[Article] Attacks on Limerick buses costing €3,000 a week

Attacks on Limerick buses costing €3,000 a week
By Jimmy Woulfe, Mid-West Correspondent

LIMERICK has overtaken Cork as the worst black-spot outside Dublin for attacks on city buses.

Bus Éireann runs the city services in Cork, Limerick, Galway and Waterford and damage to buses in its Limerick fleet now accounts for half the annual vandalism bill of e1 million for the four provincial cities.

Dublin Bus runs the city services in the capital.

Attacks on the city bus fleet in Limerick is now costing Bus Éireann €500,000 a year compared to €250,000 in Cork.

Bus Éireann spokeswoman Erica Roseingrave said: “The problem of attacks on buses in Limerick now is huge.

“Despite our best efforts through various educational initiatives the problem in the city is getting worse and the costs associated with the problem are rising.

“We are now urging community leaders to help counter this problem.”

She said that glass damage on city buses in Limerick was now coming to €3,000 a week and this did not include the cost of fitting the new glass.

“In Cork broken glass is costing about €1,500 a week. When you take in all the other costs, such as labour and loss of revenue and the replacement of vehicles while repairs are being carried out, attacks on buses in Limerick are now costing us more than €500,000 a year and about €250,000 a year in Cork,” said Ms Roseingrave.

She said Hallowe’en night saw attacks on buses in Limerick city reach new levels of viciousness.

The spokeswoman said: “Glass damage alone in Limerick that night cost the company €30,000.

“All our Limerick City buses — numbering 26 and each costing in excess of €200,000 — had to be taken off service at 7pm because the damage was running at such a scale up to then, we feared that if we did not take action we wouldn’t have a bus for use the following day.”

She said there were 24 recorded attacks on city buses that night in Cork, but even that level of attacks was much lower than the scale of damage done in Limerick.

Ms Roseingrave said the company was very concerned at the escalation in the level of attacks in Limerick.

“When a bus is attacked with rocks and stones there is a great danger to both our customers and our drivers.

“When glass is smashed in a bus when it is travelling somebody could easily lose their eyesight or receive even fatal injuries,” she said.

The company has mounted various community programmes in Limerick to get home the message to young people that buses are there for the benefit of their own families and communities.

She said: “We have highlighted the risks of vandalism to children.

“One of our drivers in Limerick, Ger Doran, has visited city schools to talk to more than 2,000 pupils about the importance of good and safe bus services.”

A calendar art competition sponsored by the company and aimed at schools got a huge response from young people in Limerick.

Ms Roseingrave warned: “We are fortunate that nobody has been killed.”

Bus Éireann have at different times suspended services into Southill after attacks which included a serious assault on a driver and she said services will continue to be withdrawn from black-spot areas in an attempt to tackle the problem.