Summary of ideas submitted in the Transport category…

• Introduce a regional transport system that connects people of a county or region, as well as to connect to a proper transfer system. Good for local businesses.
• Introduce a scrappage scheme to stimulate the motor industry.
• Introduce a special concession on congestion-relieving vehicles. Boot the low-emission car industry.
• Introduce a tax relief on Park and Ride facilities and charge higher tax for cars going into city centres.
• Introduce a toll charging €20 to enter large cities. Reform the public transport system making it more efficient and cheaper for passengers to use. Make taxis exempt from toll if they reduce their fare. The money generated will go to public transport.
• Introduce a transport website recording vacant trucks or containers. They can continue to transport goods, at a lower cost. This would be environmentally friendly.
• Introduce a website that enables people to car share from Dublin (or otherwise) to other cities/towns around Ireland. The website could advertise petrol stations and offer free coffee for driver etc.
• Introduce a yearly NCT for all private cars.
• Introduce car clubs.
• Introduce car pooling schemes.
• Introduce car sharing/club. Join a car club for a small fee and afterwards you can hire a car if and when you need it. Pay for each hire by time or petrol.
• Introduce free bicycle-share system in major cities to stimulate tourism and reduce congestion.
• Introduce Park and Ride, car pool system and car club system for example look at a scheme in England http://www.citycarclub.co.uk.
• Introduce the hiring of electric bicycles in cities like Dublin, Cork and Galway - similar to the facilities available in other European cities.
• Introduce volunteers that are qualified as special needs assistants and currently unemployed to help out children that do not have any special needs assistance.
• Invest in trains countrywide. Look at the Swiss model and open the country to tourism. This is also a green initiative.
• Invest money in education and transport
• Involve serious, prolonged in-your-face campaigns to get us to car share and use buses and bikes where appropriate. Educate people that travelling together is better in every way than the drift to individualisation that cars give us.
• Keep SR Technics facility open.
• Launch a campaign to encourage people to cycle to their destinations, and encourage other road users to be considerate of cyclists on the road.
• Let car pool cars use the bus lanes.
• Let every taxi driver have a speed camera for night time, to charge those who speed at night. Split the revenue 50-50.
• Local management, unions and government should take over SR Technics Aircraft Maintenance to ensure retention of experience in aircraft maintenance
• Locate taxi signs on cars lengthways down the roof to reduce drag and improve fuel economy.
• Maintain the planned extension of the Western Rail Corridor.
• Make all government lobbying transparent to prevent dysfunctional government decision making.
• Make government buildings use solar.
• Make Ireland more competitive
• Make it impossible to tax and insure a car with parking fines outstanding.
• Make public transport more accessible for people with buggies.
• Make the trains more efficient. Instead of two trains running the same way which are not even half full, have only one in operation.
• Ministers shouldn’t be paying €6,000 for helicopter rides.
• Motorways are a long-term investment but at present are being funded by short-term funds. Perhaps the Government could issue bonds to people to raise money over a long-term period, granting tax relief or SSIA type incentives in return.
• Move the Irish Air Corps to Shannon Airport and use Baldonnell as a low-fare airport.
• Nationalise SR Technics and finance it by re-investing the tax rebate of €15 million.