A Dublin Bus driver has highlighted the abuse and anti-social behaviour she faces while working.
Suzanne Armstrong says that drivers experience "quite a bit of abuse" on the bus.
"I've had actually a pedestrian bike thrown out in front of me one time," she said.
Ms Armstrong also outlined a time a brick was thrown through one of her vehicle's windows.
"We'd also get abused from passengers and we could have drug dealing or using going on upstairs on the bus."
Ms Armstrong was speaking during a call from SIPTU for greater action to protect public transport workers from abuse and anti-social behaviour.
The union is launching a campaign calling for respect for transport workers.
SIPTU said it wants to see the immediate establishment of a National Transport Advisory Council to include unions, public and private transport operators, disability groups and others with an interest in the operation of the sector.
It is also calling for the development of a unit dedicated to policing the public transport system and the establishment of a 'Transport Charter' outlining what is unacceptable behaviour towards staff.
Luas ticket inspector Alan O'Brien was the victim of a serious assault on New Year's Eve two years ago.
"Five men cornered me on the tram before it spilled out onto the platform," Mr O'Brien said.
"I was very badly assaulted with multiple kicks to the head and multiple kicks to the body. I have picked up a long term neck injury due to the assault," he added.
Survey results
A survey of more than 600 of the union's members in the transport sector showed that over 80% of respondents felt that abuse and anti-social behaviour was an issue for them at work.
The majority of those who have endured abuse at their job believe the problem has got worse in the last 12 months.
Issues reported by respondents included verbal abuse, physical assaults and anti‐social behaviour.
In total 615 SIPTU members responded to the survey.
The respondents were spread across Dublin Bus, Iarnród Éireann, Luas, Bus Éireann, Aircoach and Go‐Ahead Ireland.
The survey involved all grades of transport staff represented by SIPTU including drivers, ticket staff and customer assurance agents.
A spokesperson for Iarnród Éireann said it has significantly increased security resources and proactive partnerships with An Garda Síochána in recent years to ensure as safe a travelling and working environment as possible for customers and staff.
"We will continue to work with staff and representative trade unions to address and reduce our incidents of anti-social behaviour on board our services and in our stations," the spokesperson said.
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Luas operator Transdev said it works with employees, unions, An Garda Síochána, schools and community representatives to put measures in place that best address anti-social behaviour.
"Luas and the Gardaí have greatly increased the number of joint operations on trams," a spokesperson said.
Bus Éireann said it is continuing to invest significantly in providing a safe and secure environment for employees and customers with all its road passenger fleet fitted with enhanced CCTV cameras onboard.
"Customer research shows that 96% of our customers feel safe and secure during their journey with Bus Éireann," a spokesperson said.
SIPTU divisional organiser Adrian Kane said physical attacks on bus drivers are "all too common and is getting worse".
Speaking on RTÉ's Morning Ireland, he said the union is calling for a dedicated transport police to ensure security for all.
"Things have got worse, and I also think that in relation to the riot in [in Dublin] November that there is an increase in the intensity of it as well."
He said that this issue can have a detrimental effect on recruitment of new employees.
"There is an issue with regard to recruitment and of course, if people hear about this, they're less likely to join. So, that's why it's incumbent upon us all to make this a safe workplace," he said.
Dublin Bus said it takes incidents of anti-social behaviour extremely seriously.
"The entire Dublin Bus fleet is fully fitted with CCTV cameras with up to 11 internal cameras and three external cameras fitted on the more modern vehicles in the fleet," a spokesperson said.
"Dublin Bus has a strong and close working relationship with An Garda Síochána and has set up a number of community forums in different areas across the city.
"All Dublin Bus employees are fully trained on the comprehensive procedures for dealing with specific challenging situations including anti-social behaviour," the spokesperson said.
'Threw a punch at me'
Cristian Tei, who is originally from Romania, has been living in Ireland for more than 20 years.
He has been a bus driver for almost 18 years and said the pandemic has changed people’s attitudes to bus drivers.
"They way they talk to the driver, the way they react. Any small issue becomes [the] driver’s problem," Mr Tei said.
"For example, if somebody doesn’t have enough money on the leap cards, it's the driver's problem and they start to abuse the driver. They become verbally abusive and sometimes physically".
Mr Tei said he was hit by someone last June after a collision had just been avoided.
"He was very nervous," Mr Tei said.
"He blocked my bus with his car, came out and threw a punch at me."
Mr Tei went home early that day and his passengers were transferred to another bus.
Mr Tei became an Irish citizen several years ago, but said he believes that his Romanian accent allows people to identify him as different and said he has been called a "few names" and told "to go back to my own country."
Additional reporting Eithne Dodd
