

Dublin Bus to work with Gardai to maintain service
By Mary Dennehy
DUBLIN Bus has confirmed that it continues to work alongside Tallaght gardai in relation to its services, after the 27 bus was curtailed a number of times in recent weeks.
Due to heightened anti-social behaviour over the Halloween period, the 27 was recently curtailed on a number of occasions – including three consecutive days, November 1, 2 and 3.
Dublin Bus Route 27
In a comment to The Echo, a spokesperson for Dublin Bus said: “We can confirm that there have been anti-social behaviour incidents involving Route 27 over the last number of weeks.
“We have a strong and close working relationship with An Garda Siochana and have set up a number of community forums in different areas across the city including Tallaght.
“Dublin Bus operates a Schools Education Programme which involves educating young people about the importance of the bus in their lives and in their local community.
“The work of our School and Community Co-ordinators has also proven highly successful in encouraging young people to respect their bus and has assisted greatly in the reduction of incidents of anti-social behaviour.”
According to Dublin Bus, incidents involving Dublin Bus are down 16 per cent compared to 2017.
Tallaght Central councillor Charlie O’Connor, who is a member of the Dublin Bus Luas Community Forum, said that while some routes were curtailed over the Halloween period, the situation has improved significantly since last year.
“The bottom line is that no one wants buses withdrawn from the area,” said Cllr O’Connor.
“We have to all work together… and ensure the safety and preservation of our bus service.”
He added: “I received calls about the bus service from people who needed to get to work and get home.
“Anti-social behaviour like this is dangerous and can also result in the withdrawing of important services from the community.
Big improvement this year
“However, there is no question that there has been a big improvement this year in relation to anti-social behaviour and buses.
“There is definitely not as many incidents being reported at the forum meetings this year compared to last.
“Personally, I do feel very strongly about the work of the forum.
“Dublin Bus management, the unions, gardai, councillors and community reps work quite closely with the community.”