Spending Christmas in Galway depends on a number of factors each year, including how well you get on with your relatives or in-laws, the social outlook for the Christmas period and New Year and/or the proximity of babysitters. Likewise, sp€nding Christmas in Galway will depend on the availability of products, prices and the big Christmas mood killer, parking.

To this end, Galway Chamber has launched its annual Sp€nd Christmas in Galway campaign in conjunction with Galway City Council's Park and Ride Christmas service from Ballybrit. Both are admirable initiatives, but will have to offer real incentives to shoppers if they are to be a success.

It is estimated that over the Christmas and New Year shopping period, Galway households will spend over €100 million on Christmas shopping and in the New Year sales. It's important that as much of that spend as possible is retained in Galway. However, in an age when trips to New York, Boston etc are annual occurrences for many shoppers, never mind day excursions to other cities and internet shopping, Galway businesses will have to offer real incentives to shoppers to keep their annual spend in the city.

Likewise, the council's Park and Ride scheme will have to offer a real alternative to motorists if it is to pry people away from their cars. And, speaking from experience, it does. A once sceptic of this scheme, I eventually took advantage of it in its pilot year and was very impressed with the results.

The scheme is no longer free but at €4 return per car, it is a great deal cheaper than parking in the city and a great deal more hassle free than circling the city like a lunatic around Christmas looking for the illusive parking spot. Buses go from Ballybrit to Habitat at the Fairgreen every 15 minutes from 7.30am to 9.30pm each day until Christmas Eve. It's also open to pedestrians this year.

Of course, another advantage of the Park and Ride scheme is that the council finally gets a bit of use out of its otherwise vastly underused bus lanes. The Park and Ride scheme demonstrates that these initiatives can and do work. Roll on their eventual roll out.

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