The M50 Cordon is a cordon of traffic survey locations that encloses Dublin City. The Cordon Report offers a detailed snapshot into inbound traffic flows on weekdays between 07:00 and 19:00.
The report, commissioned by the National Transport Authority (NTA), surveys all inbound travel from areas surrounding and enclosing Waterford City during the morning and evening peak periods.
The survey
The report, commissioned by the National Transport Authority (NTA), surveys all inbound travel from areas surrounding and enclosing Waterford City during the morning and evening peak periods.
Vehicle occupancy surveys were undertaken at 36 sites and Pedestrian and Cycle only surveys were undertaken at 5 locations along the Cordon at key pedestrian and cycle only routes i.e. parks and dedicated pedestrian and cycle corridors.
In addition to this, Bus Occupancy surveys were undertaken at 32 bus stops to determine the number, occupancy and frequency of bus services crossing the M50 Cordon, as well as inbound movements via the Dublin Port Tunnel and M1.
Passenger numbers from the Annual Luas Census (Transport Infrastructure Ireland) and Annual Rail Census (Iarnród Éireann) were also used to determine the passengers travelling across the M50 Cordon inbound via Luas and Heavy Rail, respectively.
The findings : 38% used sustainable modes of transports (bus, rail, cycling, walking)
Based on the analysis of the 2024 survey data, the key results are:
- In terms of overall people movements, 220,816 (38%) of a total of 581,289 people travelling inbound towards the city between 07:00 and 19:00 used sustainable modes of travel, i.e. cycling, walking, bus, light rail and heavy rail.
- The total number of vehicles, pedestrians and cyclists that crossed the M50 Cordon inbound was 394,371 over 12 hours on the day of the survey.
- The busiest time period for vehicles and cyclists was the AM peak with 122,789 crossing inbound towards the city. The busiest time period for Pedestrians was the AM peak with 2,406 crossing inbound.
- Between the hours of 07:00 and 19:00, cars were recorded to have the highest vehicular traffic split, with 76% of the total inbound flows. Light Goods Vehicles (LGVs) recorded 12%, Ordinary Goods Vehicles 1 (OGV1) recorded 3%, Ordinary Goods Vehicles 2 (OGV2) recorded 2% and taxis recorded 3%. The remaining vehicle classifications recorded 2% or less of the total flows.
- In terms of vehicle occupancy, 87% of cars crossing inbound towards the city had single occupancy during the AM period (07:00 – 10:00) and 90% during the PM period (16:00 – 19:00) and 65% of taxis recorded single occupancy (i.e. driver-only) over the 12-hour survey period.
- Between 07:00 and 19:00, 54% of buses were at 25-49% capacity. Approximately 11% of buses were at 0-24% capacity, 26% were at 50-74% capacity, 6% were at 75-99% capacity and 3% were at 100% capacity.
The survey is part of a broader monitoring programme that also includes the Waterford, Galway, Limerick and Cork.
Previous report (s)
The Report
The full report is available below:
