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And revealed the new government action plan will be made freely available towns and cities across Ireland choking from traffic congestion.
The move is also targeted at slashing CO2 emissions and helping car based commuters to leave their cars at home.
Minister Dempsey said: "Travel trends in Ireland are unsustainable. We can’t keep pouring cars onto our streets. Cities are grinding to a halt with choking traffic congestion and that can’t continue.
"This action plan shows a different way and sets out how to get there. This is not simply a series of transport initiatives.
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"It represents a radical transformation in transport policy that puts people, rather than vehicles, first. It has the potential to fundamentally change how we all travel."
Minister Ryan added: "Our current transport patterns are unsustainable and make travel costly time consuming and stressful."
Smarter Travel – A Sustainable Transport Future sets out measures so that by 2020 we can have thousands more people walking, cycling, using public transport and leaving their cars at home.
With this action plan Government aims to change the transport mix in Ireland so that by 2020 car share of total commutes drop from the current 65% to 45%.
The 49 measures in Smarter Travel – A Sustainable Transport Futurecan be grouped under four key headings: Actions to reduce distance travelled by private car and encourage smarter travel, including focusing population and employment growth predominantly in larger urban areas; actions aimed at ensuring that alternatives to the car are more widely available, mainly through a radically improved and more accessible public transport service and through investment in cycling and walking.
In addition to actions aimed at improving the fuel efficiency of motorised transport through improved fleet structure, energy efficient driving, and alternative technologies and; actions aimed at strengthening institutional arrangements to deliver the targets.
(PR/BMcC)
