Traffic Transport and Road Safety Associates Ltd. (TTRSA)

Last week's budget announcement, and subsequent press release from the Department of Transport, clarified the situation regarding transport funding in Ireland for the forthcoming years.  Key elements of the announcements include:

• Aviation - Significant cuts in both current and capital expenditure with curtailment of support for air services between Dublin and the regional airports¹, present contracts expiring in July 2011.
• Green Schools Programme - €1.9million of funding in 2011.
• Public Transport - Capital expenditure of €394million in 2011, largely completion of the Dublin Luas extension to Citywest, public transport bridge at Marlborough Street, bus priority works and real-time passenger information, advance works for Metro North, and planning and design works for other projects including Phase 2 of the Western Rail Corridor. The funding to CIE for socially necessary services is reduced by €13million to €263.2million, with the possibility of fare increases. Construction is forecast to commence on the Navan railway line in 2013.
• Road Infrastructure - Capital expenditure is reduced by €394million to €720million largely completion of the motorway from Dublin to Limerick and funding towards bypasses for Belturbet, Longford and Tralee and improvements to junctions on the Cork Southern Ring Road.  Two PPP projects are also due to start, the M17/18 between Gort and Tuam and improvements to the Newlands Cross junction.  In addition funding for maintaining the 90,000km road network is €417.5 million.  There will be no major road schemes in the 2012 and 2013 financial years and rehabilitation and minor works will be curtailed in the 2013 and 2014 financial years.
• Road Safety - The budget of the Road Safety Authority has been reduced by €5million to €27.9million for 2011.  It is understood that €3million of the cuts will be made from efficiency savings, whilst the remaining €2million will impact on a number of areas including media spending on road safety campaigns.
• Rural Transport Programme - Funding almost static at €10.6million for 2011.
• Smarter Travel - The budget for Smarter Travel has been reduced by €5.1million to €19.9million for 2011.  There has been no recent news of the Smarter Travel Area scheme, the successful areas previously due to be announced late in 2010².

With a General Election due early in 2011, it will be interesting to see if any new Government seeks to change the targeting of capital expenditure, or reduce the level of capital expenditure on high profile schemes to allow an increase on for example Smarter Travel initiatives and related small scale, and local, pedestrian, cycling, public transport and road safety improvements which generate significantly higher rates of return.

13th December 2010

Updates

1 - On 12th January 2011, the Government confirmed the withdrawal of financial support for air services from Dublin to Sligo, Knock, Galway and Derry from July 2011.  Support for air services from Dublin to Donegal and Kerry will continue.  Minister for Transport, Noel Dempsey, is reported to have said that the changes recognised "the improvements in alternative transport modes (rail and road) which have taken place".  The changes provide considerable opportunity for regional airlines to serve multi-sector routes with smaller aircraft with capacity closer matched to levels of actual and latent demand.

2 - The Galway City Tribune reports that Galway West Deputy Frank Fahey has conceded the amount of funding available for Smarter Travel Areas may be cut but is not “completely gone”. Also reporting that 'all 15 City Councillors agreed the likelihood of securing funding from the Department of Transport was very slim'.