Galway Public Transport News

Bus Eireann route and timetable changes - March 2012

2012-02-27T10:42:00.000-08:00

Bus Éireann have announced a range of bus route and timetable changes in Galway City, from Sunday 4 March 2012.

They have provided a new stand-alone network map, and timetable details are available on their site now.

In summary:

Route 1s - Salthill becomes Route 401, and the frequncy is increased to 3 buses/hour during the day, and decreases to once every 40 minutes at night
Route 1d - Salthill via Devon Park and 1k - Knocknacarra via Salthill are cancelled

Route 2e - Lisbeg Lawn (Renmore) becomes Route 402 - Merlin Park: it appears that all services will run through from Knocknacarra to Merlin Park via Renmore
Route 2w - Seacrest becomes Route 402 - Seacrest
Route 2d - Knocknacarra is cancelled. The net effect is a reduction in the number of buses to/from Knocknacarra, on average from 3 per hour to 2 per hour.

Route 3 - Ballybrit becomes Route 403 - Castlepark: inward and outward services both travel through Castlepark, and buses go to Parkmore industrial area to turn around

Route 4e - Merlin Park is replaced by Route Route 402 - Merlin Park
Route 4w - Newcastle becomes Route 404 - Newcastle: this uses the existing route to Newcastle, but goes to Westside Shopping Centre (via Siobhan McKenna Rd) to turn around and then travels back along the same route.

Route 5w - Rahoon Park is replaced by Route 405 - Rahoon (this now runs to the Knocknacarra Dunnes / B&Q shopping centre, but does not go through Westside/Newcastle on the way into town)
Route 5e - Ballybane is replaced by Route 405 - Ballybane: it appears that all services will run through from Rahoon, through to Ballybane and on to Ballybrit - the exact route is still to be advised. It appears that this bus will not use the Quincentennary Bridge, but it may turn around inside Ballybrit industrial estate.

Route 7 - Ballinfoyle/ Bóthar an Chóiste becomes route 407 - Bóthar an Chóiste: there are no route changes, but the frequency is reduced to once every 40 minutes.

Route 8 - Mervue is cancelled. The service it provides may be replaced by the new Route 405, depending where it goes.

Route 9 - Parkmore becomes Route 409 - Parkmore Industrial Estate. The route is not changed, and the only timetable changes are that the 6:30am bus from Eyre Square now runs via Doughiska, and the addition of a 12-midnight service from Parkmore to Eyre Square
Route 9a - Galway Clinic is replaced by Route 10 - Oranmore: this is an hourly service between Galway City and Oranmore, via Galway clinic, between 7am and 7pm.

The new routes were presented to Galway City Council in January 2012, although there are some differences between the announced routes and media reports from that presentation (see here, and related articles from the City Tribune of 13-Jan-2012, which are not available on-line).

These changes have been approved by the National Transport Authority, which is the government body responsible for licensing public transport in Ireland.

There is currently no for process for public consultation about bus-service changes. Consultation with the City Council is a courtesy, and it is unclear how much influence they have over the final routes.

Updated city bus route and summary maps for GalwayTransport.info are being prepared, and will be on the site shortly.

Citylink early-morning cancellations

2012-02-05T05:51:00.000-08:00

From Mon 6 February 2012, Citylink will no longer run these bus services:

3:15am express from Galway to Dublin City & Airport,
7:45am express from Dublin Airport (8:15 from Dublin City) to Galway

Full CityLink timetable details are availabe on their website.

Information about all companies operating between Galway and Dublin is available on the Regional
Buses page.

Citylink 5% bus fare increases and on-line discounts, from Feb 2012

2012-01-26T13:40:00.000-08:00

Citylink fares for express and commuter services are increasing on 1 February 2012. Exact fares have not been announced yet, but they say that " an average increase of approximately 5% will apply to all our fares and ticket classes".

At the same time, Citylink are introducing a 10% discount for on-line ticket purchases.

Full CityLink fare details are availabe on their website.

Information about all bus services between Galway and Dublin is available on the Regional Buses page.

Flights from Ireland West to Leeds Bradford

2012-01-22T05:51:00.000-08:00

Flybe will be operating flights between Leeds-Bradford (LBA) and Ireland West / Knock (NOC), from 25 March 2012.

Three flights per week, bookings are being taken now.

Bus Éireann's route 64 (Galway - Knock Airport - Sligo - Derry) makes Ireland West airport an option from Galway. (Ref: Airport transfers from Galway)

Further details of the Flybe service.

City Direct Galway fare increases for 2012

2012-01-09T06:02:00.000-08:00

City Direct Galway fare increases apply from 9 January 2012.

Adult from €1.80 to €1.90
Children 13-16 years from €1.30 to €1.40
Children up to 12 years (Mon-Fri 8am-5pm): from €0.90 to €1.00

See Galway city bus fares for full details, including weekly and monthly fares.

TaxSaver train fares increases from March 2012

2012-01-07T03:07:00.000-08:00

TaxSaver has announced fare increases for train tickets, effective from March 2010. These rates will be applied on tickets purchased during February for use from 1 March.

Indicative prices for a range of journeys are given here: http://www.taxsaver.ie/News/New-Rail-Rates-from-March-2012/.

Some examples:

Galway - Athenry monthly ticket will cost €137.00,
Galway - Athenry annnual ticket will cost €1370.00
An annual ticket for all Iarnród Éireann and Bus Éireann services will cost €4150.00

These are TaxSaver fares only. To access these tickets, your employer must be join the TaxSaver scheme and buy the tickets on your behalf. Members of the public cannot buy TaxSaver fares. Actual prices depend on the route travelled, and also your PRSI rate. See TaxSaver.ie for more details.

Regular train prices are available from the Irish Rail website, and tickets can be purchased from Ceannt Station.

See Regional Bus services for details of all national and regional buses to, from and through Galway.

Bus fare increases in Jan 2012

2012-01-01T10:58:00.000-08:00

Details of 2012 Bus Éireann fare increases for Galway city have been released by the National Transport Authority.

Quick summary:
Adult city fares increase by 10c to €1.70.
Child city fare increases by 5c to €1.05
School-child city fare increases by 5c to €0.80.

Full details:
See Galway city bus fares for full details, including weekly and monthly fares.

CityLink's Dublin city pickup point moving to Aston Quay

2012-01-01T06:42:00.001-08:00

CityLink's Dublin-city bus stop is moving one block west on Monday 2nd January 2012.

Their Dublin to Galway services (both commuter and express) will now pick up passengers at Aston Quay, near Ha'penny Bridge, not Burgh Quay.

See their website for full details, or Dublin city bus stop for a map of all major Dublin city bus stops that are used by Galway services.

Regional bus services, 2011 Christmas and New Year in Galway

2011-12-19T17:44:00.001-08:00

One page, printable
version of all services

The table below lists regional bus services for the Galway metropolitan area over the 2011 Christmas and New Year period.

See City Bus and Train Services for Galway, Christmas and New Year 2011 for inner-city bus and also rail service information.

This is based on information published by the bus etc companies, and is subject to change. Always check with the company to confirm the services you want to use. Christmas timetable announcements from the main companies in Galway are at:

Burkes -- Bus Éireann -- Bus Feda -- City Direct -- CityLink -- Farrell Travel -- GoBus - Irish Rail / Iarnród Éireann

This information is for the Galway area only.
Changes in other areas are not included.

See City Bus Details and Regional Bus Details for normal timetables and route maps.

Day	Date	Bus Éireann	City Link	GoBus	Bus Feda(Donegal)	Burkes (Tuam)	Farrells (Athenry)
Fri	23 Dec	Normal service	Normal service	Normal service	Normal service	Normal service	Normal service
Sat	24 Dec / Xmas Eve	Normal service – some evening cancellations	Normal service	Last bus ex Galway 3:45pm. Ex Dublin 7:45pm	Normal service	Limited service	Daylink only – no Nightlink
Sun	25 Dec / Xmas Day	No service	12:15 am ex Dublin airpt	No service	No service	No service	No Service
Mon	26 Dec / Stephen's Day	Very limited service	Normal service	Mon-Thurs service	No service	No service	Nightlink only
Tues	27 Dec	Sunday service, some canceln’s	Normal service	Almost normal service	Limited service	Limited service	Normal service
Wed – Fri	28 – 30 Dec	Normal service	Normal service	Normal service	Normal service	Limited service	Normal service
Sat	31 Dec - New Years Eve	Normal service	Normal service	Normal service	Normal service	Limited service	Nightlink only
Sun	1 Jan - New Years Day	Sunday service	Normal service	Almost normal service	Limited service	No service	Nightlink only
Mon	2 Jan	Sunday service +	Normal service	Sunday service	Limited service	Limited service	No service
Tues - Fri	3 – 7 Jan	Normal service	Normal service	Normal service	Normal service	Normal service	Normal service

Galway City, 2011 Christmas and New Year public transport services

2011-12-19T17:27:00.000-08:00

One page, printable
version of all services

The table below lists city bus and train services for the Galway metropolitan area over the 2011 Christmas and New Year period.

See Regional Bus Services for Galway, Christmas and New Year 2011 for other bus companies.

This is based on information published by the bus etc companies, and is subject to change. Always check with the company to confirm the services you want to use. Christmas timetable announcements from the main companies in Galway are at:

Burkes -- Bus Éireann -- Bus Feda -- City Direct -- CityLink -- Farrell Travel -- GoBus - Irish Rail / Iarnród Éireann

This information is for the Galway area only.
Changes in other areas are not included.

See City Bus Details and Regional Bus Details for normal timetables and route maps

Day	Date	Bus Éireann city services	City Direct	Irish Rail
Fri	23 Dec	Normal service	Normal service	Normal service
Sat	24 Dec / Xmas Eve	Last bus leaves Eyre Square between 7 & 7:45pm	Last bus route 33, leaves Eyre Square 6:15pm	Normal service
Sun	25 Dec / Xmas Day	No service	No service	No service
Mon	26 Dec / Stephen's Day	No service	No service	No service
Tues	27 Dec	Sunday service	Saturday service	Normal service
Wed – Fri	28 – 30 Dec	Normal service	Saturday service + 7:05am from Cappagh Rd	Normal service
Sat	31 Dec - New Years Eve	Last bus leaves Eyre Square between 8:00 and 9:15pm	Saturday service	Normal Saturday service
Sun	1 Jan - New Years Day	Sunday timetable	No service	Almost Sunday service
Mon	2 Jan	Sunday service	Sunday service	Normal service
Tues - Fri	3 – 7 Jan	Normal service	Saturday service + 7:05am from Cappagh Rd	Normal service

2012 bus fare increases

2011-12-09T12:05:00.000-08:00

Bus Eireann have been given approval to increase fares from January 2012. The full announcement is available from the National Transport authority website.

The National Transport Authority is responsible for licensing bus routes, contracting for public transport services and funding bus and rail travel services for economic or social reasons. They consider submissions from companies that provide subsidised services, and approve fare levels for these services.

Details of exact fare changes for Galway city bus services and regional bus services are not yet available. But overall:

City and stage-coach (ie regional) service fares will increase by 5.4%

Weekly 10-trip fares on provincial city, commuter and local services will increase by 5.1%

Annual tax saver tickets on provincial city, commuter and local bus services will increase by 3%

Inter-city train fare increases have not yet been decided. Current city-bus fare information will be updated when the new rates for Galway are announced.

Extra route 33 buses on Sunday for December

2011-12-01T16:42:00.000-08:00

City Direct are running extra services on route 33 (Knocknacarra - Galway city via Claddagh, The West, UGH / Shantalla, Rahoon and Upper Clybaun Rd), on Sundays for the month of December.

See their website for full details.

Galway Transport Forum

2011-11-30T17:14:00.000-08:00

The Mayor of Galway has launched the Galway Transport Forum, to provide:

"interactive and inclusive engagement through an advisory group [about] current traffic congestion"

It will be carrying out a range of surveys over the next few weeks, and has a forum where you can contribute suggestions: register on www.GalwayTF.com, to participate.

Note: this is apparently separate from the Galway Traffic Forum.

Galway city park-and-ride, Christmas 2011

2011-11-25T14:59:00.000-08:00

A park-and-ride service will operate between Galway Racecourse and Galway city-centre, from Sat 26 Nov to Sat 24 December, inclusive.

Buses will run every 15 minutes:

From 7am to 9:30pm, Monday - Saturday
From 11am to 7pm, Sunday

The fare is €2:- this includes all-day parking, and a return bus-trip for the driver and all passengers in each car.

Public meeting about the Galway Public Bike Scheme

2011-11-03T13:37:00.000-07:00

This is a meeting to

"explore the potential for delivering effective public bikes schemes – similar to the ... “dublinbikes” scheme – in ... Galway."

Date: Tuesday, November 15 10.30am – 1.30pm

Venue: Siobhan McKenna Theatre, Arts Millennium Building, NUI Galway, University Road, Galway (see the NUIG neighbourhood map for public transport options).

Background information, including commercial and technical reports, is available from the National Transport Authority (NTA) website.

October 2011 Bank holiday public transport

2011-10-27T14:24:00.000-07:00

Monday 31 October 2011 is a bank / public Holiday in Ireland, and there are some bus service changes.

City Buses:

City Direct will run their their standard Sunday and public holiday city services/
Bus Éireann will run their standard Sunday-timetable service on both Sunday 30th and Monday 31st.

See City Bus Services for regular timetable links and maps.

Regional Buses
Most regional and national public transport services will run their standard Sunday-timetable service on both Sunday and Monday. However:

Bus Éireann will run their standard Sunday timetable Sunday 30th, except that the route 433 services at 4:35pm Tuam / Athlone, and 6:15pm Athlone / Tuam, are cancelled.
On Monday 31st, Bus Éireann have a number of time changes on services in Galway: see their website for details.

See Regional Bus Services for all timetable links.

Trains:
Irish Rail have released a timetable for the weekend - see it on their website.

GoBus timetable changes from 1 Nov 2011

2011-10-19T16:01:00.000-07:00

GoBus have a new Winter timetable operating from 1 November 2011, and available for booking now.

The main change is that a number of services that were "extra days only", ie Friday and Sunday, are now daily services. This includes:

Galway to Dublin at 3:45pm and 5:45pm
Dublin to Galway at 9:45am (ex Dublin airport).

On weekends that include a bank or public holiday, regular daily services run on Sunday and the extra services run on Monday. Bookings are recommended for the extra services, which are very popular with students.

See Regional Buses for links to all companies running bus services to, from or through Galway.

Aer Arran: no services from Galway airport for winter 2011, starting from 1 November

2011-10-12T10:28:00.000-07:00

Aer Arran have announced that they will not be running any services to/from Galway Airport for the winter season, starting from 1 November 2011.

Their full announcement.

See Galway airport ransfer options for public transport links to the other major airports regularly used by people from Galway (Dublin, Shannon, Knock, Cork).

CityLink Galway/Dublin commuter service changes, Sept 2011

2011-09-21T15:46:00.000-07:00

From 24 Sept 2011, CityLink's Galway - Dublin - Dublin Airport commuter (multi-stop) timetable is changing, to meet the needs of people travelling to work or college in Dublin City.

Main changes:

The 6am bus service from Galway now leaves at 5am, arriving in Dublin City (Bachelor's Walk, near O'Connell St) at 8:30am
The 7am bus service from Galway now leaves at 7:30am, arriving in Dublin City at 11:05am
The last commuter service from Galway leaves at 6pm (previously 7pm)
The 9:30pm commuter service from Dublin Airport to Galway is cancelled.

See the full new timetable commuter timetable here - note that non-stop/express services are not affected.

See the Regional Buses page for details of all national and regional services from Galway

Changes to Sligo / Knock / Galway bus service, Sept 2011

2011-09-09T09:55:00.000-07:00

Bus Éireann have announced changes to the Route 64 (Sligo - Knock/Ireland West - Sligo - Derry), effective from Sunday 11 Sept:

Changes advertised in local newspapers in Galway:

New Sunday 10am and Friday 2pm Sligo to Galway services
6pm Sligo to Galway service now leaves at 6:15pm
3:15pm Derry - Sligo - Galway bus now leaves at 3:30pm.
6am Galway - Sligo bus now picks up in Charlestown, Tubbercurry and Ballinacarrow
Some changes to times from GMIT in Galway and Ireland West Airport in Knock.

Changes listed on Bus Éireann's website:

6:45am Donegal/Galway will depart at 6:40am
10am Sligo/Galway will operate Monday to Sunday.
2:10pm Galway/Sligo service will operate Monday to Sunday
3:15pm Derry/Galway will depart at 3:30pm. Ireland West Airport Knock will not be served.
6:10pm Galway/Sligo will not serve Ireland West Airport Knock.
9:05pm5 Sligo/Galway - Friday & Sunday - will serve Claremorris and Castlemacgarrett.

See the full route 64 timetable or Bus Éireann's Journey Planner for exact times.

See Regional Buses for details of all national / regional buses to, from and through Galway

Bus service changes for Galway Ironman 70.3, 4 Sept 2011

2011-09-02T13:11:00.000-07:00

There are a number of city and regional bus service changes due to road closures for the Galway Ironman event on Sunday 4 September, 2011.

Bus Éireann

No Salthill (1s and 1k) service until 5pm
Knocknacarra (2w) and Newcastle/Rahoon (4xX5w) diverted via Bohermore, Sean Mulvoy Road, Quincentennial Bridge, Seamus Quirke Road until 2pm
Regional service route 419 from Galway at 11:10am and from Ougtherard 12:50pm are cancelled.
No information is provided about other affected regional services, but it is likely that route 424 services (to Spiddal / Carraroe) will be impacted.

See City Bus Services for regular route maps and timetable links.

For further details, see Bus Éireann's press release (dated 23-Aug-2011, visible in their RSS feed on 1-Sept-2011), or contact the company directly (NB their on-line systems do not show these changes, as at 9pm on 2 Sept).

CityLink:
9am and 12-noon Galway to Clifden services and 7:15am and 9:15am Clifden to Galway services won't travel via Moycullen, Rosscahil and Oughterard. They will divert via the Headford Road and delays are likely.

Three extra Galway / Tuam services - including one on Sunday evening

2011-08-28T14:18:00.000-07:00

Burkes Buses have announced three extra services each way between Tuam and Galway City, including one on Sunday evening, from Mon 29 August 2011.

See their Facebook page for the announcement, and their website for times and intermediate bus stops (from Monday).

See the Galway Regional Buses page for all services operating to and from Galway City.

Photo: Tuam Cathedral (near the bus stop) Andreas F. Borchert [GFDL (www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html) or CC-BY-SA-3.0-2.5-2.0-1.0 (www.creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

New bus stop for Burkes Buses in Galway city

2011-08-26T08:49:00.000-07:00

Burkes commuter buses have a new stop in Galway city for services from Tuam etc.

It is on Eyre Square across from Garvey's pub. See the regional bus stops map for the exact location, and the regional buses page for a description of all Burkes Buses services.

Buses for the Oranmore Celtic Shore Festival, 2011

2011-08-26T08:21:00.000-07:00

The Celtic Shore Festival is behing held in Oranmore village from 26 - 28 August, 2011. Special bus services are running from surrounding towns on Friday 26th and Saturday 27th.

Fare
€5 One Way, €7 Return

Timetable

Athenry (provided by Farrell Travel)

From the church carpark
Times 4:30pm, 5:30pm, 6:30pm

Claregalway (provided by Farrell Travel)

From the Claregalway Hotel (number 8 on the Claregalway neighbourhood map)
Times 4:30pm, 5:30pm, 6:30pm

Loughrea (provided by Farrell Travel)

From Supermacs (number 22 on the Loughrea neighbourhood map)
Times 4:30pm, 5:30pm, 6:30pm

Craughwell (provided by Farrell Travel)

From the church
Times 4:40pm, 5:40pm, 6:40pm (approximate times)

Kilcolglan (provided by Farrell Travel)

From Rafferty's Rest
Times 4:30pm, 5:30pm, 6:30pm

Clarenbridge (provided by Farrell Travel)

From Sherrys bar (near number 8 on the Clarinbridge neighbourhood map)
Times 4:40pm, 5:40pm, 6:40pm (approximate times)

Galway city (provided by Galway Tour Company)

From Galway Cathedral carpark (number 8 on the Galway City carparks map)
Times: between 4pm and 5pm

Return services:
All buses leave from the carpark beside the astroturf (number 38 on the Oranmore neighbourhood map), at 11pm and 12-midnight.

New Bus Éireann 3-day discount ticket

2011-08-23T15:45:00.000-07:00

Bus Éireann have introduced a new three-day Galway Rambler ticket.

Available between August to October 2011, this ticket allows 3 days unlimited travel on all Bus Éireann's in Galway city, plus regional services between Galway and Doolin, Clifden and Westport.

Price is €25. Tickets are available from the Galway Travel Centre, Ceannt Station, and are valid for three consecutive days starting on the day they are purchased.