Galway’s traffic ‘king’ clocks up 250,000 miles

He’s as familiar a sight on Galway’s roads as our traffic jams – and it’s Jon Richards on his red Honda Goldwing who helps tackle the gridlock.

The Galway Bay fm ‘traffic guy’ has clocked up more than a quarter of a million miles on the roads of the city and county for his morning and evening bulletins.

He sees himself as an essential tool in helping to keep Galway’s traffic moving.

And his current motorbike – which has now clocked up more than 80,000 miles – will soon be replaced.

“It’s a 35 mile circuit every morning and 35 every evening, so it quickly adds up. Each day, I’m presented with a different route depending on the time, or the weather, whether schools are off, if it’s a Bank Holiday – there are lots of different factors.

“I can definitely spot patterns and flows and can anticipate where problems will arise. I’m doing traffic reports for more than 20 years. What I try to do is provide a reassurance to people and see if they can stagger a journey or provide them with an alternative route. It’s better to keep moving that be standing still.

“The traffic reports have evolved and development into a community service. Local radio always wins when it comes to things like that, and people expect the service now from Galway Bay fm.

“I’m probably the most visible tool of the station. I spend my entire report in the mornings and evenings nodding and acknowledging people.

“I’m doing the traffic now for over 20 years, and am out in all sorts of weather … it can be tough at times. During the Winter storms, I didn’t miss a report, and at one stage was out in 132km/h winds and torrential rain,” he said.

Jon – who is from William Street West in the city – said that various modes of transport for the Galway Bay fm traffic reports had been tried, but ultimately, the instantly-recognisable Goldwing proved the most suitable.

“There is a lot of goodwill. The courtesy I get from motorists in allowing me through traffic is invaluable, and when you get to the top of a queue and do a report, you can notice traffic patterns changing within minutes,” he said.

He also praised the Gardaí and Galway City Council’s traffic control centre for feeding information through to him, while alerts are also sent directly to a screen on the Goldwing through the ‘Traffic Buddy’ system on the Galway Bay fm app.

In the meantime, Jon is keeping an eye out for a new Goldwing, which will become the sixth on the road for traffic reports.