the (daniel day) luas

[the 12 th man]

other than people who live close to the stations and their jobs are very near the stops on the limited routes, i cant see it having any effect on the chronic traffic problems in dublin.i.e. people will still drive their cars to work.

people as a rule dont like walking that much (especially on a daily basis) and you have to pay a fee for park and ride so if anything it will be worse.

i personally think its a white elephant (and a very expensive one at that!!)

[lopez]

Being in the industry the whole thing needs to be part of a greater transport plan. One tram line isn't going to make a difference but a dozen certainly will. However think the future will be electric buses (not trolleybuses) because they are so cheap to install (not tracks or overhead wires), and of course coersive measures to make people get off their a*ses and leave the car at home.

[Duncan Gardner]

Electric buses could be backed up with

* a 'congestion charge' like in London- you might pay €7-8 to drive into a central area, say within the circular roads

* dedicated bus lanes on radial routes

* bus services from 'park and ride' points on the M50

I'm sure I remember from school that some underground services were planned for both Belfast and Dublin in about 1910. The Belfast hub was to be 'Grand Central', which survived as a hotel, then the Br*t HQ in the 70s before becoming the Castle Court centre.

The main problem wasn't so much the cost as that both cities were built on sandy soil which apparently is/ was unsuitable for deep tunnels. Anyone remember this?

[the 12 th man]

Being in the industry the whole thing needs to be part of a greater transport plan.

are you on strike ?.the pictures of the ques at bus stops were horrendous

[pete]

Luas is too expensive to be a joke although did hear on the radio this morning that 45min delays expected from 11am cos too many people using it.

Dublin has generally narrow streets so solution obviously is to give some of that narrow space to a damn tram so even less space on the street.

Dedicated bus streets included elevated sections would have done the job at half the price & more flexible. The route used for luas from hueston station to o'connell street could have been setup for bus use years ago. I don't see any advantage in the luas.

[joeSoap]

I nearly got totalled by one out on a dummy run last week on James St. There was no signs up to say they were being tested, I went to take a right turn up a side street, next thing I hear a big blast of whatever noise their horns make and the basturd didn't stop either....there's gonna be some accidents

[lopez]

are you on strike ?.the pictures of the ques at bus stops were horrendous

No sir. I left this Stalinist union in the eighties to join ASLEF but left them three years ago when they a. called a strike over 'safety' b. it was condemned by Red Ken because talks were at a critical point and a strike would be pointless and horrendous on the public and c. the crucial bit: a number of union officials where I worked - who voted for action - were doing their utmost to get paid while 'not crossing' the picket line. The day before the strike in February 2001 I ran for one such official who had gone sick (and hence would not lose any pay).

I vowed months before to a union official who had conveniently got himself slid into an unadvertised management job that I would decide when I went out on strike, and so it was time to put my promise to the test. I came into work - not that my manager gave me any thanks for it apart from pay me. No picket line was there although I had my Dr. Dre 2000 ready to blare out should there have been one. I wasn't the only one (about 20% of my depot did the same) and I was blackballed by just one union Trot at another depot, who has since been promoted - and I'm not joiking here - after skipping out of a 'breath test' - when he was reported for falling off his bike the night before looking tired and emotional - for 'a cigarette' to reappear seven hours later. BTW, ASLEF are going through their own civil war at the moment after some BBQ-rage involving a couple of senior figures from the left and right wings of the union.

DG: Some good ideas there although I'm surprised about the underground system for Belfast.

[lopez]

Good shout,possibly.....you forgot to mention yer favourite tube route....The Circle Line....

Not the Jubilee.

[Macy]

i cant see it having any effect on the chronic traffic problems in dublin.

Well having come through Sandyford yesterday on my way back from Longford, I can confirm it has had an effect on the traffic problems - it's made them fookin worse. Total gridlock, with people parking up to use the fookin thing. People were parking up in Stillorgan to walk up to the Sandyford stop.

An underground is the only solution, with increased, low cost parking provision at more stations particularly at the end of the lines. I could park up at Bray, but even in the depths of winter it's rare that I'd be any quicker by the Dart - I'd have to leave at 7 to get parked up to get in for 9, and only on the very worst mornings (eg the mad rain storms last winter where the whole city ground to a halt) would it take 2 hours to get in by car leaving at that time.

One thing's for sure, privatisation isn't the answer - a coherrent, controlled transport policy is though...