Four buses damaged within two hours in Tallaght, councillors blame anti-social behaviour
At least four buses travelling through parts of Tallaght were damaged within the span of two hours due to anti-social behaviour like stone throwing, according to the Tallaght Transport Forum.
“Buses have been withdrawn due to anti-social behaviour. At our last meeting, nine issues of stone throwing were reported, and four buses were damaged within two hours,” said Fianna Fáil councillor Adam Smyth, who is a member of the forum.
“Buses are kept off the road for four to five days days and some are pulled out of the area – which is not what we want. No service should be withdrawn, and we need to work with the community to make sure it doesn’t need to happen.”
At an area meeting for Tallaght, Cllr Smyth introduced a motion to support the work of the transport by raising awareness locally.
“I wanted to highlight this issue raised constantly over the last couple months, it seemed to be constant at the start of March,” he said.
“We need to let families know the children responsible need to be watched – it’s usually the same, small number of people but it makes a big impact.
“This is causing delays in public transport in our area. We need to make people aware that we can no longer accept the anti-social behaviour and make people understand that we can’t afford a loss of service to any area.”
Issues have been reported around Killinarden, Jobstown and Belgard Road, according to the coucillor.
People Before Profit councillor Kay Keane said similar anti-social behaviour around Bus 27 had affected many of her constituents in Tallaght South.
“Since December, there’s been an increase of anti-social behaviour along some routes. The routes that would directly affect my community is the 27 where we have seen a huge increase in stones and glass thrown at buses,” she said.
“Even a small crack on a windscreen of a bus needs to be taken seriously. It’s not safe for passengers or the drivers doing their job.”
Councillors called for an awareness campaign in local schools and around the community.
“This is an ongoing issue, I don’t think there’s been a suggestion or proposal made to address this situation. I have recommended more times than I can count for a pubic representative – a driver or union rep – to speak to schools,” said cllr Keane.
“They need to be told that if a bus service is taken out of an area, it affects your parents, your siblings, and your family.”