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    One-third of Irish drivers have no intention of reducing car usage for the sake of the environment
    Ireland

    One-third of Irish drivers have no intention of reducing car usage for the sake of the environment


    One-third of Irish drivers have no intention of reducing car usage for the sake of the environment

    https://www.independent.ie/life/motoring/car-talk/one-third-of-irish-drivers-have-no-intention-of-reducing-car-usage-for-the-sake-of-the-environment/a1854572221.html

    Posted by MaelduinTamhlacht

    View 42 Comments

    42 Comments

    6. fortycoats2020 on

      I’m one of those and the reason is, there’s just no public transport for where I want to go. Also my child didn’t get a bus pass for school transport this year so now that’s an extra 60km driving a day for me, thanks government

    8. pup_mercury on

      I’m more surprised 2/3 plan on reducing car usage for the sake of the environment.

    10. XCEREALXKILLERX on

      If I had a car I would never wait on the cold and rain for the bus. It rains a lot in Ireland and even though you’re supposed to beat the weather. A car can do that very well. The bus is never on time so you take your chances in a 15 minute window where everything can happen.

    12. WellWellWell2021 on

      I started using the bus and train to get to work instead of the car when the fares went down to €2 each way.
      It takes me 20 mins longer, but now that I don’t have to pay for the train and bus one after the other it doesn’t cost me a fortune.

      Make the public transport network useble for everyone and then you don’t need to convince them to drive less.

    13. SugarInvestigator on

      Whike I have an option for.public transport it woukd be 1 bus that arrives 3 times a day to take me to a different town. That travel takes 45 minutes. Then I’ve to wait for a different bus that the takes about 2 hours to get to tge city. Then I have to get another bus or dart across the city..which will take between waiting and walking maybe another 39 minutes. So I’m already over the 3 hour mark. Or I can drive and it will take at most 2.25 hours IF there’s congestion on the m50, maybe 2.5 if the port tunnel.is closed. Combining home is worse cos that first bus doesn’t exist. So.im stranded a 45 minute drive from.home
      .

    14. Character_Desk1647 on

      In this country if you’re not self sufficient you’re screwed. Anyone who relies on the government for anything (housing, healthcare, transport) gets shafted. 

    16. Deep-Palpitation-421 on

      If we introduced a proper school bus system here, made it free and made.it mandatory, and then charged the parents who choose to NOT use it.. the wider economy would save a fortune in increased productivity, less traffic in mornings, less traffic in the evenings, and we’d have a shit load of busses to have public transport in every town and village (outside of school run times).

      It would cost a small fortune to implement, but it would save a bigger fortune in the long run.

    17. HenryHallan on

      I’m in that rural 18% and my car usage is determined by how often my employer demands I’m in the office 100km away.  Public transport is 3 hours each way via Dublin 

       So I bought an EV, because the monthly repayments were less than diesel was costing me 

       But I can charge overnight at home, which is the most important factor in EV ownership

    18. Timespacecomplex on

      1. We have no reliable or widespread public transport alternative;
      2. The government failed to protect work from home rights which would have reduced transport emissions because it was more profitable for them to pander to big business;
      3. The government continues to fail to meet its decarbonisation/environmental commitments and still allows business and agriculture to run largely unchecked on our environment.

      So, no, I will not be reducing my car usage

    19. IndependenceFair550 on

      All of the people commenting on here explaining how they don’t have a choice: You are right. The transport system outside of the M50 is fucked. And buses along the northern spine from Swords to town are so, so slow (I can’t comment on other routes). You’re all correct, but these stories don’t account for the congestion we’re seeing. There are still way too many people who use their car for every single journey, no matter what the reason or the distance. There are too many people who NEVER use public transport or cycle. If the roads were full of people who had to drive, congestion wouldn’t be a problem. We do have a cultural attachment to the car, and the poor transport system is a symptom of that. 

      Edit: Or walk!

    20. Drengi36 on

      Love the spin. How about, “The majority of Irish drivers intend to reduce car usage for the sake if the environment”.

      Guess bad news sells.

    21. wascallywabbit666 on

      >And I must say, the findings bear out my feelings (prejudices?) that the environment comes way down the checklist for most drivers when it comes to running or buying a car.

      The author basically owns up to confirmation bias from the start.

      A large part of the population lives in rural areas with no public transport, so they have no option but private cars. In that context the results of the survey are unsurprising

    22. MrTigeriffic on

      If the government actually put effort into electric vehicles infrastructure then I might go electric but it’s just not worth it now.

      We are a car dependant country and that’s fine as if you don’t live in a city you will need one.

      Ultimately to make electric driving feasible the cost of it needs to come down and make it more accessible to do it too.

    23. EskimoB9 on

      So from my house to the SOs work is a 20 min drive, public transport is two buses and basically 1 hour 30mins to get to work. Where is the sense in that?

      Reason is, she could use the jack lynch tunnel, but no buses use that, so she has to go through the city to get to work and change buses. Cork is the biggest county and the second biggest population wise and we can’t get this shite down? There is no hope for Dublin which is just as fucked let alone any other smaller towns.

    24. shamsham123 on

      No intention or no other option?

      These are very different things. You would be very foolish to rely on public transportation outside of Dublin and impossible to hold down a job due to disgraceful non existent services.

      Speaking from experience.

    25. lilyoneill on

      Part of the problem is school transport, or lack there of. The fact I’m driving my daughter to secondary school because they won’t put on another bus is fucking ridiculous. Another 30 seater bus would get 30 cars off the road.

    27. nine_sausages on

      Govt had the opportunity to make WFH a viable alternative to commuting and they botched it. I’m one of the lucky ones who is 95% WFH if I want so I don’t have to spend 1.5 to 2 hours commute each way.

    31. AvailablePromise835 on

      On the whole, none of us are.

      Fuel consumption is higher than it’s ever been, and it’s going up

    32. TwinIronBlood on

      I can easily get the bus to work but getting home is to unreliable. They’re all full by the time they get to my stop and I need to be home for kids activities.

    33. Difficult_Coat_772 on

      Fully electric cars are part of the solution, especially once we get an autonomous fleet of electric taxis

    34. vinceswish on

      I’m a shift worker, public transport will never accommodate my hours. Not to mention the last thing I want to do is deal with people after my 12h shift.
      A car is a small freedom we have.

    35. Legitimate_Bag8259 on

      I have no access to public transport to get to and from work, which is 20km away, or to go to the shops etc. No bus passes within almost 5km from my house, and no bus stops outside of work or even passes at the times I work.

      I have no intention of reducing my car usage because there’s no alternative.

    37. PharmacyGuy13 on

      The rain. When I leave the house I don’t want to walk in the rain for any minutes to wait more minutes for a bus that will undoubtedly be late and overcrowded. I like opening my front door, getting into my 2.2 diesel discovery sport and enjoying the drive and silence for 30 minutes before my slavery shift starts.

    38. friarswalker on

      This headline makes it seem that there are viable alternatives to driving available. Public transport in Ireland is embarrassingly bad and cycling infrastructure, while getting better, is extremely poor.

    40. nalcoh on

      People need to understand that we are inherently selfless, it’s how we’re molded in a capitalist (kinda) society.

      The only solution to making a system more environmental friendly, is by making it more efficient than the alternatives.

      That’s all people really care about at the end of the day, no matter what the tell themselves.

    41. Dependent_Quail5187 on

      Give us some available alternative options. I’ve been using the red line Luas, 3 days this week.
      It’s not an enjoyable experience.
      Junkies on practically every carriage, even at 10 in the morning. It’s hardly a mystery why people prefer to drive

    42. skooma_peddler on

      Three thirds of billionaires have no intention of reducing private jet usage for the sake of the environment