Cork City Council, in association with Bus Éireann, Iarnród Éireann and An Garda Síochana, is encouraging members of the public to leave their cars at home and make use of public transport this Christmas season.

Travelling around Cork by bus this Christmas is easier and more affordable than ever. Bus Éireann operates 25 routes on the Cork city bus service, including Ireland’s first 24-hour city service on the Route 220 between Ballincollig and Carrigaline. In 2019, the Cork City bus service was responsible for almost 16 million passenger journeys. When using a TFI Leap Card on a Bus Éireann POS (Public Service Obligation) service, customers can get a 30% discount on all single fares and the new TFI Go mobile app allows passengers to buy a single or 10 journey ticket directly from their phone.

Bus Éireann services in Cork city are currently operating at 100% capacity, with touchpoint cleaning during the day and deep cleaning of the buses each night.  Customers should continue to wear face coverings within bus stations and on board throughout their entire journey.

Iarnród Éireann has advised customers to avail of public transport services, including rail services, in the run up to Christmas, with connections to Cobh, Midleton and Mallow from the city for those travelling for work, leisure and retail reasons. As well as helping customers avoid congestion at such a busy time of year, Iarnród Éireann has a range of measures in place to ensure a safe travelling environment during COVID-19, including mandatory face coverings, enhanced cleaning on board and in stations, cashless payment options with Leapcard on the Cobh and Mallow lines and online booking or ticket vending machine purchases and hand sanitisers available at all stations for customers.

It is even easier this Christmas as there are extended opening hours and free parking at the Black Ash Park & Ride site for the month of December – click here for more details.

Frank Fitzgerald, Cork City Council’s Road Safety Awareness Officer, urges everyone to take care over Christmas and the New Year, saying, “the figures are stark” he said. “On average, 17 people die and 142 are seriously injured at this time each year. Seven out of ten fatalities and almost two thirds of serious injuries are male. The time between 4pm to 8pm is the highest risk for accidents.  So taking a safe and green method of travel is the best present you can give over Christmas”.

Source: Cork City Council