Information on transport in Dublin is listed under

• Traffic, Parking & Clamping
• Taxis & Hackneys
• Airport, Arriving & Departing
• Ferries, Car Ferries

Additionally, for information on state run city & national transport services, please see

• Dublin Bus
• Dart - Dublin Area Rapid Transport, & Suburban Rail
• Luas - New Suburban Light Rail (under construction)
• Bus Eireann - National Bus Services
• Iarnrod Eireann - InterCity National Rail Services

Traffic, Parking & Clamping
Traffic in Dublin has become exceptionally congested in recent years as the population of the city has grown to almost one third of the nation's population. Gridlock is commonplace and despite a number of initiaitives to comabt the problem, little real benefit has been seen. If travelling to Dublin, avoid using a car in the city centre if at all possible, or be prepared for a frustrating wait. Traffic is particularly bad around the centre from 8 to 10am and from 3 to 7pm, but for some areas, the gridlock remains all day. Consider using the DART system and parking your car on the outskirts of the city of you are visiting for a short time. Or hop on a bus. A small bit of advance planning can make a big difference to your trip.

On-street parking in Dublin is mostly covered by pay and display meters on the streets with various prices depending on the zone. Maximum parking time is 3 hours and pay times are usually 7am - 7pm Monday to Saturday, 2pm to 6pm Sunday (city centre only). After 8pm you may pay for up to 3 hours parking for the following morning. ALWAYS take care to carefully read the time zone information that is displayed on the roadsigns - Dublin City Council operates a clamping penalty system whereby teams of traffic wardens regularly survey the streets for vehicles illegally parked or parked beyond their metered time. It is costly to have a clamp removed. In some case, the car itself will be removed incurring an even larger fine and considerable inconvenience. Of course all this can be avoided by parking within the law. Informaiton on clamping and fees is available on the Dublin City Council site traffic section (www.dublincity.ie/traffic/).

There are numerous multi-storey car parks (MSCP) around the centre of Dublin and main routes into the city centre display information screens with live feeds indicating the current capacity of spaces in the car parks. City centre parking is costly. MSCPs include Royal Surgeons and Stephens Green Shopping Centre near St Stephens Green (map l52o54), Jury's near Christchurch (map l49o51), Drury Lane and Brown Thomas near Dame Street (map l49o51) and Fleet Street in Temple Bar (map l49o51). Jervis Street, Abbey Street and Parnell Street have MSCPs in the north city centre (map l46o48). More information is available from the Dublin City Council site traffic section (www.dublincity.ie/traffic/).

Taxis & Hackneys
Taxis in Dublin are regulated by the Carriage Office at Garda Headquarters in Dublin Castle, are metered and subject to fixed rates and tarifs. All taxis should display a driver ID and a list of rates and tarifs inside which you are entitled to inspect. Taxi meters should show two figures during travel - the travel cost and the fixed extras cost. Taxis are identified by the yellow taxi roof sign and a small metal plate displaying the taxi licence number which may be mounted inside or outside the taxi. Otherwise, taxis are just ordinary cars or vans - there is no standard for vehicle type or colour such as the black taxi in the UK or the yellow cab in the US. Taxis in Dublin are expensive but are an essential service to supplement a less than complete public transport system.

Note that charges levied vary depending on time of day and location of pick-up. For example, pick up or set down at Dublin airport incurs an extra fixed charge in addition to carriage. If you are unsure, always ask how your bill was arrived at. It is not customary to tip taxi drivers, but often the balance of change or coinage is given if it is not excessive.

Hackney cabs are similar to taxis in that they are licensed, however they cannot be hailed on the street but instead are called out for specific journeys. They are often cheaper but agree the fare beforehand.