Pilot project to tackle anti-social behaviour on Dublin buses begins today

The 20-week programme, named Safer Journeys Team, incorporates a 'visible and approachable security presence' on the bus network, aiming to target rising levels of disruptive behaviour on public transport. File photo: Sam Boal/Rollingnews.ie

A pilot project involving private security guards in a bid to tackle anti-social behaviour across the Dublin bus service has been launched.

The 20-week programme, named Safer Journeys Team, which began on Monday, incorporates a “visible and approachable security presence” on the bus network, aiming to target rising levels of disruptive behaviour on public transport.

Chief executive of Dublin Bus, Billy Hann said the company has seen a stark increase in reports of anti-social behaviour across their services.

"When we looked at the figures for a full year of operation before the pandemic, we had about 500 instances of anti social behaviour,” he told RTÉ.

In 2023, which was our first full year post pandemic, it was up to over 1000 instances, so between that data, feedback from employees and feedback from customers, we felt it was a good time to actually launch this initiative.” 

In addition to monitoring this behaviour, the teams will also assist the revenue protection unit to monitor fare evasion, while also helping Dublin bus employees manage crowd control, particularly on the weekend services.

Mr Hann said these employees will not be armed, but will be uniformed and easily identifiable to the public.

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“It'll be very much a de-escalation type of role, so if there's any issues with regards to antisocial behaviour, their first role would be to de-escalate that situation,” 

“They will be standing in the background being visible, not getting involved in the operation at all until it's absolutely necessary,” he added.

If this method is not effective, the security guards, all trained and licensed by the private security authority, will use “whatever means are necessarily reasonable force to remove that person from the bus,” he said.

Dedicated transport security

While Siptu and the National Bus and Rail Union have welcomed the news, they are insistent that there is still a need for a dedicated garda public transport unit to tackle these issues.

Mr Hann said there will have to be a “multi-faceted approach” that will take time to implement, in order to fully resolve these problems.

“It's not a silver bullet, regardless of whether we're talking about An Garda Siochana getting more involved, or whether we're talking about a dedicated transport security doing it. 

 “That's going to take time to implement. I didn't have time, I wanted to implement this as soon as possible, so that's why we've launched this initiative now,” he said.

Minister of State at the Department of Transport, James Lawless emphasised the importance of feeling safe as a public transport user.

“As a regular commuter, I understand how important it is that all of us feel safe on public transport, whether you’re a passenger or a member of staff. 

"I know that all of the public transport operators are expending significant resources introducing measures to counter the impact of anti-social behaviour and ensuring the safety and security on board services, and I believe that the launch of the Safer Journeys Team by Dublin Bus is a further positive step in this regard."