A third of driving spent looking for parking

Almost a third of the time drivers spend in European city centres is used looking for parking spaces, according to a transport expert.

Speaking in Cork yesterday, Antonio Monteiro of the Portuguese mobility think-tank INTELI said traffic congestion needs to be tackled urgently as it is responsible for a 2% loss in GDP across the continent.

“The damage is not just economic — 20% of all greenhouse gas emissions are from transport. These are the key challenges facing all cities in the EU,” said Mr Monteiro.

He told the Cork Transport Alternatives conference that alternative energy vehicles and driverless cars were the future, describing the latter as “the only real solution to achieve or aim for zero road deaths”.

More than 28,000 people died on EU roads in 2012, including 162 in Ireland.

He said research is showing that younger people are less interested in car ownership than their elders and many are opting for concepts such as car-sharing in urban areas.

Social media has helped promote the concept of car pooling, he said, and real-time updates on traffic from commuters will increasingly be factored into IT-controlled traffic systems.

National Transport Authority chief executive Gerry Murphy told the conference that “centralised transport management systems that integrate public and private transport are the key to efficient and sustainable cities”.

He cited the Leap Card as an example of how technology and innovation can make public and private transport more appealing to drivers.

Cork City Council senior engineer Edith Roberts said that greater funding for infrastructure will be needed by local authorities if we are to adapt our means of transport for a low-carbon society.

She warned that further investment in public transport is needed if we are realistically to expect people to choose buses or trains over their cars.

“But economic sustainability is very important,” said Ms Roberts. “In selecting and rolling out changes, we need to choose the right balance so as not to disadvantage the city in competitive or economic terms.”