Things that piss me off #4: The Irish Public Transport system

Update, Update: Also due to my extreme ranting Ireland is now building a Tram system (Luas) it is only 2 years past delivery date and about 3000% overbudget...

Sorry I forgot, there is none, therefore it can't piss me off.

Some facts:

• Dublin (to the best of my knowledge) is the only European Capital city with neither an Underground nor a Tram system! Instead it relies on Busses - Mmm - pollution, traffic, high speed!!



• It takes over one hour to drive from Blackrock to the City Centre of Dublin. A total of 8 KM. And instead of investing in Public transport, the Irish Government wants to build more roads and make existing ones wider. Forget Emerald Isle, more like Concrete Isle soon.



• For the Intercity Journey between Dublin and Waterford (160 KM as the crow flies), it takes 4 hours by train - a stunning average speed of 40 KMH. In my cycling days I could have beaten the train.



• My favourite: It takes me 1 hour 30 minutes to travel the 14 KM from the airport to my home - another case of taking the bike. Every year they try to introduce an "new, better, faster" system - "AirportExpress", "AirCoach" and "AerDart" being the latest additions - they all take the same amount of time and just cost more and more each year. In Frankfurt the distance is 10 KM and is done in about 23 minutes and for half the price.