Addressing the Problem Area - Week 4

Carrying items on public transport

• People refrain from taking public transport when they're carrying large or heavy belongings.

+

• Lack of storage and personal space

• Inconvenient to carry around

Cycling?

• Weather related problems

WHY?

Only option left is to drive

Touch - Points

• A prominent issue currently with COVID-19, especially on public transport as there is no form of contact-tracing.

WHERE?

Seats

Hand rails

Leap Card Machine

I

S

S

U

E

• Still many people using public transport

...over 75% of our stakeholders

• Sitting on the same seats, touching the same rails

... no contact tracing

• No hand sanitizing stations on buses/luas

Road Traffic

• Poor integration of bike and car lanes.... many bike lanes taking a full road lane causing more chaos and congestion at merging points

Traffic Volume

• Lower volume of traffic on roads More people speeding

• Most of these accidents.... cars traveling min. x1.5 the speed limit

• More dangerous for cyclists

... ≈ +5% in cycling due to Covid-19 from our survey

Urban Suburban

+24%

18.9% 15.7%

Road Fatalities

... Following figures from C.S.O due to Covid-19

HOWEVER

Aging Population

• As the world population continues to age, transport infrastructures and new designs e.t.c. need to cater more for the increasingly older population.

• Limited means of transport ... some may not be able to drive, cycle or walk anymore.

• Need to contact DART prior if disability access required

... convenience no longer there.

• Chaos during rush hours may be potentially dangerous

... overcrowding and no seating available.

• Stops not always accessible and catered for elderly

... unsheltered stops, climb flight of stairs e.t.c.

TRANSPORT

Capacity on public transport

• People can be discouraged to take public transport because of how cramped and overcrowded they can be with little personal space

C O V I D - 1 9

Personal

space

• Distance between seat to seat is small, standing shoulder to shoulder during rush hours

• Restrictions mean capacity of public transport is heavily reduced.

• The National Bus and Rail Union (NBRU) said its members experienced difficulties in trying to accommodate passengers

• Many left waiting with 25% capacity restriction.

• People want to avoid as much people as possible

Prams/

Wheelchairs

• If bus/carriage is crowded,

they have no access

UnEvEn DiStRiBuTiOn

• 1 bus full..... 1 bus nearly empty

Transport Problems Our Team Has Faced

"Getting your wheel Stuck in the Luas tracks is a traumatic and embarrassing experience- something I now fear every time I cycle in town”

-Heather

"My gran used to take the bus everywhere but now shes very reluctant to as she doesn't want to be in close contact with many people. I'd imagine that many elderly people now also face the issue of a limited means of transport."

-Katherine

"Cycling is a great way of getting around. But coming into the dark cold and wet winter months it can really lose its appeal"

-Jack

"I'm really conscious of limiting my contact with surfaces, especially on public transport. I think it's ridiculous that the buses don't have hand sanitizer on them, and that there are no contact tracing systems in place for the transmission of the virus from surfaces on public transport."

-Nicholas

Survey Analysis

Why Are People Driving?

Stakeholders Primary Modes of Transport

Pre-COVID

Currently

• "Not eco-friendly but safer"

A retail worker concerned about virus transmission via public transport

• "Less walking, too much stuff to carry"

A teacher who can't commute via bike or public transport

16%

6%

35%

24%

Why Don't People Want to Use Public Transport?

7%

1%

• "Cycle, the bus drives by when its half full now"

Student encountering problems with bus capacity

• "Seats are prioritized for essential workers"

Student who previously commuted via bus, but now walks to college

8%

10%

Stakeholder Responses

“During the pandemic, workplace guidelines prohibit sharing of materials that would normally be available, resulting in workers having to bring all their own books, devices, lunch etc. - they also have to be mindful of all surface contact because of the risk of cross-contamination. The onus is on the worker to carry a lot more personal items, which has a bearing on their choosing public transport given the limitations of control over one's immediate environment.”

-Teacher

"Most Frustrating thing ever is waiting for a bus, and then when it shows up, its full!"

-Software Engineer, Bus & Luas User

"I face huge problems when I have to tell people that the bus is full, as they can get very argumentative. They often refuse to get off the bus if they're in a rush. Sometimes I have to skip stops completely if its entirely full. Its very difficult to know when the bus is at capacity because I can't tell from the cameras."

-Bus Driver & Stakeholder

“Priority seats are a great idea, but quite often there aren’t enough. They rely on cooperation from other people, so they can get taken up by younger people with no disabilities and the thought of giving up their seat to the people those seats are for doesn’t even cross their minds. This is especially bad during rush hour.”

-61+ year old male

Secondary Sources

Misuse of Priority Seating

Smarter Travel Ireland Policy

• "Everyday and I’m getting more pregnant and less able to stand."

-A pregnant woman who could not

get priority seating on the DART

• "In 2006 around 55,000 students were driven or drove less than 2km to their place of education.

A further 150,000 were driven or drove 2-4 km to their place of education."

• "In 2006, around 45,000 people drove less than 2km to work, with a further 160,000 people driving 2-4km to work."

Source: Smarter Travel - A New Transport Policy for Ireland 2009 - 2020

• "The signage [for priority seating on Irish Rail] is not very clear at times, whereas in many European cities the [priority] seats would be a different colour."

Both issues are due to lack of adequately safe walking and cycling routes

Source: https://www.thejournal.ie/priority-seating-dart-3081726-Nov2016/

Impact of Weather on Transport

COVID-19: Limited Capacity

Wheelchair Accessibility

• "We're having to pass by nurses"

-Dublin Bus Driver on operating at 25% capacity

Source: https://www.breakingnews.ie/ireland/were-having-to-pass-by-nurses-dublin-hit-by-level-5-public-transport-issues-1024184.html

• "There is a wheelchair bay on the bus but it is not guaranteed that I will get this spot. If another wheelchair user or even a pram that can’t be folded is already on board I have to wait for the next bus"

• "Did you know that only one wheelchair user can travel on the bus at any one time? Two friends who are wheelchair users cannot travel together on the same bus."

Source: https://www.thejournal.ie/readme/opinion-taking-public-transport-as-a-wheelchair-user-is-a-game-of-routlette-4649846-May2019/

• "Precipitation can increase the likelihood of road traffic accidents"

• "As the DART draws its power from overhead lines and has significant vegetation along portions of the line, trees falling as a result of high winds are a significant problem."

Source: Brazil, W., White, A., Nogal, M., Caulfield, B., O'Connor, A. and Morton, C., 2017. Weather and rail delays: Analysis of metropolitan rail in Dublin. Journal of Transport Geography, 59, pp.69-76.

• "I'm an essential healthcare worker and 3 buses passed me at 6.30 this morning"

-Nurse, Dublin

Source: https://www.dublinlive.ie/news/dublin-news/dublin-bus-reduced-passenger-capacity-19150039

• Our team has arranged to meet with Dr. Caulfield to further discuss his research in relation to transport

Public Transport Capacity Due to COVID 19

Level 5

25%

64 ppl

17 ppl

40 ppl

25%

Level 4

Level 3

50%

34 ppl

128 ppl

80 ppl

Level 2

50%

Level 1

'Reduced Capacity'

64 ppl

256 ppl

Pre-COVID19

160-200 ppl

*these figures are at 'commuting hours' with maximum carriages (8 on Train/Dart, 6 on Luas)

Attempts to Tackle this in the past...

'Stagger your Commute' Campaign

January 2020

Buying Second Hand Carriages from overseas

• (2019) Never Bought

• (2013) 20 Carriages bought for €44m left in storage

From Stakeholder & Experts Interactions:

Inconsistency on-board Buses & Trains

No knowledge of capacity before Bus arrives

Too Many People on Buses & Trains

No Info on

Seating Availability

Overcapacity, unsafe enviroment

Risk Being Late / not getting on Bus, Trains or Luas

Social distancing must remain in place for the foreseeable future

Public Transport Capacity was even an issue before COVID 19

Its not in our control to put more buses on the road, more carriages on the trains ....

but we can do something to make it easier to manage, monitor

and inform passengers of capacity.