Operation Freeflow, the Christmas season clampdown on illegal parking and bad driving, will begin in Dublin on Friday, December 3rd, and run for about six weeks until the end of the January sales.
Up to 155 student gardai from the Templemore training college will be deployed to work with Garda traffic units. The operation will cover the 24 main arterial routes and will concentrate on keeping junction boxes and bus lanes clear.
Last year's campaign resulted in an average improvement of 20 minutes in Dublin Bus schedules, according to the Dublin Transportation Office. Pre-Christmas bus passenger numbers rose by 3 per cent while Nitelink passenger numbers rose by 20 per cent.