Transport | Business Post

The Big Interview

'We're pulling all the levers to get drivers, but every bus operator is recruiting too' - Dervla McKay, Aircoach

The managing director of Aircoach says business is now bouncing back but that it’s very difficult to recruit enough drivers, as with the unsociable hours involved, the pandemic has made people reassess their priorities

State was told in July that road toll charges would rise due to inflation

Transport Infrastructure Ireland will warn at a committee meeting today that freezing the planned hikes will mean bigger price rises in 2024

Transport sector has a hill to climb to meet climate targets

Department modelling shows public transport fares will need to halve and volume and frequency of provision triple by 2030 to meet sectoral emissions ceiling

Climate & Environment

Action stations: Turning Ireland’s climate ambitions into reality

Our national targets for reducing emissions, set out in the new Climate Action Plan, are now among the most ambitious in the world – and each sector has specific carbon budgets and pathways to deliver on by 2025 – but how achievable are they?

Commuter groups say ‘ghost buses’ damage trust in public transport

Groups warn issues recruiting drivers could delay the rollout of the BusConnects project across Ireland and raise several other issues in new letter

Free Now hails later pub closing but warns of Christmas shortage

Taxi-hailing platform reported a 38 per cent increase in turnover in 2021 as Free Now country manager says changes to alcohol licensing laws may help ease the pressure on demand for taxis at peak times

Editor’s picks: Sit down with the best of our big reads

Our editors handpick the best writing in this week’s Business Post – including the Irish whiskey business that foiled a crypto scam

Research begins on Green Party push to take cars out of city centres

Next month’s Climate Action Plan likely to include a radical overhaul of urban car use in effort to cut carbon emissions

Running out of road: Why planners are intent on taking cars out of our cities

Paris is redesigning the Champs-Élysées to make it greener with more space for bicycles and pedestrians. At home, a number of agencies, along with local and national government, are working on similar plans. But is Ireland ready to take the car out of its cities?

Today's headlines

Inflation puts ‘vital’ gas-fired power plants at risk; College Green to close to cars

The top stories from business and politics in today’s Business Post

Business Post's View

Editorial: The long road to removing traffic from College Green

Plans to pedestrianise parts of the city centre area now look to be gaining momentum and if carried out correctly, will be of benefit to everyone

College Green car lanes to close as part of plan to remove city traffic

Move is part of three-year plan to free Dublin city centre of traffic, and similar plans in all urban areas

Climate & Environment

Eamon Ryan signals less space on Irish roads for cars

A new OECD report found that the Irish transport system encourages growing car use and emissions

Calleary hails new Ballina train despite concern of low demand

Link-up to early morning Westport-Dublin service had been ruled out due to insufficient demand

Public servants granted higher mileage rates to offset rising fuel costs

The change is also expected to affect the private sector, as most firms use public sector mileage rates when paying travel expenses to staff

Top civil servant criticised by transport committee over suggestion of bias

Independent senator Gerard Craughwell says the claim was a ‘grave insult’

Dixon buys Carna giving it over €70 million in annual turnover

This is Dixon’s first acquisition since Erisbeg, an Irish growth capital investor, invested in the company last December. Carna will continue to operate independently from its locations in Monaghan and Armagh

Irish analysis on speed limits and emissions is ‘not in line’ with research across Europe

Green Party politicians criticise Transport Infrastructure Ireland report which examined the climate impact of reducing speed on motorways

Five Degrees of Change: Brian Caulfield

The sustainable transport expert proposed a cross party transport infrastructure plan, imposing parking limits in cities and prioritising the electrification of taxis and car shares

Five Degrees of Change

Five degrees of change: ‘A lot of transport stuff is the carrot side. The stick will be needed’

Sustainable mobility expert Brian Caulfield’s research is centred on transport and how it contributes to emissions – and car ownership lies at the heart of the problem