
How to watch the Dublin Bus tragedy
Irish drivers are being forced to cope with a crisis of confidence, with many telling TheJournal.ie that they can’t get on a bus because of their fear of the dark.
A series of incidents have seen some passengers being robbed, hit and even killed on buses across the country, as people look for a way to get home.
“I think the whole thing is very bad,” said a woman on the Dublin bus, who asked not to be named.
“It’s been so bad since I started working, and I don’t know how to explain it.”
It started with a car being stolen on the M7 on the morning of March 13, when two men drove off in the dark and robbed the driver.
“The driver was in a panic and got out of the car and started driving towards the city centre, but a car sped past him,” she said.
The other driver then pulled up alongside the car, which sped off, and got in a confrontation with the men inside.
“They got out and started beating him, and one of the other passengers got out, but the other guy grabbed the knife from the passenger and cut him,” the woman said.
“We ran away and I saw him running away again, so I ran towards him.”
The men then drove off, but when they arrived they were stopped by police and arrested.
A total of four men were arrested in relation to the incident.
Two of the men have been charged with robbery and robbery, while one of them has been charged in relation with assault.
The woman said the police had made no progress in their investigations, with only a few witnesses to the crime and CCTV footage of the incident being released.
“There’s been no progress from police, the whole investigation has been thrown out,” she added.
“This is a terrible incident, and the drivers are terrified, but they are afraid for their lives and their families, and they have no other choice but to take the bus.”
The women said the worst part of the night was when they returned to the city and found the bus waiting for them.
“Every time I got off the bus, I would look for the driver’s car, and every time I would find it, I thought, ‘Oh, my God, what have I done?’,” she said, adding that she was also terrified of what was going to happen next.
“My mum and dad were so worried and they said to me, ‘We need to get a taxi.'”
The woman was unable to find a taxi and was forced to take her children to a bus stop, where they were told by staff that a bus would be waiting for her.
“When we got home, we were told that there would be a bus waiting there, and it would take us home.
But the next day, the bus was nowhere to be seen,” she explained.”
Even the taxi driver was really shaken.
He got into a car with some friends and drove off.”
Another woman on a Dublin Bus told TheJournal that she is having a hard time coping with the situation.
“On a regular basis, there are people who are robbed, and we have a lot of fear for our safety,” she told The Irish Times.
“As a bus driver, I’m used to getting robbed, but I just can’t take it anymore.
It’s been such a shock.”
A spokesperson for the Transport Authority said the Irish Transport Authority (ITA) is working to resolve the issue, and is in the process of establishing a new approach to dealing with the problem.
“A number of staff have been reassigned, and further training is being carried out, with all staff encouraged to report any issues they may have with a driver,” they said.