Sir, – I am writing to express my wholehearted support for recent calls by the public transport union for increased security on public transport.
Reports in The Irish Times from staff who have been abused and assaulted by passengers are horrific. They and the travelling public need immediate protection.
In this week of Cop26, what exactly is the point of our Government paying lip-service to a green agenda and encouraging people to drive less and use public transport more if we are afraid to travel by bus and rail?
I visit Cork on a monthly basis and would love to take the train and did so in the past. But now as a woman and an older person I am afraid to do so and I travel by car instead. Many other people feel as I do. I understand that 95 per cent of women in Ireland say that having a car is a necessity.
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What is needed is to immediately reinstate conductors on buses and guards on trains and the establishment of a dedicated visible public transport police force. There will never be a green transport revolution in this country unless we, the travelling public, can be safeguarded from threat and assault.
– Yours, etc,
SYLVIA WIGHAM,
Rathfarnham,
Dublin 14.