receiving an insurance disc going to save you money on insurance premiums? In order to monitor driver patterns they’d have to be cameras on every road recording everything you do. Sounds like a sales pitch for their mates
They follow driving patterns by the insurance company’s putting a gps tracker in your car. The data will of course be spun in a way that in the long run we will end up paying the same as what we are now (if not more)
Buy into the UK system. No insurance, tax or NCT discs used in the U.K. In addition you have valid insurance in place before you can tax a vehicle.
Anpr is already fitted in Garda cars and at toll booths.
They don’t need to put cameras everywhere, it just means the Garda can check the cars insurance/tax/nct details without stopping you. They already do this for tax anyway! The computer system (pulse) is already there too so cost would be minimal.
I wouldn’t like to have gps fitted to my car though, that’s a step in the wrong direction.
The real agenda is fraud. When something becomes so expensive, people are forced into fraudulent methods of avoiding spiralling costs.
Printing discs and driving without insurance going up, hence insurance premiums going up.
There are thousands of untaxed cars on our roads. A fuel levy instead of road tax would ensure that most if not all of the dodgers have to pay up and also the more you drive the more you pay as you use the roads more often.
John do you actually think you are the first person to think of that ?
@Steven Cee: Absolutely not. I am sure it was thought about by hundreds of people over the years. The trouble is the people who can do something about it are not thinking at all.
Will ANPR have the same gut feel or intuition that a guard has that something just not right and requires further investigation when stopping someone at a checkpoint. This technology is further removing the average guard from the beat and this to me is not a good thing.
Just wait, number plate cloning will be the next problem.
And it’s very easy to do. €10 will get you a new number plate made up in any motor factor’s. No questions asked.
Already a thing of the past for a lot of people who don’t bother with insurance
Untaxed and uninsured cars should be seized and crushed no matter who is driving them .
@William Mcgee: With the occupants still in the vehicle???
The insurance companies will only produce 30percent of the information available… and out goverment accept this. Give me a break… Noonan told the insurance companies to increase the premiems when ever they can . He said this3 years ago
How people can still get a away with not paying road tax and insurance in the age of smartphones etc is laughable. Its the uninsured people on the road that worry me the most
Paper insurance disks are great. You can easily check when your tax and insurance is up with a quick glance. I think paper disks should stay.
1st paragraph 2nd line should be ‘be’ not ‘me’
@JohnMcGuinness : It was your Fianna Fail party introduced the 2-Tier Motor Tax system .. the most regressive in the EU.
placing high tax burden on the most vulnerable low paid in Irish society. UK MPs refused to pass this odious law but you did.
https://www.change.org/p/unfair-car-tax-law
read what 4000 comments have to say about it https://www.change.org/p/unfair-car-tax-law/c
ANPR great system for catching criminals, has it reduced premiums in England? No! The fact is the insurance companies in Ireland have been un regulated like the banks and have got out of control, greed & profit raises its ugly head again. Simple system you don’t have an accident premium drops have an accident premium goes up. There must be an independent insurance regulator to keep an on the insurance company’s and cost of premiums
Agenda 21 David Icke Dublin 21 jan 2017
have your say