Published on 

Transport Trends 2016 outlines progress being made and challenges ahead for transport sector- Donohoe

The Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, Paschal Donohoe TD, has today (Friday) welcomed the Transport Trends 2016 document published by his Department, which details the latest developments within the transport sector from available data and statistics. Minister Donohoe said the report, entitled ‘Transport Trends – An Overview of Ireland’s Transport Sector’, clearly demonstrates a return to growth across the various modes of transport due to the progress our economy is making; the positive developments that are being made in a number of areas; and the relevant challenges that lie ahead (See link to report below).

 

Commenting on the report, Minister Donohoe said: ‘An overarching theme emerging from Transport Trends 2016 is that the context within which transport policy operates has changed significantly in the last two years. Having experienced a number of years of stagnation and decline, substantial growth is now being recorded across the transport sector. This is on the back of the growth we are seeing within the economy generally, which is necessitating increased movement of the population as more people get back to work.

 

“The transport system must now support that rapidly growing economy. Each job created increases the number of commuters each morning and evening. And each additional tourist requires adequate transport options to facilitate their visit to our regions and places of interest. So too as trade continues to grow, there is greater demand for freight links from origin to final destination.

 

“This document highlights a number of positive developments in 2015, such as a total extra 7.7 million passenger journeys on our key public transport services; a 36% increase in the number of Dublin Bikes journeys; and a 15% growth in the number of passengers using Dublin Airport to an all-time high of 25 million. The report also points towards the challenges we continue to face, including the dominance of private car use and the increasing level of emissions from the transport sector.

 

“Given the close link between the transport system and the performance of the wider economy, the need for investment is clear. Indeed, Transport Trends 2016 details the trend in expenditure and the current constraints within which decisions are made. In this context, important decisions have been made to ensure a continuation of the positive momentum that has been made in recent years to build investment levels up to where they are needed. The agreement for a seven year Capital Plan, ‘Building on Recovery’, has earmarked €10 billion in capital investment for the transport sector up to 2022. The last budget saw an increase in funding of Public Service Obligation (PSO) funding of €28 million or 14%. These steps will continue the positive developments on the back of a strong economy and help cater for additional demand being created within the sector.

 

“I would like to thank the Economic and Financial Evaluation Unit (EFEU) within my Department for the work they have carried out in producing this report, which clearly sets out how the Irish transport system is currently performing and where the focus needs to be in the future.”

 

Ends

Notes to Editors:

Link to the document is here: http://www.dttas.ie/sites/default/files/publications/corporate/english/transport-trends-2016/transport-trends-2016.pdf

 

Some points to note:

  • Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport expenditure in 2015 was €1.62 billion with expenditure levels of around €1.4 billion on land transport, €82 million on tourism services, €76 million on sports and recreation, €76 million on maritime and €22 million on civil aviation.
  • 74% of all journeys are being taken by car with bus accounting for 4.4% and rail/Dart/Luas for 1.4%. Walking represents 14.8% of all journeys, with cycling at 1.6%.
  • The total number of passenger journeys on the main public transport services (Dublin Bus PSO, Irish Rail, Bus Éireann PSO and Luas) has increased from 208 million in 2012 to 224.1 million in 2015. 2015 saw an annual increase of 3.6% or 7.7 million passenger journeys.
  • 25 million passengers used Dublin Airport in 2015, a 15% increase on the previous year and record high.
  • The total number of bikes provided through the four public bike schemes is 2,240. The schemes are in place in Dublin, Cork, Galway and Limerick. The number of journeys on the service in Dublin has increased from 1.7 million in 2013 to 4.1 million in 2015.
  • Freight demand is increasing across the various modes. There was a 6.9% increase in the tonne-kms of road freight, a 1.6% increase in the gross tonnage of goods handled at ports and an 8.5% increase in air freight handled at the main airports.
  • Emissions from the transport sector increased by 2.5% in 2014 to a total of 11.3 million tonnes of Co2 Equivalent.