[Article] Rise in attacks on bus drivers in Finglas

Victor

http://www.rte.ie/news/2006/0727/dublinbus.html

Rise in attacks on bus drivers in Finglas
27 July 2006 20:42

Bus services in Finglas in north Dublin have been curtailed because of increasing numbers of attacks on bus drivers.

Drivers say the attacks are happening two or three times a day and they are refusing to service certain areas after 7pm.

Dublin Bus and gardaí are running an information campaign to highlight the problem.

They have also proposed to increase security arrangements on the buses, including having uniformed gardaí travelling on board.

Drivers are voting today and tomorrow on these proposals. If they accept them, services will return to normal.

But they have warned that if these attacks keep happening, the curtailment of services will continue, and could possibly worsen.

Dirk Gently

Having guards on the buses is a bit of an expense alright but as a Finglas man I can tell you that there’s not much else I can think of to combat the problem if we want to keep a bus service. I'd suggest non-uniformed police though, it’s amazing what you here on the oul 40's. Lads planning robberies, drug deals, organising beatings. They practically shout out there business while puffing away on joints and drinking cans of stonehouse. I reckon the guards could clear up all crime in Finglas within a week if they just sat in and listened on conversations. I over hear it all the time even with my mp3 player on.

There’s so much crime on Finglas buses, I reckon the whole new garda reserve force could be deployed on the 40's. The funniest thing is when your sitting on the bus and it gets bet out of it with a rock and the bloke beside you goes mad saying he’s going to kill the little ****er who threw the rock and then gets off at the next stop and lobs a rock of his own at the bus when it pulls away.

Finglas ftw.

Chris_533976

How about lots of visible security cameras on the bus?

paulm17781

Chris_533976 wrote:

How about lots of visible security cameras on the bus?

Most of them are quite visible. I think what they need is what they have on London buses. There are screens around the bus which shows what the cameras are looking at. I suspect if people know that they can be seen it would discourage a lot of joint rolling etc.

I also think buses / DARY / Luas should have more frequent police patrols. That would really make a difference.

John R

Chris_533976 wrote:

How about lots of visible security cameras on the bus?

There already are.

How are security cameras going to stop the local scum throwing bricks at the passing buses?

Besides they all know that in the hughly unlikely event of them getting caught by the authorities all they have to do is pretend to be sorry and the judge will let them off with no real punishment. Just look at the Cork scum who instead of doing 15-life for attempted murder are now faced with the horror of a €400 fine.


This is a problem that society at large and the people/authorities in these areas in particular have to deal with, not the transport operators.

IMO the bus service should be permanently re-routed from the problem areas after dark until the general community has solved the problem.

In these cases the bus drivers and unions need to take a much harder line, nowhere in their job description is being subjected to this sort of abuse.

I would also approve of the Ambulance and Fire service taking the same stance, any areas where they regularly get attacked should be no go areas for them at night.

The current "solution" is for a token police presence to be allocated after a spate of bad attacks and publicity of them, a few months later the police drift back to their usual routine and the same attacks start again.

If essential service providers withdrew all services from these areas then either the authorities and communities would be forced to deal properly with this growing problem.

Slippin Jimmy

In all fairness having uniformed Gardai on the buses will stop crime on buses, but it will take more off them off the street which will cause more crime there. I remember the same thing happened up un Kilinarden in Tallaght once. A lot of bus drivers were being seriously assaulted, so they stopped the buses going in for a couple of weeks. I think it did the trick.

Saruman

Maybe they should stop the service to these areas all together instead of just after a certain time... The local adults will soon find out who the little scum bags are and kick the crap out of them!!!

Victor

Services have been stopped and notices put on the buses explaining why they have been stopped.

Stark

Saruman wrote:

The local adults will soon find out who the little scum bags are and kick the crap out of them!!!

And then get done for assault on minors. The little ****s are untouchable and they know it.

The scumbags might get the message themselves though when their access to the city centre is cut off. And it might make the city centre more pleasant for everyone else

spacetweek

The problem with the hardline approach (withdraw service) is that this further ghettoises the ghettos. If you remove public transport then low-income people in the areas are trapped with no alternative.

Also, expecting the locals to sort out the troublemakers just leads to anarchy.

Stark

Fighting the problem in the schools seems to have some effect judging from reports in the UK and judging from past experience in my area in Cork.

mackerski

spacetweek wrote:

Also, expecting the locals to sort out the troublemakers just leads to anarchy.

I agree with you - but tolerating lawlessness has the same result.

Dermot

Chris_533976

Stark wrote:

Fighting the problem in the schools seems to have some effect judging from reports in the UK and judging from past experience in my area in Cork.

Ive seen though that Cork people are disturbingly accurate with eggs when it comes to buses

shoegirl

Saruman wrote:

Maybe they should stop the service to these areas all together instead of just after a certain time... The local adults will soon find out who the little scum bags are and kick the crap out of them!!!

Unfortunately this happens over and over again. The services are suspended. Eventually they start again. Eventually the cycle starts over. Same in Ballymun, parts of Tallaght, Coolock, etc. Meanwhile people are left with no service.

Much of it I think is down to the removal of bus conductors over 10 years ago which left the drivers totally alone to put up with the carry on on buses. At least 2 people had some chance of maintaining some degree of order.