Public transport in Northern Ireland could become as popular as in France and Germany if the current network was given scope to expand.
Global expert Jarrett Walker also said that Stormont must define what it means by “success” in public transport.
The American consultant, who has designed bus systems across the world, said: “Translink is operating under an impossible set of expectations, and, in the context of those expectations, it seems to be doing rather well’’.
Mr Walker, who was in Belfast recently to promote his book ‘Human Transit’, spoke on Northern Ireland’s bus network at a Translink event at Ulster University.
He believes Northern Ireland’s main issue is “almost universal in public transport systems”, adding that it could only be resolved by having a “conversation between the public and government”.
“If the primary definition of success in public transport is patronage, then it would be logical for Translink to think as a business, choose which markets it will enter and focus its services there.
“You get high patronage by concentrating on services where there are lots of people travelling and that’s within and between major cities.
“The question is whether that actually is the measure of success because people present a different expectation, such as that Translink serves the rural areas in a way that seems fair; that Translink meets school transportation need; that Translink is in every part of urban areas, even those that are developed at very low density, in ways that are difficult for public transport to serve efficiently.’
“The problem is that the way the community relates to Translink is like being in a taxi and telling the driver to turn left and right at the same time.”
Excepting the pandemic, passenger numbers have risen over the last decade in Northern Ireland, with public transport patronage reaching 84.5 million journeys in 2018/19 – the highest in 20 years.
Further changes to the public transport network will, however, require significant investment.
Having analysed public transport here, Mr Walker said Belfast has a “good network – it’s reasonably clear, very much focused on the city centre, and there are interesting questions about whether it will be necessary in future to make it easier to travel between places outside the city centre.’’
For Mr Walker, the most important element of public transport is “the ability to connect people to many destinations that they value in the amount of time that they have in their day”.
Looking towards the future, he said some big choices must be made.
“It comes down to how serious the Northern Ireland government wants to be about its goals regarding climate or social inclusion,” he says. “Obviously, public transport investment is inseparable from that.
“What’s needed are clear decisions on how to reuse the streets and what level of public transport you’re going to provide and how that success is defined.”
Mr Walker described the potential for public transport in and between cities and towns in Northern Ireland as “boundless”.
“There is plenty of opportunity for public transport to dramatically grow its share and to be as dominant a choice as it is in France or Germany.’’