COMHAIRLE CONTAE ÁTHA CLIATH THEAS
SOUTH DUBLIN COUNTY COUNCIL

MEETING OF TRANSPORTATION SPC

Thursday, February 26, 2009

HEADED ITEM NO.

Report on "Smarter Travel - A Sustainable Travel Future" - A New Transport Policy for Ireland 2009-2020

REPLY:

On 5th February 2009, the Minister for Transport, Noel Dempsey T.D., launched "Smarter Travel - A Sustainable Transport Future" - A New Transport Policy for Ireland 2009 - 2020. The Minister stated that because of the extensive consultation and public response that it could be truly said that it is the people's policy "to change our unsustainable habits in the travel and transport area". The Minister confirmed that the policy is designed to show how we can reverse current unsustainable transport and travel patterns and reduce the health and environmental impacts of current trends and improve our quality of life.

In Chapter 2 a summary of the results of the public consultation process are outlined. It notes that there is broad agreement on the vision to have a sustainable transport system by 2020 including recognition that fiscal measures will have to be introduced to discourage people from using the car unnecessarily.

Chapter 3 sets out the five key goals to achieve the vision for sustainability in transport as

1. To reduce overall travel demand
2. To maximise the efficiency of the transport network
3. To reduce the reliance on fossil fuels
4. To reduce transport emissions, and
5. To improve accessibility to transport.

To achieve these goals and to ensure that there is sustainable travel and transport by 2020, the following targets have been set:

• Future population and employment growth will predominantly take place in sustainable compact forms, which reduce the need to travel for employment and services
• 500,000 more people will take alternative means to commute to work to the extent that the total share of car commuting will drop from 65% to 45%
• Alternatives such as walking, cycling and public transport will be supported and provided to the extent that these will rise to 55% of total commuter journeys to work
• The total kilometres travelled by the car fleet in 2020 will not increase significantly from current levels, and
• A reduction will be achieved on the 2005 figure for greenhouse gas emissions from the transport sector.

In Chapter 4 the actions necessary to reduce travel demand are outlined. Of pivotal concern is the need to align spatial and transport planning to stop urban sprawl and urban generated one off housing in peri-urban areas. Actions are also set out to align employment and transport policies, with a particular focus on encouraging e-working. There is also a commitment to supporting mobility management programmes to encourage more people to switch to more sustainable modes of travel. It also signals the need to develop solutions to make the movement of goods more efficient.

To ensure a reduction in travel demand and reliance on the car can be achieved, there must be appropriate, reliable and user friendly alternatives in place. Chapter 5 sets out the ambition to provide such alternatives. It notes that while Transport 21 will provide public transport for around 140,000 additional commuting passengers, there is a need to make provision for a further 90,000 commuting passengers. The main commitment is to transform both rural and urban bus services to meet this challenge. However around 200,000 people will switch to cycling and walking and this Chapter also sets out the commitment to the radical measures to support these modes so that citizens can take these healthy options in safety.

The next Chapter focuses on the actions that can be taken to improve the efficiency of motorised transport to reduce emissions and reliance on fossil fuels. There is a commitment to making all publicly funded transport fleets more sustainable and to an ongoing programme to encourage and demand more efficient driving through training and the adoption of more environmentally appropriate speed limits and through the use of technology to tackle road traffic congestion. There will also be support to reduce emissions in the aviation and maritime sectors and to achieving the target of having 10% of all transport fuels from renewable sources by 2020.

Chapter 7 outlines the steps needed to ensure the integrated delivery of the Policy. The issues cut right across all areas and co-ordination arrangements are proposed to ensure that policies are aligned. Existing transport agencies will have an important role to play in delivering the targets in the Policy and their roles will be reviewed in the light of this new strategy. Local authorities will be required to prepare transport plans in keeping with this strategy and ensure that local development plans are aligned to them. The potential for all-island initiatives are outlined, in addition to support schemes for sustainable travel projects including the concept of sustainable demonstration towns.

The final Chapter highlights the funding needed to implement the policy by 2020 which is estimated to total some €4.5 billion over the lifetime of the Policy.

Achieving sustainable transport will require a suite of actions that will have complementary impacts in terms of travel demand and emissions. The Policy contains 49 actions which can be grouped into essentially four overarching ones:

• Actions to reduce distance travelled by private car and encourage smarter travel including focussing population growth in areas of employment and to encourage people to live in close proximity to places of employment and the use of pricing mechanisms or fiscal measures to encourage behavioural change
• Actions aimed at ensuring that alternatives to the car are more widely available mainly through a radically improved public transport service and through investment in cycling and walking
• Actions aimed at improving the fuel efficiency of motorised transport through improved fleet structure, energy efficient driving and alternative technologies, and
• Actions aimed at strengthening institutional arrangements to deliver the targets.

The full policy document can be downloaded at http://www.smartertravel.ie/english