Almost half of all passengers using public transport in Ireland say they have felt unsafe at least once while commuting, according to new research from the National Transport Authority (NTA).
The findings come from the NTA’s third annual report on personal security perceptions among public transport users, which shows 49% have experienced feeling unsafe when travelling. Women, younger people and those using services in Dublin were more likely to report such feelings, with drunk people, verbally aggressive passengers, harassment and drugs cited as their main sources of concern.
The survey also found that 46% of people believed anti-social behaviour was worse on buses, trains and trams during 2025 – an increase of three percentage points on the previous year. Despite this, the NTA said the results of the survey of over 1,500 adults were “generally positive,” although it acknowledged that perceptions of safety on Luas trams were noticeably lower than on bus and rail services.
The NTA attributed the discrepancy to the nature of Luas trams being more open systems than buses, which have “a more visible driver presence.” Similar findings emerged from a separate customer satisfaction survey of over 6,000 commuters carried out by the NTA last year.
Approximately 9 out of 10 passengers said they felt very safe using public transport in the very early morning and commuter periods, but the figure dropped to 7 out of 10 for journeys in the late evening and nighttime. Luas, Dublin Bus and DART services were seen as particularly unsafe after dark.
The report highlights how commuters regard anti-social behaviour on public transport as common, with inconsiderate behaviour the most frequently reported type of conduct. The proportion of passengers who witnessed verbal anti-social behaviour last year was unchanged at 55%, while reports of witnessing physical threats to others decreased slightly from 41% in 2024 to 39% last year.
Members of the public, particularly older people, favour a more visible Garda presence on public transport and at stops as the best measure for improving safety, ahead of increased security staff, stronger sanctions and improved surveillance.
An NTA spokesperson said: “Anti-social behaviour is as much a problem on public transport as it is within society as a whole, and tackling it is a greater priority than ever before.” The authority said the report’s findings would be used to “identify areas for improvement in the short, medium, and long term subject to availability of the appropriate budget and resources.”
Incident trends and operator rates
The report also provided data on recorded incidents. Overall incidents fell by 11% to 6,378, a decrease of 781 on the previous year. However, incidents of aggressive behaviour rose by 14% to 1,286, physical assaults rose by 35% to 241, and fighting and disturbances rose by 21% to 432. The vast majority of reported incidents were logged by transport staff.
Rates varied significantly by operator. The highest rate occurred on Iarnród Éireann services, including DART, at 5.76 incidents per 100,000 passenger journeys – over three times the average rate of 1.8 across the network. Luas had a rate of 2.06 incidents per 100,000 journeys, while Dublin Bus had the lowest rate at 0.64.
Passenger concerns and future measures
The survey also explored how anti-social behaviour affects willingness to use public transport. Some 65% of people who never use public transport said anti-social behaviour put them off, compared to 53% of regular users.
With over one million weekday journeys on the Transport for Ireland network on average, and numbers expected to grow further with the BusConnects programme and rail upgrades, the NTA is working with the Department of Transport to develop the Transport Security Force and associated legislation. The authority also continued a pilot security project for Dublin Bus until the end of 2027, and transport operators were examining the potential for resilience training for frontline staff.