Is it intended that users of future park and ride sites, will be required to pay for parking

Date: 19 October 2006


Dáil Question No:281 To ask the Minister for Transport if it is intended that users of future park and ride sites, as set out in Transport 21, will be required to pay for parking their vehicles at same; if such charges are to be imposed, the way he expects this to impact on the financial incentive to use public transport; and if he will make a statement on the matter. - Catherine Murphy.

Answered by the Minister for Transport
(Martin Cullen)

Transport 21 provides for the development of extensive Park and Ride facilities at strategic locations within the Greater Dublin Area and at provincial locations, so as to promote greater use of public transport.

A number of guiding principles for the implementation of rail-based Park and Ride strategy have been identified by the Dublin Transportation Office. These are:

Park and Ride should improve rail accessibility without disimproving road congestion,
Rail users only should use Park and Ride spaces, and may have to pay to use them,
Complementary parking controls in the areas around stations may be required,
Rail fares generally should not be increased to pay for Park and Ride,
Those who benefit from Park and Ride should contribute to the cost of it,
Rail services must be able to serve the demand generated by Park and Ride provision.

These principles inform local authorities and service providers in the development of both bus and rail-related Park and Ride projects.