Bus Éireann halts Limerick route after attacks
Transport union calls for security cover for drivers
Part of the Limerick 303 bus route has been suspended after a number of violent and threatening incidents targeting drivers in the O’Malley Park and Carew Park area.
Last Friday, a Bus Éireann driver was shot in the face with an airgun in the
O’Malley Park area while working on the route that links O’Malley Park to Pineview.
Last Sunday, a group of youths threatened a bus driver in Carew Park after refusing to pay their fares.
Bus Éireann has made CCTV footage available to gardaí following the incident, in which a driver was threatened when a gang ordered him to take them to a location in Limerick.
However, the company said the bus was not hijacked during the incident on the 303 route at the weekend.
A spokesperson said no weapons were involved or objects thrown at it.
Sources said the driver was warned he would be shot after the youths ordered him to take them to O’Malley Park, but the Bus Éireann spokesperson was unable to confirm this.
The group disrupted the service for only a brief period on Sunday, but Stephen Nugent, senior national executive member at the National Bus and Rail Union (NBRU), said the driver was “terrified” after what happened to a colleague a few days before.
Mr Nugent reported other incidents in the same area, including a group throwing bricks, stones and bottles at a bus.
He said: “In O’Malley Park, Southill, there had to be a security van that follows the bus around while it’s operating between 5pm and 12am. Now, two weeks ago, that security van itself was attacked.
“We also found razor blades embedded in the seats in one of the buses last week. It’s a real hotspot of anti-social behaviour.”
As a result of the incidents, the route 303 service has been removed from O’Malley Park and Carew Park until further notice.
The driver who was shot in the face is understood to be returning to work this week after suffering bruising below the eye.
Bus Éireann said it is investigating the incident and does not tolerate antisocial or criminal behaviour . The NBRU has called for action.
“First, of all we’re calling for a dedicated garda public transport unit,” Mr Nugent said.
“Second, to resolve this locally, especially to reinstate service in O’Malley Park, we call for a transport forum in the exact same way it is set up in Tallaght at the moment, where all the stakeholders, students, local politicians, community activists, gardaí, transport unions, they come to meet, to resolve this.
“Also, make an appeal to the National Transport Authority – they should be funding security services needed to protect the workers.”