Smoking on dublin bus

Xterminator · 17-07-2001 7:57am #1

I think I should have the right to travel on a bus wherever I am going without having to inhale second hand smoke.

I hate that on the buses i use frequently, not only do the smokers smoke, but the drivers turn a blind eye.

On the 13+(a) 17a, 220 it seems not a journey goes by without at least 1 smoker lighting up.

Now I usually sit downstairs, for this very reason, but during peak times, these are busy routes, and sitting upstairs cannot be avoided. I counted 7 people smoking this morning.

I am disgusted by their behaviour and that of Dublin Bus who should enforce the rules.

It is becoming so commonplace , I have seen smokers lighting up downstairs on these routes!

[This message has been edited by Xterminator (edited 17-07-2001).]

C B · 17-07-2001 8:09am

Originally posted by Xterminator:

I hate that on the buses i use frequently, not only do the smokers smoke, but the drivers turn a blind eye.

Not only do the turn a blind eye they smoke on the buses themselves. Also almost every evening (if I travel at rush hour which I usually avoid) somebody is smoking a joint. I want cannabis legalised but a bus still isn't the place to smoke it.

adnans · 17-07-2001 8:23am

true. its a hard sight to see someone trying to roll a joint on a dublin bus with so much swaying around. such a messy job means that all types of smoking should be banned and enforced.

adnans

bonkey · 17-07-2001 8:37am

Originally posted by Xterminator:
I think I should have the right to travel on a bus wherever I am going without having to inhale second hand smoke.

I hate that on the buses i use frequently, not only do the smokers smoke, but the drivers turn a blind eye.

On the 13+(a) 17a, 220 it seems not a journey goes by without at least 1 smoker lighting up.

Now I usually sit downstairs, for this very reason, but during peak times, these are busy routes, and sitting upstairs cannot be avoided. I counted 7 people smoking this morning.

I am disgusted by their behaviour and that of Dublin Bus who should enforce the rules.

It is becoming so commonplace , I have seen smokers lighting up downstairs on these routes!

Bring camera. Take photo. Report the driver to Dublin Bus. He is obliged to give you his name and/or "number" on request afaik.

If they (DubBus) refuse to do anything about it, then report them to the gardai, as they are under a legfal obligation to enforce their non-smoking rules.

Yes - people smoking on buses is terrible. The rules are there, and these people are flouting them. Then again, people break speed limits and litter without a second thought.

If you are not willing to take action to see the rules enforced, then you cannot stand by and criticise others for taking the same "laissez faire" attitude as you.

jc

gandalf · 17-07-2001 8:43am

Remember reading an article in one of the papers about smoking on the bus and people who were assulted when they asked the smoker to put out their ciggie. They also sent one of their "journalists" onto the bus and got him to light up to see the public re-action and no-one said anything ? I do agree that Dublin Bus should enforce the ban but I doubt they will. Maybe someone will take legal action against them and then they'll change their tune.

Gandalf.

Kenjd · 17-07-2001 9:14am

Im from south Dublin and there is always someone rolling or smoking joints on the bus.
Not the place! I am a cig. smoker but I certainly wouldn't smoke on bus letting other people inhale my bad air!! It's called common courtesy and respect for others which a lot of people in this country just do not have!

17-07-2001 9:16am

I used to get the 77 to tallaght every morning at 7 am.Without fail there was sombody smoking a joint.It doesnt matter what time you get on a 77 there is always sombody smoking a joint.I saw about 6 people get assaulted on that bus too.Most of the time for no reason .A guy would be smoking a joint the would walk up and down the bus if he sees sombody with a phone he will ask to use the phone.If you refuse he will take it personaly and start an arguement of even hit you .If you give him the phone he will take it.All this time the driver stays locked in his cabin.
Even one day i was standing downstairs with other people as there was too much smoke upstairs.The driver told us he was going to throw us off the bus unless we went upstairs.

entropi · 17-07-2001 9:42am

Bus "drivers" are a bunch of ärseholes, they do fÜck-all in the way of helping the passengers. I also used to get the 77 at 7:15 and there were plenty of scumbags rolling a joint up and downstairs but what did the driver do, sweet f-all. I also get the 39 sometimes and i personally call that the blow-bus coz of the amount of it being smoked.I am a non-smoker and

hate

second hand smoke from wherever i am and i would like to see something done about this too but the sad fact is that dublin bus don't give a fÜck about US-the passenger, but for the money that we spend on fares and tickets and extortionate prices to the airport...£3.50.....FÜCK OFF Dublin Bus.

"that island has freedom written all over it, sir, that's cuba"

[This message has been edited by Death Sentence (edited 17-07-2001).]

bonkey · 17-07-2001 9:48am

Originally posted by Dre as in Dray:
I saw about 6 people get assaulted on that bus too.<snip>
All this time the driver stays locked in his cabin.

This, for me, is the biggest problem in Irish transport. Due to the problem of violence on the buses, they have the drivers their nice secure cabins. As a result, many drivers have taken this as a mandate not to do anything except drive the bus....which includes dealing with intra-passenger violence.

Is smoking in a non-smoking area actually a criminal offence? Maybe DubBus should get "flying raids" from gardai on buses. Bus p[ulls into stop, 4 cops get on (2 at each door). Anyone smoking (or who the driver reports as having been smoking, which would be backed up by the cameras if they put film in them) gets arrested, and taken off the bus. Slap a big fine on them.

Cause its cops, you'd find people a lot less willing to get violent or argumentative over it.

jc

TwoShedsJackson · 17-07-2001 9:49am

The 77 is the route from hell, any time I was on it (not in the last five years, thankfully), there were indeed smokers, or people being attacked, or people walloping their kids or each other about for no good reason.

The worst conversation I heard was some skanger who was on the back seat upstairs (natch) and got talking to two lads that were beside her. They're chatting away and the subject gets onto drugs. (She had previously told them she was 15).

Male Skanger: So do you smoke hash?

Female Skanger: No, not much, I prefer taking E, but I have to stop taking that because I'm pregnant now, still smoking and drinking though.

The urge to go back and try to talk sense into her was quelled when I realised I wasn't in the mood to get stabbed. That's the thing about it: people would rather put up with cigarette smoke than get assaulted or stabbed, and you can see why.

As for taking photos of Dublin Bus bye-law breakers, again not recommended unless you like being given a good kicking. You think they'll just sit there while you snap pics of them?

bonkey · 17-07-2001 10:24am

Originally posted by Castor Troy:
As for taking photos of Dublin Bus bye-law breakers, again not recommended unless you like being given a good kicking. You think they'll just sit there while you snap pics of them?

Fair point.

jc

C B · 17-07-2001 12:03pm

Originally posted by Bard:

"there as a deterrant" I suppose...

Well we should probably employ some simple maths to see if this is true. If the benefits of an action outweigh the costs then an individual will engage in the action.
So:
Benefits = the enjoyment of smoking (as a cigarette cost 20p and smokers willingly pay this the benefits must be greater than 20p)
Costs = £400 fine multiplied by the probablity of receiving the fine.

Therefore if we wish to stop people smoking on the bus we must ensure that the chance of being caught is significantly greater than 1/2000
as 20p = 40,000p(1/2000)

It is clear at the moment that the perceived probablility is much lower than that.

Evil Phil · 17-07-2001 12:35pm

I have a wonderful memory of the 77 when a mother battered her child for interrupting her smoking heroin. lovely.

17-07-2001 12:36pm

Mabey certain Bus's should have bouncers !
It sounds funny but it is needed .

Bard · 17-07-2001 3:07pm

Originally posted by Dre as in Dray:
Mabey certain Bus's should have bouncers !
It sounds funny but it is needed .

Absolutely right!!!

I won't go into the story of how I had to break up a serious scrap before on the 77 - makes me out to be more of a heroic character than I am (... a bit like whatever happened to Dustin Hoffmans character in 'Accidental Hero' that made him save those people from the plane...) - but suffice to say that I've seen my share of thugs on the buses and the bus drivers generally have done sweet F.A. (not even calling the cops...)

It WAS a bad idea in a lot of ways to introduce O.P.O. (one person operated) buses across the board - at least a driver would have some sort of backup if a 'Deco Cuffe' ("eee- is that top Deco or bottom Deco?" - The Committments) style conductor was around to (help) keep the peace...

What bus in town has the weirdest, most f**ked up bunch of passengers? 17A gets my vote. Full of loonies half the time... yet I've never seen 'em smokin' on it.... and considering some of the drivers on that route (at the time), I'm not ****in' surprised

(Used to get the 17A to work every day... not a fun experience).

Bard

I've got a plan... and it's as HOT... AS MY PANTS!!!" - Lord Flashheart.

[This message has been edited by Bard (edited 17-07-2001).]

DadaKopf · 17-07-2001 3:41pm

yeah, this even happens on the poshest of all routes, the 46A. it's shockin'.

In fairness, its mainly knackers who do this kind of crap and any sensible bus driver isnt going to tell some gurrier to stop smoking or theyll get their head beaten.

I suppose there could be smoke alarms on buses and they'd go off every time someone started puffing. But then, the bus drivers like their occasional fag while on duty too, ya know.

FreaK_BrutheR · 17-07-2001 4:04pm

I had to belt a bloke round the head few times with a full can of coke once he was ****in me and the woman off so much on a bus once. kept flicking her ear and him and his mates chuckin paper and stuff callin us northy scum and all. i warned him twice and they all laughed. i turned round with a full can of coke and slapped him bottom of can cross the nose bust it wide open slapped him once or twice again with my fist and sat down again. his mates all shut up and he was like what you do that fo and all. i just said well i warned youse. bout 4 people said fair play to me when i was getting off the bus which was consoling. i did think i went over the top like. I NEVER fight with people like its one of 2 times i ever lost the bee bop. fook him sure he needed it like.

_ _ _ _ _________ _ _ _ _
<A HREF="http://homepage.eircom.net/~cullenm" TARGET=_blank>

</A>
http://run.to/pile

Bard · 17-07-2001 4:19pm

Originally posted by DadaKopf:
In fairness, its mainly knackers who do this kind of crap

"In fairness"???

Presuming that by "knackers", you mean itinerants or members of the travelling community, that comment of yours was nowhere NEAR 'fairness'.

Bard

I've got a plan... and it's as HOT... AS MY PANTS!!!" - Lord Flashheart.

Shiminay · 17-07-2001 4:25pm

Originally posted by DadaKopf:
yeah, this even happens on the poshest of all routes, the 46A. it's shockin'.

heeheehee - that used to be my bus from town to home when I lived in Dublin.
There was on occasion before christmas where the bus was jammed and I had to go top-side down the back where this guy and his GF were rolling and sparked up. Enterprising sort that I am, I was tempted to ask the guy for a toke.

However, it's not good and I've pulled people up on it before (not too many wanna fluck with a big guy like me). I'm a non-cigarette smoker, infact, I hate the things.
Oh and yes, I can say double standard...

All the best!
Dav
@B^)
So Bob Hoskins was about to roll a spliff when in walks Dana with her 3 foot Bong
[honey i] violated [the kids]
When the Beefy King arrives, I shall be paying homage with Puunack The Receiver in a haze of green curry.

Miguel_Sanchez · 17-07-2001 4:46pm

Bard - I think what DadaKopf meant when he said 'knackers' was the sort of gurrier you get in Dublin (both North + South) who think they're hard men and get their kicks from picking scraps with people for no apparent reason.

I use 'knackers' to describe them anyway so I presume that's what he meant. It's probably not a very PC word to use since it's derogatory to travellers but it's just a bad habit I have.

I'm the Dude

DadaKopf · 17-07-2001 5:07pm

Hey, why pretend to use terms u dont use in general conversation? That's what we all call them.

Bard · 17-07-2001 5:14pm

Aiight, fair enough, loike

Victor · 17-07-2001 6:04pm

Originally posted by Castor Troy:
The 77 is the route from hell

Ah yes, the only place I've been offered a blow job on the bus .... by a thirteen year old slapper.... before 8am.

Kill, kill, kill the laser mice.

[This message has been edited by Victor (edited 19-07-2001).]

Canaboid · 17-07-2001 9:45pm

From where does this mystical conveyance depart ?
I've a couple of mates coming over and this sounds right up their alley.

TwoShedsJackson · 17-07-2001 9:46pm

Originally posted by Victor:
Ah yes, the only place I've been offered a blow job on the bus .... bu a thitteeen year old .... before 8am.

What did he want in exchange?

Bard · 17-07-2001 9:57pm

Originally posted by Canaboid:
From where does this mystical conveyance depart ?
I've a couple of mates coming over and this sounds right up their alley.

It departs from the river side of Eden Quay, less than halfway between O'Connell Bridge and Liberty Hall. The stop is easy enough to find.

It goes across the bridge, down Dame Street, Patrick Street, through the Coombe, Dolphin's Barn, Crumlin and onward to Tallaght and the Square... all the real 'quality' areas of Dublin, as you can tell

Bard

I've got a plan... and it's as HOT... AS MY PANTS!!!" - Lord Flashheart.

[This message has been edited by Bard (edited 17-07-2001).]

JustHalf · 17-07-2001 11:24pm

Hang on... is there really a need to take pictures? Surely the on-board cameras can do that (though I'm not aware of the quality of the output).

Surely then, after notifying the driver (and him/her failing to take action), all you need to do is notify Dublin Bus, and possibly the Gardai, of the offence?

And as far as I'm aware, smoking on the bus can be punished by a custodial sentence, and thus should, in some way, be under the jurisdiction of the Gardai?

"Should" need not map to "is", btw.

Bard · 17-07-2001 11:32pm

They (Dublin Bus) have only recently taken their very FIRST legal action against a smoker on a bus (and succeeded, of course), but they've promised it's not going to be the last and that they intend to clamp down on the habit. The person found guilty in this case ended up paying the maximum fine ... - of IR£400.00.

Dublin Bus also said that, surprisingly enough, most people when asked thought that it was legal to smoke in the upstairs area but illegal downstairs. As it stands, it's illegal to smoke anywhere on a public transport vehicle, be it a bus or train (except in smoking carriages in some InterCity trains) and a maximum fine of £400 and/or 6 months in prison can be imposed. While it's probably quite unlikely that the imprisonment sentence will be used in such cases it's "there as a deterrant" I suppose...

Bard

I've got a plan... and it's as HOT... AS MY PANTS!!!" - Lord Flashheart.

bonkey · 17-07-2001 11:53pm

Originally posted by JustHalf:
Hang on... is there really a need to take pictures? Surely the on-board cameras can do that (though I'm not aware of the quality of the output).

a) Output is pretty crap
b) Apparently a large majority of those cameras are either broken, or not loaded.

jc

Chaos-Engine · 19-07-2001 12:51am

I think Dublin Bus need a good kick in the **** . I am on probably one of the nicest Dublin Bus routes(little amount of smokers, no violence, clean buses, happy and helpful drivers)"the 11"... anyway. I am tired of getting on buses and having scum bag smoking down the back or anywhere for that matter(i am for legilisation of cannabis too) be it tobacco or cannabis i do not like having no choice but inhaling scumbag's secondhand smoke... I think seen as Dublin Bus have Monoply Fares Vs rest of EU that they should but conductors back on the buses and therefore keep the driver totally isolated. The Conductor could double as a Security guard and carry cuffs, mace and a nice big stick... I h8 police opression but i can accept it on a public bus....

"Information is Ammunition"
Choas Engine
Email: choas@netshop.ie
ICQ: 34896460

C B · 19-07-2001 7:23am

Originally posted by Chaos-Engine:
I think seen as Dublin Bus have Monoply Fares Vs rest of EU that they should but conductors back on the buses and therefore keep the driver totally isolated.

Dublin Bus recieve a state subsidy of 17p per mile which is less than one third of what the average European public transport company recieves. Dublin Bus is a public sector monopoly and as such does not engage in rent capture to the same degree as a private sector monopoly would.

P.S. the 11 is the most irregular route on the Dublin Bus network but I suppose it does probably has less scumbags than most routes.

Shiminay · 19-07-2001 8:24am

I remember the 11 too - a nice bus (I used to live in Portabello, so that was my way to work). I don't ever recall any grief on it, but I was only on it early morning or "ruch hour" times when it's people who've come from work.

All the best!
Dav
@B^)
So Bob Hoskins was about to roll a spliff when in walks Dana with her 3 foot Bong
[honey i] violated [the kids]
When the Beefy King arrives, I shall be paying homage with Puunack The Receiver in a haze of green curry.

fisty · 19-07-2001 8:50am

I know the bus route you are talking about to tallaght.
I was going to a party out that way one night after clubbing in town and we got the nightlink down that route.
One of the funniest things I have ever seen. Literally 3 fights within 30 mins. The entire back half of thetop deck all smoking a number and shouting at eachother.
Needless to say I wasn't so mouthy as I normally am that night.

http://www.boards.ie/bulletin/Forum16/HTML/001332.html (for people that have never been to dublin)

[This message has been edited by fisty (edited 19-07-2001).]

Smoking on dublin bus

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