IN the wake of a number of shocking incidents on one bus route in Limerick City, Bus Éireann has moved to condemn “anti-social behaviour towards our customers and staff”.
The condemnation comes in the wake of a number of anti-social incidents in recent days on the 303 bus route, serving the Kilmallock Road to Pineview in Limerick City.
A female bus driver was shot in the face with an air gun on Friday last (July 12), razor blades were implanted in seats on a bus serving the route, and a band of children threatened to shoot a bus driver last Sunday (July 14).
While Bus Éireann has moved to clarify that no air gun was used by the children in the latter incident, and that Gardaí and the transport provider continue to investigate both the July 12 and 14 incidents, it is understood the youths made threats to shoot the driver.
Outlining the incident to the Limerick Post, Stephen Nugent of the National Bus and Rail Union (NBRU) explained the group threatened to shoot the bus driver: “They wanted to travel from one side of the estate to the other. They got on the bus and wouldn’t pay their fare basically. And if the driver didn’t carry them to where they wanted to go, they were going to shoot him,” Mr Nugent explained.
Mr Nugent said that “the driver was terrified”.
It is now understood that the youths got off the bus at the next stop, contradicting earlier comments that the youths made driver take them to an off-route location.
Mr Nugent said that when the driver reached the next destination, the bus was attacked by another gang of youths who surrounded it and started banging on the windows, contradicting earlier claims that items such as bricks were thrown at the bus.
In a statement, Bus Éireann said the “unacceptable incident involved a small number of youths boarding the bus and confronting the driver and then exiting the bus and subsequently impeding the progress of the service for a very brief period of time”.
A Bus Éireann spokesman said the bus did not deviate from the established route.
Driver shot in the face
Mr Nugent explained that after the previous incident, which saw a female driver shot in the face with an air gun, the bus driver was terrified of the threats being made by the children.
Gardaí confirmed they are investigating a “public order incident” on the 303 bus route on July 14 in the John Carew Park area at approximately 4.30pm.
A Garda spokeswoman told the Limerick Post that “investigations are ongoing” after “Gardaí in Roxboro Road were alerted to a public order incident involving a bus, which occurred in John Carew Park, Southill, Limerick, on Sunday 14th July 2024 at approximately 4.30pm”.
Razor blades in seats
Bus Éireann has condemned the ongoing anti-social behaviour on the 303 route, saying that it “does not tolerate anti-social or criminal behaviour towards our customers or staff”.
The incidents, just two days apart, follow the discovery by a driver on the 303 route of razor blades shoved into a number of seats on the bus.
“Someone had ripped up five or six seats on one of the busses and implanted the razor blades into the seats,” Mr Nugent said, adding that “it’s constant harassment” for drivers on the route.
In a statement to the Limerick Post, a spokesman for Bus Éireann confirmed that “the vehicle was removed from service”.
Services suspended
Bus services in the Carew Park and O’Malley Park areas have been temporarily suspended on account of the spate of attacks, but it is understood talks are currently ongoing between Bus Éireann and the NBRU to resume them in the coming days – albeit to Carew Park only.
The NBRU representative has said that there will be no resumption of services in the O’Malley Park area until issues surrounding anti-social behaviour are addressed.
Up to now, bus services in O’Malley Park between 5pm and midnight have been accompanied by a security car, according to Mr Nugent .
“That came under attack also a couple of weeks ago,” the NBRU representative said.
Mr Nugent said that the bus route “is only after being reinstated for the past year and a half, the service had been pulled out of the (O’Malley Park) area for a long time previously because of anti-social behaviour”.
Calling for a dedicated transport police service to be set up to protect both drivers and passengers, Mr Nugent said that “the NBRU have long campaigned for a dedicated transport police solely for public transport”.
Appalling attacks
Speaking this week, Limerick Sinn Féin TD Maurice Quinlivan also hit out at the spate of aggressive incidents, saying that no worker should be “subjected to such violence as they seek to earn a living and provide a vital service to the community”.
Deputy Quinlivan also lamented the suspension of the services and the impact the suspension will have on the local community.
“This is a service that is depended on by many people in the area, especially many of our senior citizens. It is needed for people to get to work and to the City Centre,” he said.
The Limerick TD echoed calls from NBRU rep Stephen Nugent, that additional security be allocated to the service.
“I am seeking that Garda resources be deployed to this intra-city route immediately to stamp out this outrageous and totally unacceptable anti-social, criminal, and threatening behaviour,” he stated.
In a statement to the Limerick Post, Bus Éireann said that it “does not tolerate anti-social or criminal behaviour towards our customers or staff”.
“The safety of our passengers and staff is of paramount importance to Bus Éireann and any incidents reported are taken very seriously and are fully investigated.
“Customers can report any incidents to Gardaí, to the driver. or to our Customer Care team on 0818 836 611, or via [email protected],” the spokesman said.
This article was amended on July 18, 2024, to correct an earlier depiction of the incident, which had been described as a hijacking, with comments having been withdrawn since by the NBRU about details of the incident.
