SALEM – The City of Salem’s free October weekend shuttle returns this weekend for its sixth year. New this year for 2023, the service will run every weekend in October, as well as on Monday, October 9th (Indigenous Peoples’ Day).
Shuttles run September 30-October 1, October 7-9, 14-15, 21-22 and 28-29 from 10:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. between three free satellite parking lots and downtown Salem. Free satellite parking lots are located at Salem State University’s O’Keefe Center parking lot (225 Canal Street), Salem High School (77 Willson Street), and at 108 Jefferson Avenue behind Salem Hospital. Together the three satellite lots offer over 1,300 free parking spaces. The downtown pick-up/drop-off location is in Riley Plaza. An accessible shuttle is available for those who require one and stops at the High School and Jefferson Avenue lots, as well as Riley Plaza.
“Since we began this free service in 2017 our October shuttles have provided more than 32,000 rides to over 15,500 people,” said Mayor Dominick Pangallo. “Allowing people to park at these satellite lots has helped reduce demand for downtown parking and lessen the number of cars driving into and around downtown. Since 2017 the service has kept more than 5,500 cars out of downtown Salem. While a lot of visitors use the shuttle, we also see many Salem residents use it to easily get to and from downtown Salem on October weekends. I encourage everyone planning a visit to Salem this October to make use of the free satellite parking lots and this shuttle service.”
