Antisocial behaviour 'seems to be the norm': Cork bus drivers facing daily abuse from passengers 

Cork bus drivers are experiencing daily issues of antisocial behaviour, a union representative has said.

Data that has been supplied to The Echo by Bus Éireann shows that incidents of spitting on drivers, criminal damage to vehicles, and fighting on buses increased last year across the country.

Cork’s Dermot O’Leary, general secretary of the National Bus and Rail Union (NRBU), said: “Unfortunately, society has gone in such a way now that antisocial behaviour seems to be the norm on public transport more than it was previously.

“Some bus drivers have left the industry because of this, some have found themselves out ill for a long period on the back of assaults —passengers are suffering too.

Hotspots of antisocial behaviour

“There are always hotspots of antisocial behaviour identified, and we do have protocols agreed to withdraw services when incidents occur.”

Mr O’Leary said the 203 route in Cork “is very much a problem”.

“Our members are asking us ‘how long can we continue to operate this service with the incidents that are happening there on a daily basis?’” he said.

While no Cork-specific figures were available, there were 654 incidents of antisocial behaviour on Bus Éireann buses across the country in 2025, up 5% from 2024.

Of these, there were 316 incidents of aggressive behaviour across the two years, the most common category.

There were 154 reports of passengers under the influence of drugs or alcohol and 191 incidents of lewd behaviour, increases of 36% and 25%, respectively, from 2024 to 2025.

Spitting on employees

Passengers spitting on Bus Éireann employees rose from eight incidents to 13, there were 16 physical assaults on employees, and fighting or other passenger disturbances rose slightly from 42 to 44 incidents.

There were also 252 incidents of criminal damage, such as stones or other objects being thrown at buses, graffiti, and vandalism.

Mr O’Leary suggested that the actual figures were likely much higher.

“These incidents are almost a daily occurrence. At this stage, a lot of our members aren’t even reporting them, because it’s become so normalised, they think: ‘What’s the point?’”

He said that the union has been engaging with the Department of Transport over the last 18 months on a programme for government commitment to put a transport security force in place.

However, this will require primary legislation, which takes a “considerable period of time”, Mr O’Leary said, adding that the NRBU’s proposal for a Garda unit to tackle the issue could have been brought in without this requirement.

Behaviour going unchecked

“The gap between the commitment and the implementation of the force is creating a vacuum in which antisocial behaviour is going unchecked,” he said.

“I would appeal to people in Government. The Taoiseach’s late father was a bus driver. I would ask him to look at other ways of getting a visible resource on buses and trains as soon as possible.”

Mr O’Leary also called on opposition politicians to be as outspoken on antisocial behaviour as they were on other bus-related issues. 

An NTA spokesperson told The Echo: “The safety of our passengers and employees is of paramount importance to Bus Éireann, and any incidents reported are taken very seriously and are fully investigated.

“Incidents of antisocial behaviour remain low across our network on Cork city services. However, Bus Éireann understands the impact even one such incident can have on our passengers and staff.”

Incidents can be reported to gardaí, bus drivers, or their customer care team on 0818 294015, they added.