Galway’s Christmas Park and Ride Service begins on Saturday December 3 and will have a fare of €2 that includes all day parking and return bus travel.
The all-in fare for the Galway City Council’s park and ride service has been introduced to encourage maximum public uptake in the run up to Christmas.
The €2 fare covers all day parking at Galway Racecourse and return bus travel for the car driver and his/her passengers to and from the city centre.
The service will be provided by Bus Éireann and will offer 15 minute frequency between 7am and 9.30pm on Mondays to Saturdays and from 11am to 7pm on Sundays. The service will run right up to Christmas Eve on Saturday December 24, in an effort to encourage motorists, particularly those travelling along the N6, M6, N18, N17 and Monivea roads to park at the Racecourse.
“This year we aim to increase customer uptake on last year in an effort to shuttle as many passengers as possible to the city centre,” said Joe Tansey, head of the Galway Transportation Unit. “To do so, the fare is deliberately set at a highly competitive level to increase its attractiveness.”
Mr Tansey said he is confident that the park and ride service will offer value to customers.
“Based on our annual customer surveys where for example last year 93 per cent of passengers carried rated the service as excellent,” he said, “we are inviting all motorists who have not yet experienced park and ride to make the change.”
The Galway Transportation Unit, Bus Éireann, Iarnród Éireann, and An Taisce Green Schools Travel Programme are also encouraging the public in the county regions to take advantage of sustainable travel options during the run up to Christmas.
Bus Éireann has introduced €10 return bus fares from numerous town in County Galway to Galway city centre and Iarnród Éireann is offering promotional return fares from Athenry to the city centre.
Adults travelling to Galway city from Athenry after 9am can take the train for just €6 return thereby making a saving of €5.30 on the usual fare.
In addition, GTU in conjunction with An Taisce Green Schools Travel is also encouraging people to walk, take the bus, cycle, park’n’stride, and carpool to school in the run up to Christmas.
