Galway's Christams park and ride service to open early
A park and ride facility which operates in the run up to Christmas in Galway has announced it will open earlier this year after the success and popularity of the scheme last year. The service provides affordable travel into the city centre for shoppers and commuters and offers the cheapest all-day parking rate at just €2.
The temporary park and ride facility will open at the Galway Racecourse in Ballybrit. Buses will run regularly every 15 minutes from 7am till 9:30pm Monday to Saturday, and 11pm till 7pm on Sundays. The service will open for business on December 5th and will run right up until Christmas Eve.
Galway Council decided to bring the park and ride bus facility back after passenger numbers last year were up 80% compared to 2007, with an increase in the number of cars rising to 66% above the figure for the same year.
The success of last year has been attributed to the facilities strong marketing campaign and also the price cut of 50% taking an all day parking fee down to €2, from €4 a day in 2007. Also a brand new bus station in the city centre is thought to have helped entice people into using the park and ride facility as this meant passengers had somewhere dry and warm to wait for their bus.
The council hopes to open a permanent base for the park and ride bus service in time for the Christmas period next year.