Policy and Action Plan

The 91 actions in the SMP Action Plan are grouped under 10 high-level goals, all stemming from the SMP’s three overarching principles:

Safe and Green Mobility

Key Principle

1. Improve Mobility Safety.

2. Decarbonise Public Transport.

3. Expand availability of sustainable mobility in metropolitan areas.

4. Expand availability of sustainable mobility in regional and rural areas.

5. Encourage people to choose sustainable mobility over the private car.

People-Focused Mobility

Key Principle

6.Take a whole of journey approach to mobility, promoting inclusive access for all.

7.Design infrastructure according to Universal Design Principles and the Hierarchy of Road Users model.

8.Promote sustainable mobility through research and citizen engagement.

Better-Integrated Mobility

9. Better integrate land use and transport planning at all levels.

Key Principle

10. Promote smart and integrated mobility through innovative technologies and development of appropriate regulation.

A dedicated division within the Department of Transport (DoT) was established in September 2022 to manage the SMP portfolio and to act as a secretariat to the SMP Leadership Group and Delivery Team which work to oversee and drive implementation of the SMP Action Plan and the SMP Pathfinder Programme, respectively.

SMP Action Status Update

This Report provides an outline of the progress made in the two years since the Policy was launched in April 2022, as well as an update on the implementation of actions since the last report was published in August 2023.

Ongoing (7)

Figure 1: Action delivery status to the end of Year 2.

8%

Completed (33)

36%

At Risk of Delay (8)

9%

SMP Action Progress

Delayed (19) 26%

On Schedule (24)

21%

Completed

It should be noted that the action status categorisation, as outlined in Figure 1 and the remainder of the report, is by necessity an imperfect tool. For example, where actions consist of several sub-actions, a small delay to only one sub-action will have the effect of categorising the main action as ‘Delayed’ or ‘At Risk of Delay’. This often misrepresents the level of progress underway across an action, particularly where the remaining sub-actions are on schedule for delivery or are fully completed. Accordingly, headline statistics should be read together with Annex 1, which provides the full details on progress across all 91 actions under the SMP.

In its first year, 17 SMP actions were completed, including the introduction of the Young Adult Travel Card, the Transport for Ireland (TFI) Live App and an enhancement of public transport services throughout various towns and villages throughout Ireland. In its second year, 16 further SMP actions were completed. Like many of the actions contained in the policy, these will help to enhance road safety, promote sustainable mobility and increase services in rural areas.

For example, a report was completed on the feasibility of using bus-mounted cameras to detect illegal parking in bus lanes (SMP Action 91). Building on this work, a new Camera Strategy is currently under development by Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII) to further develop camera-based enforcement by An Garda Síochána (Action 07).

For ease of reference, however, the following summarises the progress made under the action status categories in line with Figure 1:

Sustainable Mobility Policy | Year Two Progress Report

Guidelines were also issued to road authorities related to traffic calming measures (Action 58). These are crucial steps to ensuring safer and more efficient roads for all road users.

The Department and NTA have completed various actions to further promote the uptake of sustainable mobility and active travel. The NTA have expanded the Smarter Travel behaviour change programme, increasing the number of Smarter Travel partners and successfully launching the Smarter Travel Mark (Action 44). The Department also completed a study to assess incentives for encouraging greater use of active travel as a mode of transport (Action 45) and a public engagement strategy was developed and published to promote the benefits of sustainable mobility and raise public awareness of options (Action 68)3. A review was also carried out by the Department on the impact of the Pilot Bike and E-Bike Upcycling Initiative (Action 43)4, in collaboration with the Department of Community and Rural Development.

In relation to increasing the suite of available sustainable mobility options, legislation was commenced to permit the use of Powered Public Transporters (PPTs) on public roads (Action 89) with a full suite of regulations introduced on 20 May 2024 (Action 90) to allow for the safe design and use of e-scooters in urban settings.

As well as the publication of the National Cycle Network in Q1 2024 (Action 29), the Cycle Design Manual was also published in Q2 2024 and associated training carried out (Action 64)2. This incorporates updated cycle scheme design guidance aligned with the safe system approach. Collectively, these will facilitate the rollout of high-quality active travel infrastructure.

A strategy to transition the Small Public Service Vehicle (SPSV) fleet to lower/zero emission technologies was developed and commenced by Zero Emission Vehicles

2. https://www.nationaltransport.ie/publications/cycle-design-manual/ 3. https://www.gov.ie/en/publication/e3134-public-engagement-strategy/#:~:text=The%20guiding%20principle%20is%20 that,a%20better%2C%20cleaner%20and%20fairer 4. https://www.pobal.ie/app/uploads/2023/12/Upcycling-of-Bicycles-and-e-Bikes-Pilot-Initiative-EVALUATION-REPORT_. pdf

Ireland (ZEVI), which is an office within the Department of Transport (Action 10).

Several actions within the SMP relate to the introduction of public transport improvements. Delivery of these actions is also progressing well, including the expansion of rail fleet capacity (Action 20), and implementing a programme of improved town bus services (Action 34).

In conjunction with the development of Connecting Ireland, work was undertaken to increase the provision of local area hackney services. The subsidised Local Area Hackney Scheme Pilot went live in early 2023 with provisional grant offers issued to 15 areas (Action 36).

At Risk of Delay

Six new actions have been moved into the “At Risk of Delay” category since the first Progress Report was published in August 2023, placing eight actions overall in this category.

The NTA published its National Household Travel Survey in Q3 2023, a nationwide study of Ireland’s travel habits. These reports will be published annually (Action 69)5 and will be vital in informing future policy.

Two of these have been deemed at risk of delay due to their dependency on other actions being completed or by being overtaken by wider workstreams. For example, the expansion of the operation of shared bike schemes in cities (Action 18) and a model for bike share schemes for regional growth centres and key towns (Action 31) will now form part of the NTA’s wider ‘strategy for rollout of expanded shared services’ (Action 87) and will be aligned with a new National Policy Statement on Shared Mobility Hubs which is being developed by the Department. As a result, the current contract governing the operation of TFI bikes has been extended by 1 year. These actions are expected to be complete by end 2024.

Transport appraisal guidance has been updated to replace the existing Common Appraisal Framework (Action 73) and guidelines have been published and issued to Local Authorities on Sustainable and Compact Settlement Guidance (Action 79).

On Schedule

As outlined in Figure 1, 26% of actions remain on schedule. These include a variety of initiatives and interventions including the electrification of bus fleets in each of the five cities as well as town and Local Link services (Actions 13, 14 and 15). Also on schedule are actions related to the delivery of additional cycling infrastructure in the five cities and regional areas, the expansion of the greenway network and the implementation of a programme of secure bike parking (Action 19, 27, 30 and 41). Further actions related to improving passenger experience, the rollout of awareness campaigns on public transport, and a series of activities to improve accessibility in public transport vehicles and stations are also on track to be delivered on time (Action 1, 2 and 48).

With regard to Metrolink, the Railway Order was submitted on schedule to An Bord Pleanála in September 2022, and an oral hearing on the project was concluded on 28 March 2024. Work is progressing on the development of the required procurement strategy, design and tender documents and in June 2024 TII announced the selection of a Project Director to lead the project in the coming years. Notwithstanding these positive developments, the project is currently rated as ‘at risk of delay’ in recognition of the time

5. https://www.nationaltransport.ie/publications/national-household-travel-survey-2022/

elapsed since lodgement of the Railway Order and the time taken in relation to securing key personnel. (Action 24)

Amendments arising from related consultation processes delayed the publishing of the Cycle Network plans (Action 28). However, following a statutory consultation in respect of a Strategic Environmental Assessment, it is now expected to publish relevant Cycle Network plans in Q3 2024. There have also been some delays with the development of a demand management scheme for the Greater Dublin Area (Action 40) which is linked to progress on the wider national ‘Moving Together’ strategy. The GDA strategy is expected to be published for public consultation following the finalisation of the national strategy.

Overall, the SMP Leadership Group and its Delivery Team will continue to monitor actions which are ‘At Risk’ to ensure they are brought on schedule as soon as possible, and to prioritise those actions which will have a direct and tangible impact in shifting journeys from private cars to more sustainable modes of transport.

Delayed

Out of the 13 total actions that were delayed from the first year, nine were completed (Actions 7, 29, 58, 64, 68, 73, 79, 82, 89 and 91) and one has been moved to ongoing (Action 46). Although 16 further actions are delayed in addition to the three carried over from the first year, most of these are expected to be completed shortly – during Q3 and Q4 of 2024.

With regard to the development of the framework strategy for the transition of commercial and PSO long distance bus services to low emission technologies, the Department is currently awaiting a report from a market consultation on Zero-Emission Ramp-Accessible Coaches (Action 9). In cases where changes to legislation are required

Figure from page 9

(Actions 72 and 75), constraints on Oireachtas time have had an impact on the final delivery date.

which had consequent impacts on the original timeline for Action 87 under the SMP. That said, it is expected that the ‘strategy for rollout of expanded shared services’ will be developed by the end of 2024.

The DART+ Coastal South was delayed due to a change of scope and is now being progressed through a phased approach (Action 12). However, the DART+ West and DART+ South West Railway Order applications have already been submitted, and the DART+ Coastal North Railway Order was also recently submitted in July 2024. Permission was granted by An Bord Pleanála to the DART+ West line in July 2024.

Ongoing

Several SMP actions relate to areas of work which take place annually or on an ongoing basis, which are monitored via quarterly updates. These include the provision of training and annual work programmes to improve road infrastructure.

Action 46 has been changed to ‘Ongoing’ this year as it incorporates the annual provision of training to students under the Cycle Right programme. The other elements of this action – the commencement of the Safe Routes to Schools programme and the identification of measures to improve the sustainability of the School Transport system – have been completed.

The appraisal and planning processes for new light rail in Dublin and Cork are also delayed, along with work to consider the feasibility of light rail in Galway (Action 21). However, progress has been made, with the preferred route for Cork close to being identified. Equally, the Preliminary Business Case and Draft Railway Order documentation for Luas Finglas are under preparation and on target for submission in Q3 2024. The draft Galway transport strategy is also expected to be published for consultation by Q2 2025.

A draft Alignment and Pathways report has been prepared to operationalise Action 47 (Explore potential of road-user charging measures through the Better Road User Charging Evaluation (BRUCE) study). However, this study will form part of a wider review on transport taxation as envisaged by a recommendation in a new national demand management strategy, ‘Moving Together: A Strategic Approach to the Improved Efficiency of the Transport System in Ireland’, which is due for completion later in 2024.

Work to develop a strategy for the expansion of shared car, bike and PPT services at transport hubs and interchanges (Action 87) is well advanced and is being developed in tandem with a significant pilot on mobility hubs, which arose from an action in the Climate Action Plan 2023. CAP23 outlined an increased ambition for shared mobility,