Driving the Future of Public Transport

Priscilla Rooney, group general counsel and company secretary at Translink, talks to Emma Deighan about the business’ role in Northern Ireland’s drive to Net Zero emissions and its economic recovery post-pandemic.

Translink sustained its operations, albeit reduced, throughout the pandemic but now the organisation has already started to return to more normal timetables as Northern Ireland emerges from the pandemic.

“We’re seeing an increase in passenger demand and our operations teams are working to facilitate this across all routes. With more people returning to the workplace, shopping, hospitality venues and leisure destinations we expect to see passenger journeys grow as the year progresses,” says Priscilla Rooney.

Translink has been extremely active in recent months despite its operational challenges during the lockdowns. This includes investment in electric and hydrogen vehicles for Belfast and DerryLondonderry, to trialling a new contactless fare-paying option ahead of a rollout this month on Metro.

Translink is ambitious; public transport will be hugely important in NI’s green economic recovery and these schemes are just part of a number of developments to enhance the overall customer experience and help build back stronger and better connected for everyone.

One of its biggest infrastructure projects yet is the NI Executive flagship Belfast Transport Hub.

The impressive new multi-modal Transport Hub will replace the existing Europa and Great Victoria Street bus and rail stations. It will provide greater capacity with an increase to 26 bus stands, eight railway platforms, enhanced walking and cycling connectivity, greater comfort and

accessibility, encouraging greener, active travel for a healthier, smarter city.

The Weavers Cross development, delivered as part of the project, will regenerate the lands around the Transport Hub and facilitate economic growth and urban regeneration too.

Priscilla adds: “It’s really positive for Belfast City and Northern Ireland as a whole to see this project go Iive, and indeed the main construction works are now underway with completion due 2025.

“The Hub is the catalyst for the wider project at Weavers Cross, and we want to work with a private sector partner to develop that into a vibrant mix of office, residential, hospitality and retail space. We see it as regenerating a part of Belfast, bringing an influx of pedestrians, and realising opportunities for our host communities.”

A new terminus and revived metropolis is just one part of Translink’s plans to boost public transport usage here.

Translink is accelerating its actions on the climate crisis and air quality. It will use its Climate Positive Strategy to encourage the public to reduce their own carbon emissions by leaving the car behind while delivering its own plans on decarbonisation.

That is a drive that may be advanced as a result of the recent energy price hikes, and a refreshed public consciousness and obligation to create a greener environment, Priscilla believes.

“Part of our strategy is to be fully Net Zero by 2040 and Climate Positive by 2050 by having more battery and hydrogen vehicles in service, and we are looking towards similar progress on the rail network,” she continues.

“When we couple this offering with the ease of use of our new contactless payment system, there is an obvious opportunity for Translink to encourage more people to use public transport.

“I think new hybrid working models and the change in how our customers live and work will also help that shift. The typical Monday-to-Friday, nine-to-five commuter market may become very different in the coming months and years, and this provides us with many opportunities to improve our capacity levels at traditional peak times, as journeys become more evenly spread throughout the day.

“The net result of a move towards increased use of Translink’s services hits right to the heart of the green recovery – and the Covid pandemic highlighted the importance of bus and rail travel in keeping our communities connected and the role we all play on the journey to Net Zero.

“If everyone across the UK switched only one car journey per month to sustainable transport, there would be more than one billion fewer cars on the road and two million tonnes of CO2 removed from the atmosphere annually. So, when you hear those statistics, it’s pretty remarkable how a small change in behaviour can make such a huge difference.”

Priscilla says those ambitions are dependent on government funding.

“There is a significant challenge around this because government spend per head on public transport in Northern Ireland is only 27% of the UK average spend per head, but it is our public sector networks that are key to reaching that Net Zero target.”

Translink has continued its drive to Net Zero by introducing the first hydrogen buses on the island of Ireland to its fleet at the end of 2020. These buses emit only water vapour, with no harmful pollutants.

Now in a further landmark moment the company is taking delivery of an additional 100 zero-emission buses from Wrightbus for Metro in Belfast. Made up of 80 battery-electric and 20 hydrogen buses, they will be gradually introduced over the coming months and will mean around 33% of all Metro services will be Net Zero carbon.

This will be the start of a step change in delivering innovative, smarter and cleaner transport solutions for a modern city.

Also announced last year was the introduction of electric zero-emission buses in Derry-Londonderry, making it one of the first cities in the UK and Ireland to have a fully zero-emission bus fleet when all the vehicles go into passenger service in 2023.

These multi-million-pound deals form part of Northern Ireland’s sustainable future, helping support the wider Northern Ireland economy.

“If you think about the local economy and the supply chain, that investment goes back into Northern Ireland again,” Priscilla adds, referencing its recent contracts with Ballymena bus maker, Wrightbus.

Today there are some 4,000 people working for Translink and that figure has remained stable throughout the pandemic.

Priscilla has been with the Group for four years, providing strategic advice on legal and governance matters, ethics and information governance to the Translink Board and Executive Team.

It’s a role she relishes: “Supporting and enhancing decisions that reflect our objectives and values, while being commercially focused”.

“Translink is a great place to work. We have so many exciting projects going on here and that was one of the key drivers for me moving into an in-house role,” she adds.

“We have a team that prides itself on its values. We are committed to the development of female leadership within the organisation and a new Women in Transport Employee Network and mentoring scheme has been established to inspire females and to support their growth throughout their careers with Translink. I’m also pleased to lend my support in this area to encourage more females to join the sector.

“Events like our Have a Go Day – which opens externally – is about that, but like many industries we have more work to do and have recently launched a new Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Strategy to provide support to growing a more diverse workforce.”

Reflecting on the past two years and the opportunities that lie ahead for the Group, Priscilla concludes: “We’re moving into more positive and exciting times, and Translink will be leading the transformation of public transport in Northern Ireland.”

“If everyone across the UK switched only one car journey per month to sustainable transport, there would be more than one billion fewer cars on the road and two million tonnes of CO2 removed from the atmosphere annually.”