[Article] Irish motorists clock up twice as many miles as EU drivers

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Irish motorists clock up twice as many miles as EU drivers
From:The Irish Independent
Sunday, 22nd February, 2004
EOGHAN WILLIAMS

IRISH motorists drive twice as far every year as the average EU driver and even clock up more miles than their counterparts in the car capital of the world - the USA.

Census figures issued last week show household car ownership grew a third between 1992 and 2002, with a million households owning at least one car.

Irish drivers have an average annual mileage of 24,000km (14,900 miles). The average mileage here is almost triple the 8,200km (5,000 miles) clocked up each year in Spain. American drivers do 19,000km (11,800 miles), 5,000km less than their Irish counterparts.

Motorists in the UK also drive less. The average annual mileage there is 16,300 km (10,100 miles), according to figures derived from the British Department of Transport.

Ireland tops the mileage league because of our sprawling housing developments, which make walking or cycling to school or work difficult, according to one of the country's transport experts.

James Nix, a transport researcher at Dublin Institute of Technology, says the "suburbanisation of the countryside" has increased our reliance on cars.

"Housing estates with a heavy dependence on cars are springing up away from towns. It's a housing style not suited to walking, cycling or public transport. Ever-wider car catchments develop. So for the key journeys measured by the Census - trips to work, school and college - walking and cycling are taking a hammering. They would probably be down more, but urban renewal in town centres gives a little boost to walking and cycling," he said.

The highest household car ownership is in Meath, Fingal and Kildare. Nine in every 10 households in Meath has a car. In Dublin city the figure is less than one in six.

Housing developments mean there is a greater need for car use to get to Dublin, but parking charges mean it is less attractive to drive within the city centre, added Mr Nix.

"City centres are trying to defend themselves against a tide of cars - metered parking is one measure. London has added congestion charging, but the aim is identical," Mr Nix said.

Meanwhile, the volume of rush-hour traffic in Dublin is steadily falling, according to a separate study.

Cars numbers crossing Dublin's canals during peak morning traffic are down 15 per cent in six years, according to a Dublin City Council survey.