Debunking the Induced demand argument

Jayuu

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120121013#Comment_120121013

To be honest what we need is better regional development so that Dublin doesn't continue to grow. It is already way too big given the size of the country. But that is a different argument. Just to stress thought that trying to limit growth in Dublin doesn't preclude improving the current public transport offering by the way. We need both things to happen.

Chris_5339762

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120117524#Comment_120117524

I agree with MOST of this, but a few points people might find interesting. Munich was badly bombed in WW2 but was one of the few bombed cities to retain its city centre pre-war street grid. This makes it a far nicer city than Cologne, Frankfurt etc etc. It actually forced the public transport underground too, which is good.

Munich has two main public transport problems but both are being solved.

• All eight S-Bahn lines use a single two tunnel through the city centre, the Stammstrecke. It is only twin track, and there are obnoxious delays if anything goes wrong. There is literally a train every two minutes. They are building a second Stammstrecke, which is going to make things a lot easier.
• Munich is remarkably poor for its airport connections. Yes, both the S1 and the S8 go there from the centre, but it takes 45 - 50 minutes, which is crazy long. There will be an express service when the second Stammstrecke is done, but sadly they cancelled the Magnetbahn, which was going to be a Maglev system that would do it in ten minutes.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stammstrecke_%28Munich_S-Bahn%29

https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transrapid_M%C3%BCnchen

KrisW1001

I was happy they cancelled the Magnetbahn - it was a one-trick-pony that didn’t do anything except dump passengers into the main train station, which is really only of use to tourists. Munich does get a lot of tourists, but tourists aren’t so time-pressed that a 40 minute train trip rather than a 10 minute one will make or break their trip. And the cost of this was eye-watering: €2 billion in 2005 - about the same cost as the second S-bahn tunnel, which will benefit the entire commuter rail network.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120121013#Comment_120121013

Ah, I didn’t know about that new fare, a really good idea - especially when the daily fare-capping kicks in. Dublin also lifted one of Munich’s best ideas: the family card, at €10 for two adults and up to four children, anyhwere in the city - for tourists it’s a great idea. (The Munich ticket allowed you to swap a dog for one of the four children -- somehting I reckon many a parent has been tempted to do at times...). I think Leap is a fantastic idea overall, especially as it works nationwide (for once, we’re thinking bigger than other countries). If they could manage to get all of the country’s local bus operators on board with it, it would be a great way of encouraging public transport use.