Woman left ‘shaken' and ‘in tears' after alleged racist incident on Bus Éireann bus

Irish Times

09-07-2025

Bus Éireann
is investigating an alleged racist incident which occurred on a bus service in a town in the midlands in May.
A passenger, Sarah Lennon (20), alleges she was subjected to racial discrimination while travelling on a bus route in the town on May 28th.
Ms Lennon is Nigerian-Irish. She was born in Ireland but spent most of her childhood in the UK and Canada. She is based in Vancouver, where she is studying pre-law, but is in Ireland for the summer visiting her father and other relatives.
Ms Lennon said on the day in question, she had seen another passenger with a bus ticket for a set time use this ticket on a bus at a different time, so she thought this practice was allowed. She said that when she boarded the bus and asked the driver if she could transfer her ticket, he became 'aggressive' and 'unnecessarily hostile'.
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She claims the driver said: 'You think you people can just come here without paying?'
'I was startled and began searching for my wallet in my bag,' Ms Lennon said. 'I explained, calmly, that I was unfamiliar with the system and that I assumed, based on what I saw earlier, that reusing the ticket was acceptable within a short window.'
She said she paid for a new ticket, which cost €2, 'without hesitation'. At that point, she alleges the driver loudly said: 'They are always trying to get away without paying.'
Ms Lennon said she told the driver that, although she lives abroad, her family is from the town in question.
'As a mixed-race Black Irish woman, I am no stranger to being misjudged. But this was one of the clearest examples I've experienced in a public service setting where racial bias was thinly veiled behind supposed policy enforcement. I wasn't given the benefit of the doubt or even a basic level of respect,' she said.
'I know I don't look Irish, and I knew he didn't think I was Irish. He didn't think I was from here ... but I am Irish by my blood and my heritage, I was born here,' she said.
Sarah Lennon holds a photograph of her Irish grandparents. Photograph: Dara Mac Dónaill/The Irish Times
Ms Lennon claims that when she pushed the button to signal she wanted the bus to stop so she could get off, the driver ignored her. She said that when she got off the bus, a couple of stops later, she was 'shaken' and 'broke down in tears'. She called her father to come pick her up.
Ms Lennon and her father later lodged complaints with Bus Éireann and Transport for Ireland about the alleged incident. She said she is going public with her story because she does not believe enough is being done to protect passengers from such behaviour.
In an email sent to her father on June 11th, a spokesperson for Transport of Ireland said: 'The driver concerned has now been identified and arrangements have been made to interview this driver in relation to this incident and I would like to assure you that suitable corrective steps will be taken in order to prevent a recurrence of this nature in the future.'
The spokeswoman, on behalf of Bus Éireann and Transport for Ireland, offered 'sincere apologies for any distress caused by the incident'.
A different spokeswoman confirmed to The Irish Times that Bus Éireann is 'aware of an incident that occurred' on one of its bus routes on May 28th, 2025.
'Whilst we do not comment on individual cases, we can confirm we are currently investigating this matter and the Transport for Ireland customer service team have been in direct contact with the passenger involved.'
In a statement, the spokeswoman said Bus Éireann 'takes complaints of this nature very seriously'.
'The safety of our passengers is of paramount importance to Bus Éireann, and any incidents reported are fully investigated in line with our standard procedures and follow-up actions taken if required.
'At Bus Éireann we are committed to ensuring our services are available to everyone in the community, with a requirement for all customers to have a valid ticket or pass, and with all customers being treated in a fair and equitable manner.'