Oireachtas Cttee. Recommends Radical Transport Changes To Reduce Emissions.

Thursday, 3 June 2021 09:20

The report said there is significant scope for people to share a fleet of cars, bikes or e-scooters

Free public transport, reviewing large road projects and pushing cars out of city centres are all among the recommendations of an Oireachtas committee report on the transport sector.

The Joint Committee on the Environment and Climate Action, on which sits Kildare North Sinn Féin TD, Réada Cronin, has been looking at how Ireland can reduce transport emissions by 51 per cent by the end of the decade.

Our Political Correspondent Seán Defoe reports:

"Transport accounts for a fifth of Ireland's total greenhouse gas emissions and massive changes will be needed to halve that by 2030.

The joint committee report recommends some radical changes.

The committee recommends a policy to take road space away from cars in cities and towns, with more space for sustainable transport.

It also says plans for large road projects need to be reviewed and potentially replaced with public transport projects instead.

The report recommends clear targets for the reduction of road users, and suggests road user charges could be used to achieve this like a congestion charge.

The report said there is significant scope for people to share a fleet of cars, bikes or e-scooters - rather than owning them outright.

It calls for significant investment in public transport to give people options - and asks the government to cost making public transport free.

Immediate and significant levels of public transport should be created in rural Ireland - while cycling superhighways are suggested for those living outside major cities.

The report calls for further incentives for bikes, e-bikes with a review of the grants for buying electric vehicles.

It suggests introducing secure, sheltered, overnight bike storage at every bus and rail station in the country."