The numbers choosing to make use of the Galway City Council’s Christmas Park and Ride service is “significantly higher than this time last year,” according to research by City Hall.
According to a statement from the local authority’s Transportation Unit, the percentage increase for both Saturday December 6 and Sunday 7 was “greater than 100 per cent of the figures recorded for the same dates last year. Similarly, a 61 per cent increase was in evidence for Monday December 8 relative to the same date last year”.
The council expects demand for the service will be very strong in the weeks prior to Christmas Eve. The bus service runs every 15 minutes from Ballybrit to the Galway Coach Station at Eyre Square from 7.30am to 9.30pm Monday to Saturday.
A spokesperson for Galway Transportation Unit attributes this to a number of factors including an all-day parking fare of €2 which includes bus travel to the city centre for the car driver and all his/her passengers; provision of a quality bus service - with the first 100 customers each morning receiving a free copy of a national newspaper as they step onto a premier quality service; and extensive promotion of the service.
Feedback on the service via survey questionnaire reveals consistently high customer satisfaction ratings with the majority of customers surveyed rating the service as excellent. Some of the comments received from customers to date include: “10 out of 10”; “coaches were first class, great comfort and very efficient service”; and “can’t beat the excellent service”.
In addition, Iarnród Éireann and Bus Éireann anticipate strong uptake of their respective park and ride Christmas initiatives, which offer reduced fares on key commuter routes to the city. The Galway Transportation Unit stresses that these combined initiatives will reduce traffic congestion on the east of the city in the run up to Christmas.
