Dublin Citys deputy lord mayor has said that the operating hours of 24/7 bus lanes should be reduced because they are not needed on weekends, as he doesnt see congestion then, but in the same breath, he also said that the bus lanes are adding to congestion on weekends. The deputy lord mayor, Cllr John Stephens (Fianna Fil), said: A lot of residents of the Navan Road have asked me Do we need a bus line in operation for seven days a week, 24/7?'He said: During the weekend, on Saturday and Sunday, I dont see the congestion, and I really think that we should free up a lot of these areas because I think its adding to congestion during the weekends.He made the comments at yesterdays Central Area Committee meeting, a local area meeting of Dublin City Council. Its something we may look at going forward, but I dont think we need bus lanes in operation seven days a week, 24 7. We should be able to give the motorists a break. You know we all talk about trying to bring business and activity back into the centre of Dublin, he said.Cllr Stephens said: I was asked a few residents who live in the area do they ever go shopping in the city centre? and they said they dont, and I asked why, [they said] would you carry out seven bags on a bus?'However, when referring to the large weekly shopping by car, the shopping options for the Navan Road area have increased in recent decades, with the area now served by a Tesco Superstore directly and Aldi and Lidl supermarkets a short distance off the road.Cllr Stephens added: Like, if we really want to get real about bringing activity back into this city, we have to encourage motorists to go in and do their shopping, and bring back life into the inner city, and I do think weve gone over board regards bus lanes and definitely as regards not trying to bring back business into the centre of Dublin and I would be all for that.Responding to the comments, Cllr Feljin Jose (Green Party), who is also a councillor on the committee and his partys transport spokesperson, said: If there is congestion, the bus lanes are needed for the buses. If there is no congestion, there would be no need for cars to use the bus lanes.He added: Calls to open up bus lanes to cars always seem to exist in this mixed state where there is both congestion and no congestion at the same time.Jason Cullen, chairperson of the Dublin Commuter Coalition, a group which advocates for public transport, said: The Dublin Commuter Coalition have consistently advocated for 24-hour bus lanes, not only to reduce confusion for all road users, but more importantly, so that buses are not needlessly delayed by private motorists.We have repeatedly heard elected officials call for 7-7 bus lanes so private motorists can have a break, when in reality it comes at times when traffic is typically free-moving anyway. Giving motorists increased space in light traffic can encourage faster speeds, which poses a danger to vulnerable road users, he said.Cullen added: If councillors are genuine about supporting the night-time economy, it wont come through limiting public transport priority and making our roads more dangerous, it will only happen when people have a safe, frequent and reliable form of transportation, and for that we need 24-hour bus lanes along with late and overnight services using them.