The safety and wellbeing of bus and train drivers is a responsibility that cannot be “delegated or diluted”, the National Bus and Rail Union (NBRU) has told the heads of the State’s public transport companies.
In a letter to the chief executives of Dublin Bus, Bus Éireann, Iarnród Éireann and Córas Iompair Éireann, the NBRU’s general secretary, Dermot O’Leary, said incidences of antisocial behaviour on public transport were happening “almost daily”.
The union has requested “an urgent meeting” with the companies to discuss a collective response to the “persistent threat” of such behaviour.
The letter, seen by The Irish Times, was sent this week after a Dublin bus driver was threatened by a man carrying a suspected gun last Friday. It led to a suspension of certain bus services in the city centre.
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Siptu, which also represents Dublin Bus drivers, said the incident occurred just after 11pm as a number 13 bus was parked on Mountjoy Square before departure.
The driver was sitting at the back of the vehicle and was looking at his phone when a man with a torch then got on the bus. The driver told the man the bus was not departing for a few minutes and he got off the bus before turning around and producing what looked like a gun, Siptu said.
He began motioning as if to load the gun and told the driver he would kill him. He then left the scene, leaving the driver “extremely shocked and upset”.
In his letter, Mr O’Leary said the “appalling incident” on Mountjoy Square followed a “series of troubling incidents” in Waterford, Cork, Drogheda and Moyross, Limerick, as well as “the recent withdrawal of bus services into certain areas of Tallaght over the weekend”.
“Our members, employed across your respective companies, are rightfully asking what measures are being taken by their employers to ensure their safety and security,” he said.
“This is a reasonable and urgent question that requires a clear and comprehensive response.
“While we appreciate the complex contractual relationship between the companies, the NTA [National Transport Authority], and the Minister – who is the sole shareholder – we firmly believe that the responsibility for the safety and wellbeing of employees should be a priority that cannot be delegated or diluted.
“Employers must take a proactive role in safeguarding their staff, especially given the direct nature of their day-to-day interactions with the public.”
Mr O’Leary said although the Government had recognised the need for a dedicated public transport police, it should not be viewed as a substitute for “immediate, tangible actions” by employers to implement “robust protocols and preventative measures around disruptive and dangerous incidents”.
Bus Éireann said it had replied to the NBRU to say it would attend a meeting with them as requested and “expect that this will be convened as soon as possible”.
Iarnród Éireann said it engaged with its employees and trade unions regularly on the issue of antisocial behaviour and would be “meeting them arising from this letter”.
