Irish Examiner view: Public transport needs gardaí

BusConnects plans

Plans to get people out of cars and onto buses and trains are doomed to failure if people feel buses and trains are unsafe.

The BusConnects plan is exercising minds in Cork City at present (see this newspaper’s current series on the proposed revamp of public transport in the city) while in the country at large, alternatives to the car are proposed at regular intervals. Rail, bus, and bicycle travel are all seen as greener options than the automobile, if not moral obligations in the era of climate change.

However, are rail and bus safer options for passengers?

Anecdotal evidence suggests that public transport services are suffering more and more antisocial behaviour, and earlier this week the National Bus and Rail Union general secretary Dermot O’Leary stated that thuggery was prevalent on public transport in every county, instancing a case of a bus driver being threatened with rape.

Public servants are entitled to safe travel on buses and trains. It is intolerable that either passengers or staff should feel uncomfortable on any such journeys, let alone feel threatened or endangered. It was no surprise to hear the union call for a dedicated Garda public transport division to address this issue.

It was disappointing to hear the lack of support from the Taoiseach and An Garda Síochána for such a dedicated unit, which would appear to be an ideal solution to a growing problem, particularly with the recent budget providing for extra gardaí.

If the jurisdiction and independence of such a new force were obstacles, surely those issues could be overcome with relative ease?

Plans to get people out of cars and onto buses and trains are doomed to failure if people feel buses and trains are unsafe — no matter how climate-conscious those people are.