Six Galway towns and villages have been ranked in the top ten of an index which assesses rural transport progress.
The Western Development Commission has today published the Sustainable Mobility Index for 2024.
Oranmore and Athenry both experienced huge improvement, while Tuam and Ballinasloe dropped slightly since the last rankings in 2022.
The index is a comprehensive assessment which tracks the transport progress across 40 rural towns in the Western Region.
It takes several factors into account, including transport links, access to services, car ownership, cycle lanes and EV charging.
Oranmore is ranked best in County Galway at third place, and received top scores for employment access and strong transport links to Galway City.
Ballinasloe was next best at number four - helped in part by the location of Portiuncula Hospital, along with having good active travel investment.
Athenry earned itself a spot in the top ten, with improvements in EV charging and cycle lanes helping it jump six places to number seven.
At the other end of the scale, Portumna and Oughterard - both of which are new to the Index - scored lowest in the West.
Portumna has low scores across all themes, while Oughterard is let down by its lower levels of public transport service.
