DUBLIN BUS OPERATES a fleet of around 1,000 buses and carries 115 million on 364 days of the year.

With that in mind, it is inevitable that incidents will happen. But, how does the company combat the problem?

The company says that around five to ten stone throwing incidents happen a month, but that they don’t have records for other incidents.

Garda sources say that it wouldn’t be far outside the stone-throwing number.

“People think it would be pretty bad,” says one Garda.

“But it’s fairly rare I hear of anything happening that requires the gardaí immediately. Maybe one or two a month.”

The company say that anti-social behaviour is dropping, thanks to a number of measures, said a statement.

One such initiative was the introduction of CCTV on buses. The entire Dublin Bus fleet of 1,000 buses is fully fitted with CCTV cameras with up to eight internal cameras and two external cameras fitted on the more modern vehicles in the fleet.

“Each Dublin Bus depot has a designated staff member whose principal task is to monitor and maintain these cameras.

“The footage and pictures which can be downloaded from the CCTV systems has proven to be invaluable in terms of helping An Garda Síochána to pursue the prosecution of offending individuals. Since the introduction of CCTV on all Dublin Bus buses, incidents of anti- social behaviour and vandalism on buses have decreased.”

The Dublin Bus spokesperson said that the company maintains a strong relationship with gardaí and community forums, with community programme co-ordinators proving a particular success.

On top of that, the company has taken on a number of initiatives.

“Dublin Bus has introduced a number of initiatives to ensure the safety of its drivers as well as customers. These include the provision of security screens at the drivers cab, the provision of CCTV on buses and the introduction of the exact fare system.

“Each of these measures has ensured that there has been a significant reduction in the level of anti-social behaviour towards bus drivers.

“All Dublin Bus employees are fully trained on the comprehensive procedures for dealing with specific situations, including disorderly behaviour on bus, anti-social behaviour, smoking on buses and protection against assault and robbery. Each vehicle is also equipped with a radio which allows immediate contact to the Central Control Centre.”

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