Via Lean comes this, I think from the Irish Times:
One-half of Dublin drivers would never use bus – survey
One-half of all car drivers in the greater Dublin area say they would not switch to travelling by bus, even if services were improved, according to a new survey.
Unreliability, long waiting times and poor connections were cited as the main reasons for not taking the bus in the survey carried out for the Dublin Transportation Office (DTO).
As many as four out of five people expressed dissatisfaction with traffic congestion and access to the Luas.
Just over 35 per cent of those surveyed were satisfied with the quality and upkeep of roads, and with facilities for cycling. Over one-half said they were happy with the reliability, frequency and cost of buses.
Almost 2,500 people were interviewed for the survey and a similar number of travel diaries were compiled. The car is the main form of transport in the region, used by 45 per cent of respondents. Some 18 per cent relied on the bus and 16 per cent said walking was their main form of transport. Just 2 per cent used the Luas more often than other modes of transport, and 3 per cent used the DART or local train. Two per cent cycled and 1 per cent relied on taxis.
Of those who said they might switch to the bus, over 60 per cent said more frequent services was the main change needed. Accurate timetables and stops closer to destinations were also called for.
Respondents linked transport by car to comfort, convenience and reliability. In contrast, buses were viewed as being for older people and people with no other choice. Bus transport was favourably viewed for going out socially and for being reasonably priced.
The Luas was seen as modern, while DART and train services were viewed as fast and safe. Cycling and walking were viewed as healthy and environmentally friendly, but for young people.
Great figures — they sound pretty accurate.
The novelty of being home in a (relatively) bike- and public-transport-friendly city has worn off for me by now — I’m now more familiar with buses that aren’t a dumping ground for the homeless and mentally ill, and that do actually tend to pass both your origin and destination in a single journey. But that was in Orange County, possibly one of the most public-transit-hostile societies in the developed world, and compared to a more sane standard, Dublin still has a major problem.
By the way, it’s interesting to note Ireland’s move OC-wards on many fronts. When I got back, I was shocked to see tubby children being driven to school by mobile-phone-wielding, SUV-driving parents — the very worst aspects of US suburban-sprawl life being happily parrotted over here. :(
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