Anyone organising a group coach trip to the Hernani cider houses this year has some homework to do before setting off. Since 13 January, the Town Council has been running the booking system with which it aims to regulate the arrival of private coaches on Saturdays during the season. And for those who prefer public transport, the Gipuzkoa Provincial Council has announced, as in previous years, extra Lurraldebus services.

Private coaches: Ibaiondo only, and with a booking

The rule applies on Saturdays between 24 January and 9 May. On those days, private coaches bringing visitors to Hernani need a reserved space both to park and simply to drop off or pick up passengers. The only designated point is a controlled area on the Ibaiondo industrial estate, with room for 60 coaches. Outside it, the Town Council warns, stopping, parking and even driving are prohibited.

Bookings are made at aparkalekuerreserba.hernani.eus, which can also be reached from the council website. It costs 60 euros for vehicles with 9 to 34 seats and 100 euros for larger ones. As the system is in a trial phase, the first three Saturdays (24 and 31 January and 7 February) are free of charge, although booking is still compulsory. Changes are accepted until the day before and cancellations up to a week in advance.

The table is a separate matter: meals are still booked directly with each cider house.

Why now

According to the Town Council, the txotx, the cider house season, began to draw crowds in Hernani about ten years ago, and many residents find it hard to go about their daily lives on Saturdays during the season. The council has been counting the coaches arriving for years and has seen their number grow, with effects on traffic and safety; until now there was neither a car park prepared for them nor stops that ensured passengers could get on and off safely.

The measures came from amending three bylaws, approved unanimously at an extraordinary full council meeting in early December and presented by the mayor, Xabier Lertxundi. The residents’ association Kaxko, the traders’ and hospitality association Berriak and the Gipuzkoa Cider Makers’ Association took part in the process. The same package makes the fine for urinating in the street more expensive: it is still 200 euros, but the discount for prompt payment drops from 70% to 50%, so anyone who pays promptly will pay 100 euros instead of 60.

More Lurraldebus services on Saturdays

On Saturdays between 7 February and 25 April, the BU13 line (Donostia-Astigarraga-Hernani) will add capacity on its 12:00, 12:30, 13:00, 13:30 and 14:00 departures from San Sebastián. For the return journey, the BU40G night bus (Andoain-Urnieta-Hernani-Astigarraga-Donostia) will run extra services between 23:30 and 4:30. The Provincial Council member for Mobility, Azahara Domínguez, urged calm: if a bus fills up, “another back-up vehicle will be ready”.

Then there are taxis: for a year now, the Special Regime Zone has allowed 118 vehicles to operate across Donostialdea, the San Sebastián area.

Sources