Colm
My heart bleeds for you and I mean that in a genuine way. This matter has been burning me up inside for quite some time. As a "jobbing driver" I discovered this scenario a while back. You've covered the technical bits very well, so I won't add to it. However, I will say that you are also very correct in drawing an analogy to the current "muppetry" that is integrated ticketing on public transport. Combined with the road issue, it highlights a very severe lack of coordination at Government level. None of us here are surprised at that. But its a real "signal" of how inept the civil service are in this country in relation to transport matters.
Speaking of motorways, we are still planning and building a new series of Interurban routes and yet we are still waiting on progress in the form of easily and accessible "service" points.
When "anti-road" people compare the motorway programme to a lack of investment in rail, I still laugh out loud at their inherent ignorance of how road and rail work in tandem. You have highlighted the lack of integration of electronic tolling. Ive mentioned the absense of proper services along the stretches of motorway. What does this prove? Well it proves, that despite massive investment in roads and "smaller" investment in rail, our "planners" and our "Government" haven't got a clue how to do any of it (rail and road) correctly. Travelling on our new super highways, is still as problematic (for different reasons) as travelling on our rail network.
Keep it going Colm. I share your pain on this issue, because I believe that this country should have both a modern and user friendly road system and a modern and user friendly rail system. That is the well established European model, that promotes healthy competition between modes and the choice of modes.
Without competing road transport, railways would never have developed high speed trains. In Ireland we can't get either mode working right. Its perhaps an "uniqueness" that will lead us down an undiscovered, but easily predicatble path.
|