One man, who was assaulted after he fell asleep on a late night bus service, says drivers and passengers are being asked to step in to keep people safe.
Brian Ó Criochán was on a bus from Dublin to Kildare on Sunday night when he woke up to someone punching him.
The incident has led to fresh calls for the establishment of dedicated Garda transport unit.
Brian told Lunchtime Live what happened.
"I was assaulted last Sunday on a bus home from Dublin, I was on a night out with my mates, and I got the last bus home - 11.30 back to Kildare.
"I had a bit of a disagreement with a man when I dropped a fiver, and he thought it was his anyway.
"There was a back and forth... but nothing too heated.
"I went and sat down and nodded off... and I woke up close enough to my stop and this fella had grabbed me by the scruff of the neck and he was thumping me in the face.
"And I kind of woke up, there was a kerfuffle - I dropped my phone and it was smashed on the ground."
'A jarring experience'
Brian also had praise for the driver.
"That was it - he left the bus and in fairness to the driver... he stopped the bus straight after and he took me off and made sure I was alright and calmed me down.
"He said 'Is there anyone you need me to call?' and I said 'No I'll just hop off at the next stop and I'll walk home'.
"It was a bit of a jarring experience - it happened last Sunday, and still feeling a bit iffy getting back on a bus.
"I was out with the lads the other night and I was supposed to stay out, but I just went home at 8 because I didn't want to get the late bus home - I just didn't feel safe.
"At the end of the day you're stuck in this box, essentially, with strangers and there's no safety precautions."
Brian says the side of his face was swollen and his eye was bloodshot. But he decided not to report it to the Gardaí.
"I rang the Guards and I had a chat with them; I was supposed to go into the station.
"But I was chatting away to mammy and at the end of the day that individual, if I report them, I'm still going to have to use that bus.
"There's no one there on the bus to make sure that I'm alright - if they came after me again - whatever about reporting it - I'm still going to be stuck on that bus.
"If they catch me again, and there's a report gone in [against] them, Lord knows what they'll do to me then".
'I'd no way of defending myself'
He says there needs to be more security, as a deterrent if nothing else.
"Whatever about getting into a fight with someone, that's another awful thing, but to go after someone who's asleep - you can't get more vulnerable than that.
"I'd no way of defending myself, I didn't know what was happening".
He says people have the right to be safe: "I don't think it's too much to ask for us to be safe on public transport".
Asked if there should be a dedicated transport police unit, he says there's no reason not to have them.
"I think there is an onus on the transport authority to make sure we're safe on public transport.
"I don't see why not and even for the drivers - if you look at that driver there, what was he supposed to do?
"He was very good to me, he took me off afterwards and he was very kind to me.
"But at the end of the day, are they expecting drivers or passengers to jump in if something like this goes on?
"You'd feel so much safer, no more than seeing the community Guard walking up through the village.
"It's not always there for when it happens, but it's a very very good deterrent".
