Annabelle Smith is used to seeing a look of surprise on passengers’ faces when they step on to her bus. Generally, people are happy to see a woman Dublin Bus driver, she says.
“Most of the older ladies say: ‘Wow, a woman driving, that’s really good,’ and then say I should meet their grandson. I politely explain I’m married. The teenage girls ask: ‘How do you drive such a big bus? You’re so tiny, the steering wheel is bigger than you,’ adds the five-foot bus driver with a smile.
Originally from South Africa, Smith moved to Ireland with her family in 2001 aged 17. “The real history comes from Dad – he applied to Dublin Bus for work and spent more than 10 years with the company. My dad nagged his four kids about working here, but I said: ‘I’m not doing that.’ But as the years went on, I came to realise the successful career he’d had, the stuff he achieved through Dublin Bus. My parents were my biggest inspiration here.”
Now the mother of five children aged between six and 17, Smith left her supermarket job in 2023 to work as a bus driver. “My husband said there was something we needed to change about our lifestyle, career wise. And since that day, our lives have changed. Financially and stability wise.”
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Smith is one of the 254 woman drivers working for Dublin Bus. While women represent just 8 per cent of Dublin Bus’s 3,300 drivers, the number of women drivers has risen 147 per cent compared to five years ago. Much of this increase is attributed to the company’s 2024 More Mná recruitment drive, which aimed to double its number of woman drivers and “challenge misconceptions and stereotypes” about the role.
Our survey results are frightening – one in five transport workers experience antisocial behaviour on a daily basis. That can range from having an argument to racial abuse or physical assault
— John Murphy
“It’s definitely a male-dominated industry but it shouldn’t be,” a Dublin Bus spokesman told The Irish Times. “Things are changing as more and more women get behind the wheel of a bus. And the visibility is crucial. The more women that see it, the more will believe they can and should be it.”
Smith’s South African background is an example of Dublin Bus’s ethnically diverse workforce, where 85 different countries of origin are represented among employees. A woman of colour, Smith acknowledges she does sometimes experience racism but prefers to remain positive when responding to negative remarks.
“I prefer to be polite and nice, no matter how they respond. I consider what it’s like to be in their shoes. Maybe they’re dealing with something in their personal life.
“I think in this society you shouldn’t react to what somebody says. You should think before you answer, because sometimes people don’t know what they’re talking about until you explain.
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“It’s a big world out there and you have to be your own person – don’t let anyone stop you driving. Turn negativity into positivity and do your best, that’s my motto. At the end of the day we’re all human beings and it’s a great opportunity for any woman to drive a bus.”
Dublin Bus has developed a reputation as one of the leading Irish companies to promote diversity and inclusion among its staff. With the shadow of the Trump administration – which has committed to terminating every diversity, equity and inclusion programme across the US government – looming large across the Atlantic, Dublin Bus is determined to stand by its DEI commitments, says the company spokesman. “This is something that we have done for a very long time. We will never step away from it.”
Dublin Bus staff should reflect their customers and the communities where buses operate, he says. Diversity means more perspectives and solutions, which in turn results in “more effective decision-making”.
About 75 per cent of ethnic minority public transport workers across bus, rail and Luas networks have experienced racist abuse while at work, according to research carried out by Siptu last year. This rises to 87 per cent for those who identify as black or another non-white ethnic minority.
The union’s 2024 research into drug use and racism on public transport services also found 74 per cent of the 653 public transport workers who were surveyed felt threatened and unsafe due to drug use by passengers.
More than three-quarters of those surveyed said a “greater policing presence” was needed on Irish public transport.
The model for a new transport police service already exists in Irish airports, says Siptu transport sector organiser John Murphy. “Airport police are there to deal with antisocial behaviour, to protect staff and passengers, and have powers of arrest.”
Without DEI organisations will fail in their objectives. When you have a room full of different nationalities, sharing stories from what they did before, that brings growth and ideas
— Adrian Turcanu
The 2025 Programme for Government’s commitment to create a “transport security force” with “similar powers to the airport to the airport police and customs officials” should be implemented without delay, Murphy says.
However, a “lack of joined-up thinking” is slowing down the response to antisocial behaviour across public transport operators, says Murphy.
“This has always been an issue – predecessors of mine campaigned about antisocial behaviour for decades – but it has increased since the pandemic. Our survey results are frightening – one in five transport workers experience antisocial behaviour on a daily basis. That can range from having an argument to racial abuse or physical assault.”
Dublin Bus says it is actively working with gardaí to address antisocial behaviour on its network, noting that the number of reported antisocial behaviour incidents on its network has doubled since 2019. In October 2024, it launched the Safer Journeys Team pilot programme to enhance “safety and security” in response to recommendations from independent security experts, according to the company spokesman.
Dublin Bus has also “consistently lobbied for the establishment” and “timely and effective implementation” of a transport police service, says the spokesman. “The safety and security of our customers and employees has always been, and remains, our top priority.”
Adrian Turcanu, a Dublin Bus driving instructor who has worked for the company for nearly two decades, says a driver’s reaction to antisocial behaviour is key in diffusing a situation. Driving through the “jungle” of Dublin’s city streets, employees must ensure not to overreact because “shouting and getting angry” will only make the situation worse, he says.
“It’s all about communication, if somebody’s angry and you shout back, you never resolve anything,” says Turcanu.
“I always tell my students to treat passengers how you would want your family to be treated. Kindness doesn’t cost anything. Everyone on your bus is there for a reason – they might have come off a night shift, they might be going to school, going to work, they might have just got a call to come in and say goodbye to their mother or father in hospital. It’s about how you react to them; people appreciate that.”
The father of three recently completed a BA in Human Resources and Management at TUD Dublin through the Dublin Bus Education support scheme, with a dissertation on diversity and inclusion policies.
“Without DEI organisations will fail in their objectives. When you have a room full of different nationalities, sharing stories from what they did before, that brings growth and ideas,” he says.
“While I’ve got a sort of Dublin accent, people still know I’m not from here and I’ve had the odd (racist remark). But it’s how you brush it aside and say, ‘I’m here to work and bring you wherever you need to go.’ You learn to deal with these things.
“If we were to listen to (racist tropes), there would be no bus drivers. People would be waiting at bus stops with no buses. And it’s not only Dublin Bus – you go to a hospital and so many nurses and doctors come from abroad. You have a heart attack, who is going to save you? Nationality should not come into play here.”
