Anti-social incidents on Drogheda bus service raise ‘serious concerns'
Anti-social incidents on Bus Eireann's services in the Drogheda are have raised 'serious concerns', SIPTU have said.
Representatives from the union are set to meet management from Bus Éireann to discuss the 'adverse impact' of anti-social behaviour following a marked increase in issues, particularly at the town's main bus depot.
It comes after SIPTU members in the County Louth town raised concerns about the behaviour on late-night and early-morning services.
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News in 90 Seconds - June 26th
'These incidents occur across services, but more specifically, there has been an issue resulting from gangs of youths preventing buses from leaving the depot, which has caused major delays,'
SIPTU Organiser, Andrew Quigley, said.
'Last week, SIPTU wrote to the company requesting that it convene a meeting with union representatives to discuss what measures must be taken to ensure the continued operation of these vital community transport services.
Mr Quigley added that while an agreement has been made to discuss the issue with management at the transport provider, they will be seeking to meet with the Gardaí.
'We will also be seeking a larger meeting of all the relevant stakeholders, including the Gardaí, service users and elected representatives.
'However, it is our members' firm belief that the issue of worsening anti-social behaviour and abuse on the public transport network necessitates the establishment of a transport policing service.'
Meanwhile, SIPTU Sector Organiser, John Murphy, branded the issues as a 'crisis' as he called for a standalone transport police service.
'SIPTU has been calling for the introduction of such a service as part of our Respect Transport Workers campaign,' he said.
'The Government has accepted our case on this issue and included the creation of such a body in its Programme for Government. Our members stand ready to work with all stakeholders to make the creation of such a service a reality in as short a time frame as possible.'
Mr Murphy added that services must, and will continue, to operate in all communities as they try to resolve the issue.
'We believe the engagement with stakeholders to immediately bring greater safety for workers can be done in tandem with the work necessary to establish the foundations of the new transport policing service.'
Last month, Gardai carried out spot checks on Dublin Bus over the bank holiday weekend in a bid to reduce the number of anti-social behaviour incidents on the service.
In 2024, there were 1,054 incidents of anti-social behaviour on Dublin Bus reported, more than doubling since 2019.
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