Sharpshooter
Midfield
A Bus Éireann driver has spoken out about the regular abuse she says she suffers while driving her route between Wexford and Dublin Airport.
Bernadette Doyle grew up in London. Her mother was from Wexford and Ms Doyle moved to Crossabeg in 2009. Having driven buses in the UK for a number of years, she began working with Bus Éireann and regularly covers the route to the airport, often travelling late at night.
“I was assaulted back in May and had a tooth knocked out. I was robbed in February. I’m subjected to racial abuse on a near-weekly basis and called a ‘Tan’ and told to ‘go home’,” she said.
Ms Doyle shared a video on social media, which has now been removed, of a man directing verbal abuse at her when he attempted to get on her Wexford-bound bus at about 12.30am on Thursday.
She said he refused to leave the bus when asked and held passengers up for about 35 minutes until gardaí were called.
Ms Doyle said that if were it not for the presence of a colleague, another driver who she was dropping back to Arklow, things could have been a lot worse.
She said gardaí arrived on the scene and arrested the man.
Ms Doyle said colleagues of hers were also subject to abuse at other times: “You wouldn’t actually believe the amount of abuse that drivers are subjected to.”
Bus driver faces racial abuse regularly, called a ‘Tan’ and told ‘go home’
Man refused to leave the bus when asked and held passengers up for about 35 minutes
www.irishtimes.com
Really surprising when I hear these sort of stories, I've lived in Northern Ireland for 19 years with an English accent and never had any problems. I even finished school here in County Tyrone as a teenager and didn't get much bother. Northern Ireland has reputation for being a backward sh1thole that's "supposedly" towards too dangerous for English people to visit, whereas the ROI has been seen as the more civilised, sectarian free part of the island. Just shows you its not necessarily the case really.
Always a bit of a dilemma for us 2nd generation Irish who live in Ireland, we get called Brits in Ireland but paddies in England.
The wider aspect of this story which she is also alluding to is how much abuse bus drivers get from the public in general. I use public transport regularly but there really are some unsavoury types who frequent them. Some hairy moments using them at night time with a few drunks on board. Not sure its a job I would want.