Salem Halloween Season Free Weekend Shuttles Return For 2022

SALEM, MA — Salem Halloween visitors are encouraged to come on and take a free ride to and from downtown on weekends during the spooky season in the holiday's unofficial hometown.

Salem is expanding its free October weekend shuttle this year to include all five weekends in October. Visitors who park in the city's satellite lots can ride the free shuttle to and from the busy downtown attractions.

Officials said this year the number of shuttle buses — and therefore their frequency — has increased.

The shuttles run from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays starting Oct. 1 and running through Oct. 30 from the three free satellite parking lots — Salem State University's O'Keefe Center parking lot at 225 Canal Street, Salem High School at 77 Wilson Street and Salem Hospital at 108 Jefferson Avenue.

These lots add up to 800 spaces with their usage serving to reduce the amount of congestion downtown where parking will be severely limited.

(Also on Patch: New Salem Halloween Parking Rules Gain City Council Approval)

"Since 2017 the service has kept thousands of cars out of downtown Salem," said Salem Mayor Kim Driscoll, adding that more than 18,000 people have used the free shuttle service over the past five years. "While 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 free shuttle service."

The downtown pick-up/drop-off location is in Riley Plaza.

An accessible shuttle is available for those who require one with stops at the high school, Jefferson Avenue and Riley Plaza.

(Scott Souza is a Patch field editor covering Beverly, Danvers, Marblehead, Peabody, Salem and Swampscott. He can be reached at Scott.Souza@Patch.com. Twitter: @Scott_Souza.)