The root of Ireland’s woefully inadequate public transport system is simple: we voted for it. Voters rarely raise public transport services with politicians, and most politicians outside of Dublin seem to equate transport policy with roads policy. How different would our public transport system be if politicians were reliant on it? Every elected representative should be given a six-month all-you-can-eat public transport and bike-share card and invited to familiarise themselves with the daily reality for public transport users, parents with buggies and small children, disabled people and those who do not, or choose not, to drive. For the rest of us, by far the most effective way to influence public transport investment is to start demanding it.
