Publication of Galway and Waterford Shopper Surveys confirms majority of people visiting our city centres arrive by sustainable transport and active travel

Publication of Final City Shopper Surveys

The National Transport Authority (NTA) has published the final 2 Surveys in its suite of City Shopper Surveys. These new Surveys for Galway and Waterford provide insights into travel behaviour and spending patterns in the retail core of each city and compliment previously published surveys in Dublin, Cork and Limerick. Today’s publications mean that, for the first time, the NTA now has a full suite of Shopper Survey results covering the five main Irish cities.

NTA Active Travel Shopper Surveys – National Transport

Sustainable Transport and Access to City Centres

Today’s publications highlight how sustainable transport and active travel plays a central role in supporting city centre economies. These latest surveys found that in Galway, 67% of people travelling into the city’s retail core arrived by bus, rail, walking or cycling, while in Waterford the corresponding figure was 57%. These newly published results for Galway and Waterford mean that we can now confirm, for the first time, that across all 5 City Shopper Surveys, the findings show that most people access the retail core in our city centres using sustainable transport modes.

Main Mode of Transport Used by Visitors

When asked about their main mode of transport when accessing the city’s retail core, 40% of people in Galway reported travelling by bus, 4% by rail, and 23% using active travel (walking and cycling), while 30% travelled by car. In Waterford, 31% travelled by bus, 1% by rail, 25% by active travel, with 40% travelling by car.

Reasons for Visiting City Centres

These latest surveys, carried out in 2025, show that shopping remains the primary reason for visiting city centres, cited by 44% of visitors to Galway’s retail core and 38% of visitors to Waterford’s retail core. In Galway, 11% of visitors cited food or drink as their main reason for visiting, compared with 15% in Waterford.

Survey Methodology and Locations

In Waterford, 612 face‑to‑face interviews were conducted with people aged 16 and over who were resident in Ireland. Interviews took place on Broad Street, Apple Market and the Quay Front. In Galway, 605 interviews were carried out at Eyre Square, High Street, Shop Street and Quay Street. The interviews took place over the month of September 2025 and were designed to provide a robust cross‑section of visitors across different times of day and days of the week.

Intended Spend by Mode of Transport

For the surveys, visitors were also asked how much they intended to spend during their visit to the city centre. In Galway city centre, sustainable transport users accounted for 49% of total estimated spend, compared with 47% by car users. In Waterford, sustainable transport users accounted for 41% of total estimated spend, compared with 53% by car users.

In addition to their economic contribution, people using public transport and active travel tend to stay longer, contributing to a livelier city centre.

Average Intended Spend

Average intended spend in Galway was €51, with just over two in five visitors planning to spend more than €50. In Waterford, the average intended spend was €58, with just over half of visitors expecting to spend more than €50.

Comparative Findings from five cities

These results build on earlier NTA Shopper Surveys from Dublin and Cork in 2022, and Limerick in 2024, enabling the publication of a 5 City Shopper Report – showing:

Across all five Irish cities, most people accessed city centres using sustainable modes:
- Dublin 83%,
- Cork 64%,
- Limerick 60%,
- Galway 67% and
- Waterford 57%.
In four of the five cities, the share of intended spend generated by people arriving by sustainable transport exceeded that of those arriving by car:
- 74% versus 24% in Dublin;
- 52% versus 43% in Cork;
- 49% versus 46% in Limerick; and
- 49% versus 47% in Galway.

Policy Implications and Strategic Value

The NTA’s Shopper Surveys provide robust evidence to inform transport planning and investment decisions and highlight the economic importance of prioritising sustainable transport and high‑quality public realm improvements in Ireland’s cities.

A comprehensive picture of how people are travelling in and out of the retail core of our five main city centres

Darragh O’Brien, TD, Minister for Transport said: “I welcome the publication of the final City Shopper Surveys for Galway and Waterford. We are continuing to invest significantly in active and public transport with almost €1.3 billion in capital funding allocated to the NTA for these programmes in 2026 alone. It is therefore encouraging to see that the result of these surveys, and the preceding surveys for Dublin, Cork, and Limerick, show that the majority of shoppers avail of these sustainable transport modes to access the retail centre of each city. It is important to ensure that policy decisions at Government level are backed up by evidence and I would therefore like to commend the NTA for the delivery of this important research.”

Anne Shaw, CEO of NTA said: “The additions of Galway and Waterford to our suite of Shopper Surveys means, for the first time, we have a comprehensive picture of how people are travelling in and out of the retail core of our five main city centres. It is really encouraging to see just how many people are choosing sustainable and active travel modes for these journeys and also the share of intended estimated spend by these visitors.”