Limerick City and County Council has announced that a FREE Christmas Park & Ride service will begin from Saturday, 6th December providing a convenient transport alternative for shoppers during the busy Christmas season.
The pilot scheme, which will be operated by Bus Eireann on behalf of the local authority, will provide a free Park & Ride service from the Greyhound Stadium on the Dock Road where up to 400 car parking spaces are available within a short bus ride of the city centre.
A shuttle bus service to and from a special Park & Ride bus stop on Lower Cecil Street will operate every 15 minutes in each direction.
The service will operate from 10am to 7pm daily from Saturday 6th December to Wednesday 24th December and is provided by Limerick City and County Council in conjunction with the National Transport Authority, Bus Eireann, Limerick Greyhound Stadium and Limerick Smarter Travel.
“We’re delighted to provide this free service which should prove attractive to people who feel uncomfortable using multi storey car parks or who dislike driving in busy city centres,” said Cllr Michael Sheahan, Mayor of the Metropolitan District of Limerick.
“If used, the Park & Ride has the potential to remove hundreds of cars per day from the city centre thus reducing congestion. We are grateful to our partners for their support, including the Limerick Greyhound Stadium for providing the parking facility and Bus Eireann who will operate the service on our behalf.”
The Christmas Park & Ride service is one of a number of initiatives that Limerick City and County Council is providing over the festive season including making 3000 on-street car parking spaces in Limerick City free from 3pm every day. The ‘Free from Three’ initiative also applies in Newcastle West, Abbeyfeale and Kilmallock.
Private car park owners have joined with the local authority to promote Christmas and New Year shopping in the city centre by reducing parking rates and making special offers available to motorists to festive shoppers and visitors.
Limerick City and County Council consulted with a Working Group set up to discuss Christmas parking initiatives in the city centre which included nominated councillors and a representative group from Limerick City Business Association.
The full list of Limerick’s Parking Friendly Initiatives for Christmas 2014 include:
Free Park & Ride
A free Park & Ride service will be provided from 6th-24th December from Limerick Greyhound Stadium to the city centre every 15 minutes in both directions. Provided by Limerick City and County Council in association with Bus Eireann and Limerick Greyhound Stadium. The Park & Ride site at Limerick Greyhound Stadium will be signposted from The Dock Road and from Junction 2 on the Southern Ring Road.
Free from Three
On street parking charges (disc parking) are suspended from 3pm every day until Sunday, 4th Jan. On street parking is always free in Limerick City Centre on Sundays.
Free From Three – County Towns
On street parking charges are also suspended from 3pm every day in Newcastle West, Abbeyfeale and Kilmallock from Monday, 24th November-4th Jan.
Pre-book car parks on-line for €4 and leave your car for the day
Shoppers can pre-book their parking on-line or over the phone for €4 in all Q Park carparks (at Q-Park Henry Street , Q-Park Cruises Street and Harvey’s Quay)
€1 an hour on-street parking
Limerick City centre on-street parking at €1 an hour is one of the cheapest in the country with 3,500 spaces available. Around 20,000 Park Magic or E-Parking customers can buy on street parking from 50c for 30 minutes.
Overnight deals in off street car parks
Overnight parking is also more affordable with many off street car parks offering a special rate of €5 per night, perfect for Christmas concerts and parties.
For information on Christmas in Limerick please visit www.limerick.ie/christmas