Public spending per person on public transport in Northern Ireland is the lowest among the UK nations, official figures suggest.
That largely reflects the limited rail network in Northern Ireland.
The Treasury produces annual figures which show public spending on services in the nations and regions of the UK.
In 2022, public transport spending per head in Northern Ireland was £193, compared to £299 in Wales and around £465 in England and Scotland.
Translink, the corporation that manages all of Northern Ireland’s rail and bus services, is part-funded by Stormont.
Rail investment plans
There are ambitious plans to expand the rail network across the island of Ireland.
The All-Island Strategic Rail Review, which was published last month, proposes more inter-city services, reinstatement of lines and new stations.
That would involve a radical change in how Stormont allocates its infrastructure budget.
It would require investing more than £300m a year (at today's prices) for 25 years, which is about £50m more than all current spending on public transport infrastructure.
A man looking at the camera with a balding head, glasses and a light blue shirt, no tie. He is smiling slightly.ULSTER UNIVERSITY
Dr Eoin Magennis from Ulster University said more investment could help with some of the executive's other economic priorities including regional balance, decarbonisation and access to good jobs.
Principal economist at Ulster University's Economic Policy Centre Dr Eoin Magennis said that would be "do-able" but requires a firm political commitment.
He said the investment could help with some of the Executive's other economic priorities including regional balance, decarbonisation and access to good jobs.
The all-island nature of the review will also involve substantial investment from the Irish government.
It is probably better placed to deliver that investment than at any time since the foundation of the Irish state.
'Real prize'
A corporation tax bonanza means the government has the money to spend and there is political consensus on the need for investment.
However, there are concerns about the speed of delivery, including the capacity of an overburdened planning system.
Dublin's first underground metro railway, which would include a link to the airport, has been talked about for at least 20 years.
It is now expected to start construction in 2026. An exhaustive consultation process is due to end next month, however legal challenges can't be ruled out.
Aside from finally connecting the airport to a railway it will have a transformative effect on the city, says Sean Keyes from the Progress Ireland think tank.
"Metro's have enormous carrying capacity. If we build it we will be able to move 50,000 people an hour in either direction," he said.
"When you're able to move that many people you can build a lot more houses and that's the real prize for Dublin."
by kharma45
7 comments
You can tell!
I don’t think we needed a government funded review to tell anybody that. I used to live out by the Loughshore and I was lucky to see three buses a day, and the first one was only for school children. Hasn’t been a train out this way since the 50s.
Night buses you cunts!
Personally I think the free bus pass scheme needs to change and a fee needs to be added to the application. It’s not going to turn us into a utopia, but even if you charged £40 a year for unlimited travel to the 300,000 users of the scheme, you’d bring in around 12 million in extra funding for transport.
Anyone under 60 got the chance at unlimited travel for £40 they’d wrip your hand off for it.
Quelle surprise!
That’s because there’s one train line open to the public that doesn’t include over half the country.
I’m sure things could be better but public transport in NI is essentially Translink, which is basically (and correct me if I’m wrong) a government body masquerading as a commercial operation. If Translink was for-real privatised everything would cost twice as much. So I’m kinda wondering if lower public spending is a good or a bad thing. Dunno, only used it once in the last 15 years – and that was a delight. Had a right old natter with the driver, after stumbling onto the bus, wide-eyed and giddy.