Public Transport: Half Of Irish Passengers Felt Unsafe

There are a few sources of concern

New research from the National Transport Authority has revealed that in Ireland, nearly half of all passengers have felt unsafe at least once while using public transport.

According to the NTA’s third annual report on how commuters feel about their personal security, 49% have experienced feeling unsafe on a journey, with women, younger people and passengers in Dublin the most likely to say so.

The main sources of concern? It is the drunk people, verbally aggressive passengers, harassment and drugs.

The report also found 46% believe anti-social behaviour was worse on buses, trains and trams during 2025, which is up three percentage points on the previous year.

The NTA said that overall the findings were "generally positive" following the survey that covered more than 1,500 adults.

Why the Luas rates worst for public transport safety

Perceptions of safety on Luas trams were noticeably lower than on bus and rail services, and the Luas, Dublin Bus and DART were all seen as particularly unsafe after dark.

Around nine in 10 passengers felt very safe in the early morning and commuter periods, dropping to seven in 10 late at night.

Witnessing verbal anti-social behaviour was unchanged at 55%, while physical threats eased from 41% in 2024 to 39%.

The NTA said the probable cause of the discrepancy was the nature of Luas trams being more open systems than buses, which have “a more visible driver presence”, as reported by the Irish Mirror.

Members of the public, older passengers in particular, want a more visible Garda presence on services and at stops, echoing pushes such as the Garda operation targeting drugs in Dublin.

The NTA has approved a pilot security project for Dublin Bus until the end of 2027.

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