Greens: Why delay the Transport Authority?

The Green Party has welcomed today's Report for the Establishment of a Dublin Transport Authority but criticised the Transport Minister Martin Cullen TD for the long delay in setting up an institutional framework for transport management in the Greater Dublin Area.

Green Party Environment spokesperson Ciarán Cuffe TD said: "In August 2000 Mary O'Rourke published A New Institutional and Regulatory Framework for Public Transport. That Report called for a new framework for institutional and regulatory reform of public transport. Now six years later we're still waiting for the new Authority to be set up.

"In the intervening period the lack of a regulatory body has come sharply into focus. We now have Luas lines that aren't connected in the centre of Dublin , we're still waiting for integrated ticketing, and we're building bus lanes without enough buses to serve them.

"The travelling public are frustrated with the lack of progress on public transport improvements and people have little choice but to use their cars.

"It remains to be seen what legislative powers this new Authority will be given, but unless it is able to knock heads together and achieve real integration, no progress will be made."