Senator Paschal Donohoe
The Government’s parking levy won’t work until Dublin has a proper public transport system because many commuters can only get to work by car, Fine Gael Dublin Transport Spokesman Senator Paschal Donohoe has warned.
Senator Donohoe said the levy could also persuade more people to drive to work more often in order to get value for money from their levy.
“The Government claims the levy will not be imposed in areas which do not currently have public transport services. But the fact is that many commuters cannot get into the city in the first place without a car.
“The parking levy will only work effectively when Dublin and other cities have proper public transport systems. But Dublin’s transport network currently is anything but complete.
“The parts of Dublin where the parking levy is being imposed on a pilot basis are supposed to have both a rail inter-connector and a metro by this stage. Both projects are still years off. Dublin still doesn’t have adequate cross-city services for commuters, and too many commuter services still operate sorely from Bus Áras.
“Dublin Bus is axing routes and taking vehicles off the road, while Bus Éireann is also imposing cutbacks. Rail services to and from Dublin are still well below par, while many areas like Co. Meath do not have any railway at all.
“Fine Gael wants a necklace of park & ride facilities to be developed around Dublin, and more efforts to promote car sharing. Furthermore, any revenues raised from the parking levy should be ring-fenced for sustainable transport schemes.”
