Bus curtailment is ‘hurting people within the community’

A GROUP of four local councillors, gardaí and union representatives were brought on a bus through West Tallaght last week to pinpoint problem areas for bus drivers.

A bus was provided by Dublin Bus for the trip, which councillors took as an opportunity to explore what can be done at a council level to ensure the safety of bus drivers in the area.

Dublin Bus services in West Tallaght continue to be curtailed every evening, with the affected routes being the 77A, 27 and 65B, after repeated instances of anti-social behaviour.

On Friday, the group of local politicians and union representatives were brought along the route that the 27 and the 77A follows in West Tallaght, including Jobstown, Cushlawn and Killinarden.

This offered councillors the opportunity to see the areas where the incidents have occurred and explore potential ways for anti-social behaviour against bus drivers in the locality to be reduced.

Independent councillor for Tallaght Central, Mick Duff, who took part in the trip, said it was an informative experience that showed that action can be taken at a council level to help drivers.

“There were some glaring omissions that we saw,” he told The Echo. “Some areas need more public lighting, and there are some overgrown hedgerows where people can hide.

“There were general issues of driver safety that can be addressed by public lighting, and work from the council’s roads section and public realm section.”

The potential relocation of the 27 terminus in Jobstown is also being explored, as drivers have expressed concerns about how isolated the terminus is in the evening.

“The community section of the council is supporting youth workers, and there’s a huge amount of good work going on in the youth sector,” said Cllr Duff.

“There are a lot of things that young people can go to, like a Foróige youth club, and there’s been a big investment in its Garda Youth Diversion Programme.”

In a bid to deter young people from anti-social behaviour, officials from Dublin Bus and An Garda Síochána have been visiting schools in West Tallaght in recent weeks to highlight the dangers of it.

“But parents have a role to play in this as well,” added Cllr Duff.

“They need to know what their children are doing.

“When they push the emergency button or put their foot in the door, the driver remains helpless and then the bus service is delayed.

“The community is doing everything in its power to ensure there’s public safety, so are youth clubs like Foróige, the guards are out on the ground, and public reps and the council have come out.”

Cllr Duff expressed his desire for the bus service to operate in full once again, and said the continued curtailments have “hurt” the community.

“We’re appealing for the return of the bus service,” he said.

“This is hurting people within the community, like people coming home from work or college, some people’s social lives, and senior citizens who might like to go out in the evening, but they’re put off by the fact the bus is terminating at The Square so they can’t get home.”

A meeting of the Dublin Bus/Luas Community Forum is due to take place later this week, where the route curtailments and driver safety concerns will be discussed.