Perhaps because the traffic volume on the Castlebar bypass would make the installation and operation of a toll unprofitable.
There's a Serious Case for Abolishing the Toll
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JoeRoberts
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Most of the big PPP schemes includes an analysis on that subject, look at the consultation on the M9 design that concluded traffic volumes wouldn't cover costs there. Not every road in the country is delivered through public private partnership eitheror offers sufficient alternative routes as required.
But look at it another way, what would abolishing tolls do to deliver or encourage more sustainable travel or reduce the traffic volume on the M50?
I think they should increase it. Make it €5. That should do it. I'd happily pay that see enough users priced off the M50 so that I can get home sooner in the evening.
They should also look at a special plate which allows people to use the bus lanes. Charge €10,000 a year then taxis, Range Rovers and anyone with that plate could use the bus lanes.
Howth Head
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More tolls apparently the easiest way according this academic.
But could the Eastern Bypass make a return to the discussion? In theory at least, it makes sense...
www.newstalk.com
But could the Eastern Bypass make a return to the discussion? In theory at least, it makes sense...
More M50 tolls easiest way to cut congestion - transport expert
The motorway has been described as “officially maxed” with an average of 160,000 vehicles using it on a daily basis.
www.newstalk.com
JoeRoberts
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People who live in Dublin are well used to paying for everything.
How would abolishing the tolls be fairer? Those who never use them would end up paying the same as someone who benefits from the road multiple times per day? And I say that as someone who pays ~€100 a month in tolls even though I WFH most of the time.
JoeRoberts
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What i have been trying to say is that everyone benefits from the M50 even if they are not on it. Like the patient visiting Connolly or the guy in Kerry getting his Amazon package delivered. Lets put it another way, by your logic why should someone who never leaves Dublin pay for the Castlebar bypass via their taxes ?
Which is one of the reasons I switched my care to hospitals closer to home and away from St Vincents, Dublin & St Michaels, Dun Laoghaire, ending my dependence on the M50 and the Dublin-centric planners.
Anyone living in/around Dublin knows people who avoid the M50 because of tolls. Whether that was the original point of the toll or not is immaterial. If the fee goes, people will use the M50 more often and traffic will get worse.
The M50 was €2.50 last time I was on it. So a commuter using the toll will pay €5 per day, €25 per week. If you take public transport in Dublin, your fare is capped at €6 per day, €24 per week. Similar money. Cars have other added costs compared to public transport (capital cost of the car, maintenance, insurance, etc.) but they have a lot of other benefits too (drive anywhere at any time, comfort, etc.). Cost is definitely an argument but not a very strong one.
Even if we all agree that it would be fairer to abolish tolls, who is going to explain to people outside Dublin that their motor tax is going up so Dubs can use the M50 for free? A very courageous decision indeed, Minister.
The M50 was €2.50 last time I was on it. So a commuter using the toll will pay €5 per day, €25 per week. If you take public transport in Dublin, your fare is capped at €6 per day, €24 per week. Similar money. Cars have other added costs compared to public transport (capital cost of the car, maintenance, insurance, etc.) but they have a lot of other benefits too (drive anywhere at any time, comfort, etc.). Cost is definitely an argument but not a very strong one.
Even if we all agree that it would be fairer to abolish tolls, who is going to explain to people outside Dublin that their motor tax is going up so Dubs can use the M50 for free? A very courageous decision indeed, Minister.
?? Sure Dublin is crawling with culchies. If we could get rid of them there'd be no traffic problem.
That and people who live in Dublin are already subsidising the rest of the country. The least you all could do is show a bit of gratitude.
But you seem to be arguing that those who only marginally benefit from it through others' journeys should pay the same as those who use it directly and multiple times per day. Again, how is that fairer?
Because sharing the costs for most public infrastructure and services is the most cost efficient model for all of us. In reality only a small percentage of society pays for it all. But what's the alternative?
JoeRoberts
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DNS is the problem as I keep pointing out. Let them stay on their side of the Liffey. And move Collinstown airport to an expanded Baldonnell. Or have two airports, Collinstown for DNS, and the expanded Baldonnell which would suit me just fine giving me a choice of three - Shannon for US/Canada, Baldonnell for say UK, France, Netherlands, Belgium, Santa Land & hubs, Cork (rinses mouth and spits) for the rest of Europe.
Without the DNS who would clean our houses?
To attract the private money to fund the projects to begin with and then as a means of throttling demand on the likes of the M50.
Lots of public services attract a fee that isn't always applied universally. It's all part and parcel of the overall funding model.
I don't have an issue with tolling in general - tbf what we have here is a hell of a lot cheaper than most countries. I paid about 30 euro each way to drive the equivalent of Dublin to Cork in Italy about 10 years ago and before the toll was abolished the Severn bridge between Wales and England was a whopping £5.60.
You do have to question why a publicly owned route like M50 still tolls though when its debateable how much benefit it actually gives to its users. (The main beneficiaries are communities around it who experience less traffic, and obviously, they don't pay for that). Perhaps the answer is a sliding scale of tolls depending on average speeds - so you pay a full toll on days where the M50 flows normally, and the toll is waived when it is congested.
I keep hearing talk like this - its real "be careful what you wish for" because look at the Port Tunnel - its metering nearly every day despite the current toll being €13 at peak hours. Its clearly not deterring anyone. The only "easy wins" the government can implement is those that make it horribly expensive for you to use your car, remove more parking, restrict access to more roads in favour of pedestrians/cyclists and other ways to effectively try to force you out of your car entirely.I'd happily pay that see enough users priced off the M50 so that I can get home sooner in the evening.