NOW PAY TO DROP OFF AT AIRPORT
DUBLIN Airport is to introduce toll booths for drivers dropping passengers at their terminal – even if it’s just for 30 seconds. The airport is moving quickly to get the tolls installed during the pandemic, when there is less traffic to get in the way of constructing the new incomegenerating drop-off sections.
However, there is a growing backlash to the project, with one local TD claiming the Government would face a revolt over the charges, and that it will only lead to passengers being dropped off on roads outside of the airport, thus posing traffic hazards.
Residents living in the vicinity of the airport have expressed concern
that the new drop-off tolls will add to traffic problems already existing in these areas as many would opt to drop passengers off on surrounding routes to avoid charges.
Explaining the decision, a spokesman said that the airport has detected ‘abuse’ by drivers dropping off or picking up passengers, with some obstructing the free flow of vehicles or clogging up space for hours in the airport.
He said that picking up passengers at the airport door is not allowed, yet many motorists just ignore the rule.
‘Private cars are permitted to drop off in front of both terminals at Dublin Airport. However, no private vehicle pick-up is permitted in these locations. The current system has been abused by some for several years, with cars illegally stopping to wait for pickups or circling the campus roads several times before they finally collect their party,’ he said.
But the move, which has already seen the DAA lodge a planning application for the tolls with Fingal County Council, has not been welcomed by
‘This has really annoyed locals’
residents living near the airport.
‘This latest move by the DAA has really annoyed local residents who are convinced that the charge will encourage people to drop off passengers on the roads near to the airport that are already closed and congested,’ said Sinn Féin TD Louise O’Reilly, whose constituency includes the airport zone.
She said it would make more sense to launch a campaign to encourage people to use the airport bus and ‘by running direct services to places like Blanchardstown as a way to encourage more people to come to the airport by bus’.
Construction of the toll booths is expected to start shortly.
The profit from the tolls will go towards the airport’s green projects – including a new airport ‘solar farm’, the conversion of the airport’s shuttle buses from diesel to ‘low-emission vehicles’, and installing charging points for electric vehicles.
The airport has already carried out design checks for the new ‘Drop-Off and Pick-Up Zone’ system. It has found that the ‘dwell time’ at the new toll booths, which will accept toll tag, card and cash payments, will ‘typically be less than 60 seconds’.
A two-tier system will be introduced – with those willing to pay able to drop a passenger right to the door of the terminal. Other drivers will be able to park for free at long-term parking and let their passengers walk or take a free shuttle bus to their terminal.
Any drivers avoiding the toll booths by using the free option, however, will not be allowed to linger in long-term parking.
The airport said that dropping someone off at the terminal door has not been officially allowed for at least 20 years, but this rule has been largely ignored – something the management company, DAA, now wants to change.
DAA (formerly the Dublin Airport Authority) also runs Cork Airport, which has a paid drop-off and pick-up zone, where it says a strict two-away system has been introduced for people who leave their cars at the terminal door and spend sometimes hours inside saying goodbye to passengers.
A paid drop-off and pick-up zone is also used at Belfast International Airport.
DAA stressed that the new system would not be introduced until the coronavirus crisis is over, but said: ‘Works will take place shortly if the project receives approval from the planning authorities.’
He confirmed that the tolls would operate in front of Terminal 1 and Terminal 2.
The official said that some people have been upset about the proposed changes and vented their fury online. Responding to some claims that there is no public transport option to get to the airport, the DAA official said: ‘That is simply untrue. Dublin Airport is the busiest bus terminal in the entire country. It has more buses coming in and out than Busáras [the main bus terminal]. Buses come from the centre and direct from all over the country.’
The spokesman said the airport has not yet decided how much to charge for the drop-off service. And asked if the new charge would apply to taxis, the DAA spokesman said: ‘We haven’t yet decided on the pricing structure and how that may or may not apply.’
They added said that there is a particularly green element to the proposed tolls rooted in reducing emissions by cutting down on the number of car journeys made to and from the airport.
The DAA official added that a free drop-off and pick-up option ‘will continue to be available after the new zones have been introduced by using a new dedicated area in the Express Red long-term car park’. ‘A new reduced-fee 30minute parking period will also be introduced at Dublin Airport’s short-term car parks, which are located beside the passenger terminals,’ he added.
The new system requires changes to internal airport roads, with new exit lanes and barriers on the main exit road required. ‘It will be more efficient to complete the construction work during the current downturn in passenger numbers, as it will have significantly less disruption,’ the spokesman said.
‘No decision on pricing structure’