The addition of a Park and Ride service helped ease travel to and from Balloon Fiesta Park during the recently concluded 50th anniversary International Balloon Fiesta.

The City of Albuquerque’s Parks and Recreation Department opened a new bus depot so visitors could avoid the typical traffic congestion.

“This is our first year of our brand new Park and Ride facility at this location and it seems to be working so fantastically,” Dave Simon, director of the Parks and Recreation Department, told KRQE.

A second bus depot at the park’s entrance was also added to help with the demand for the buses.

“One of our biggest challenges was one of our other Park and Ride facilities is kind of congested; down near the field,” Simon said. “It’s a little more cramped [and] harder for the busses and the drivers to maneuver.”

The City spent $900,000 for the four-acre Park and Ride lot, the KRQE report said. The new service is said to take anywhere from 30 to 45 minutes off a trip into the park.

Park and Ride tickets were sold online and included admission to Balloon Fiesta. Park and Ride locations are at Coronado, Cottonwood Mall and Hoffman Town Church.