Private car use in Dublin city centre has dropped significantly and public transport journey times have reduced along the quays since the Dublin City Transport Plan came into force last month.
Public transport use has increased and footfall is also up in Dublin city centre since bus gates were introduced on sections of the quays just over four weeks ago.
The figures were revealed at the first meeting by the National Transport Authority to monitor the implementation of the new traffic measures which took place yesterday evening.
It was told that a recent survey shows a 60% decrease in private cars using the quays which has resulted in a reduction of more than 400 cars per hour transiting through the city.
On average there are 270 less cars an hour on the south quays and 170 less an hour on the north quays.
The meeting, which was chaired by the Lord Mayor of Dublin James Geoghegan, as part of a commitment to try to ease concerns that had been raised about the plan, also heard there were improvements for public transport.
There has been an 11% rise in the number using public transport since 25 August.
The National Transport Authority also reported that public transport journey times on the north and south quays have reduced by around 24% over the past month.
That was echoed by Dublin Bus who have said they are seeing increases in reliability and frequency of their services since the plan came into force.
Dublin Town who have a number of stations to measure footfall in the city centre reported footfall for the month of September was up on the same time last year. That came after lower than average numbers were recorded visiting the city over the summer months.
The retail sector reported a mixed experience since the plan came into force.
Some told the meeting that the increased footfall figures have not translated into footfall in shops. Use of the Brown Thomas and Arnotts carparks was said to be down between 10-15%. There were also some concerns raised in relation to drop-off zones, loading bays and the ongoing issue of safety in the city centre.
IBEC, the Dublin City Traders Alliance, and the Minister of State for Enterprise Emer Higgins had all called for the plan to be paused until next spring because of concerns that it would have on sales and jobs in the city centre.
Disability groups were also present at the meeting and raised the prospect of blue badge holders being given access to bus gates in the future, which the NTA said it would explore.
The group concluded the meeting by agreeing to focus on encouraging more people into the city centre in the run up to Christmas.
The group is due to meet again at the end of November when it is expected more data will be available on traffic trends.
The measures which were introduced last month are the first in a series of phases of the Dublin transport plans with further changes due to come into effect next year.
