Time to cap the number of cars?

Ireland has reached and passed ‘peak cars’ according to a report in the Irish Times. Is it time to say we have enough cars on the road and put a cap?

This sounds like a crazy thing to suggest, at least in the Western World. But in Singapore, there has been a cap on the number of cars for around 20 years, the Vehicle Quota System. Under this system, you have to bid for a ‘certificate of entitlement‘ before you can buy a car. The quota is set in accordance with the amount of road space that is actually available. Then, there are regularly auctions. If a lot of people want to buy cars that month, the price is high (potentially tens of thousands of dollars). If no one is buying, then the price is low (could be as low as S$2).

This would be far more sensible than the system of vehicle taxation which we have at the moment in Ireland. It would address the very real problem of congestion. It would also provide a stimulus to the motor industry during quiet years, because car purchasing would be more attractive when demand for cars was low and so prices of Certificates of Entitlement were also low.

The end result of this is that it makes major congestion much less likely and allows traffic to be managed. Demand for road space (which is the ultimate cause of congestion and traffic delays) is under control at source.

Before we do this, we would need to have a far higher quality of public transport to offer, especially in the cities. Also in the Irish Times, read about Ventekedis and Leahy’s proposal to vastly improve public transport in Dublin.

Designing a vision for a Dublin Transport System

Based on work by James Leahy, Aris Venetikidis has developed maps for a possible future transport system for Dublin. He has designed some fantastic maps for what could be a very comprehensive, rapid system. There are lots of kinks and questions to be asked, but it is a great starting point for the discussion of a transport system for the whole of Dublin (or indeed for any other city).

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A new website for a great bus service.

The new Swords Express website with a much simpler user interface, and an easier-to-understand route map. Thanks to Jade for her work on this.

Another look at banking

BankSimple is looking at banking in a different way, boiling banking down to its basics. This could be a model for a rejuvenated, value-focused, Europe-oriented Irish banking sector. There is no point in launching a bank in the Irish market which is a me-too copy of all the other banks we have in Europe (which is what Anglo Irish Bank plans to do and what Bank of Ireland and AIB are continuing to have a tough time doing).

The crisis at eircom

A union leader recently told the papers that eircom could be on the brink of collapse within six months. Obviously the union has suddenly become aware that there is a large amount of debt overhanging the company.

The fact that eircom has a lot of debt is well known. The actual structure of that debt is less well known. The role of the unions in running up the debt is not talked about much at all. However, these are all key to understanding what will happen next at eircom.

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Think Big, Think Radical, Think Different

Incremental thinking is a problem at a time like this. A bit more of this, a bit more of that. I think a radical change of thinking is sometimes needed. That’s why I disagree with Daragh O’Brien’s assessment of Your Country Your Call. There are many problems with YCYC and you would have to wonder what evaluation of the plan was done before the government decided to throw 300,000 euros into the pot. It is just not easy to get that sort of support from government, even during a boom. But as a small, open economy, we cannot county-enterprise-board our way out of our situation. We need to come up with radical plans, and pretty big plans to boot.

(This incidentally, also applies to the Irish Government. It cannot hope to win back support through a series of small local campaigns, supported by politically driven local projects, or by intensive local campaigning and handing out Cabinet posts or Seanad seats. This worked before, but it will not work now. The govnernment has to put forward coherent, radical, large scale, national level change to make a difference to people’s situations and people’s perceptions. (And it has to start with the cabinet reshuffle.)

What’s the Big Idea at Your Country Your Call?

Your Country Your Call looks like a good idea, and it is, and a lot of effort is going into it. However, there are also clearly some big, serious problems with it. Read the rest of this entry »

What are we going to do about Bank of Ireland?

The reality of the Irish banking sector is beginning to hit home. Bed rest and tender loving care are not going to be enough to save it. The bank is not in a position to pay a dividend on the State’s investment in it. The banks need to be restructured to get them operating effectively again.

Most interesting are Michael Soden’s comments on RTE Radio’s News at one yesterday:

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The Pakistani Junknet

This story about how networks built by an ecosystem of small-scale local entrepreneurs can span a city is an interesting example of what can happen in an unregulated environment. It reminds me of a recent video of Eric Schmidt of Google. We should certainly consider whether our system of regulation is really helping develop broadband, or whether it is slowing it down.

parkingtag.ie and cashless parking

Parkingtag.ie launched a few weeks ago to allow you to pay for your kerbside parking in Dublin City. Basically, what happens is that you have a barcode (the ‘parking tag’) on your windscreen, which contains an account number. When you park, you ring a phone number to tell the system that you want to park for a certain amount of time. Then you’re done. When the warden comes around and checks your car, he’ll scan the barcode and get an immediate confirmation that you are fully paid up.

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