Public transport “not usually a viable option” for Infrastructure minister John O’Dowd – The Irish News

The Department for Infrastructure has said using public transport is “not usually a viable option” for minister John O’Dowd, despite urging members of the public to use buses and trains in a bid to prevent traffic congestion in Belfast.

Mr O’Dowd and spokespeople for his department have made several statements in recent weeks encouraging people to use public transport as complaints around city centre traffic become louder.

Belfast city centre has seen significant periods of traffic congestion since the opening of the new £340m Grand Central Station in October.

The Stormont department has outlined a number of measures it is taking to address the traffic congestion in the city, including a review of traffic signals, junction amendments and increased use of the Trafficwatch social media account.

Speaking in the Assembly on Monday, Mr O’Dowd appealed to motorists “to consider other options they can take to avoid congestion, such as public transport, park and ride, active travel, or if possible, planning their journey to use an alternative route or avoid peak times.”

However, when asked by the Irish News how the Minister travels to work at Stormont, departmental headquarters in Belfast city centre, or his constituency office in Lurgan, DFI didn’t detail whether he uses public transport or his chauffeur-driven ministerial car.

In a brief statement, a DFI spokesperson said: “The Minister uses public transport when it is practical for him to do so”.

Asked to elaborate further, the department said the minister works in Belfast city centre “at most two days a week” to avoid adding to congestion.

“The Minister works in the city centre at most two days a week, working the other days either in the Assembly, out and about on visits or remotely. By limiting his trips into the city centre the Minister avoids adding to the congestion.

“Due to the confidential and often highly sensitive nature of Ministerial and Executive business public transport is not usually a viable option for Ministerial travel. Where the Minister can use public transport, he does so.”

Alongside the traffic chaos which has hit Belfast city centre in recent months, disruption to bus and train services have become commonplace, with several bus services coming out of the city at rush hour significantly delayed or even cancelled due to the congestion.

Busy bus stops in areas such as Great Victoria Street and the Dublin Road are regularly seen as heavily backed up as passengers wait on delayed services.

Rail services have also been subject to disruption in recent weeks, with some passengers reporting trains unable to stop at some stations due to maximum capacity on the way in to the city during the busy Christmas shopping season.

Speaking on BBC Radio Ulster, DUP MLA Philip Brett said efforts from the department to fix the traffic chaos were “not working”.

“I think it’s clearly evident that our current network and capacity within the system is not reliable and it’s not working,” Mr Brett said.