There have been renewed calls for a night bus services for the city following hundreds of women joining a WhatsApp group to help safely navigate their way around the city.
The story was initially reported in the Advertiser in late November, as some 200 female students of University of Galway living in the Newcastle and Headford Rd regions joined a WhatsApp group to help keep each other safe while walking home from the University.
Started by Gillian O’Meara, a third-year science student of University of Galway, who was expecting very few to take her up on her offer of starting a WhatsApp group, but was instead shocked to find hundreds of women interested surrounding fears of being followed, harassed or assaulted while walking in the city after dark.
Currently, the only two options to get home after a night out in the city are getting a taxi or walking home, the former becoming a difficult task with the current country wide taxi shortage.
For Aoife O’Flaherty, a life-long resident of the city, the current climate means that she is for the first time afraid while walking at night time.
“Sexual harassment is so normalised in society, too many of my friends and myself included have first-hand experience and it’s kind of just passed off as standard and ignored, more often than not the victim is blamed for not being careful enough. As a Social Science student, I have read the statistics and studied the cases of gender-based violence happening from afar, but never would I have expected it to literally be happening on our doorsteps.
“I’ve grown up in Galway and never once have I ever felt unsafe walking alone or otherwise, obviously you take your normal precautions but these days even that doesn’t suffice. I know I’m not alone in saying that sometimes I’d rather walk home alone in the dark because there have been instances where I’ve felt so uncomfortable in taxis, and there’s only so much you can do in instances like that.
“Even walking home from college at six o’clock in the evening is nerve wracking these days because only last week a woman was attacked outside a housing estate that is well known to be populated by students and young people.”
O’Flaherty says that a Dublin style night-link service would be an ideal option for all residents of the city, especially the women.
“I think we all feel a bit powerless at the minute, a night-link service similar to what they have in Dublin would be really beneficial given recent events”
TD for Galway West, Maireád Farrell says that a night service for Galway city is a necessary measure to help promote the night time economy and to provide a safe option for women like Flaherty.
“I have been calling for a night service for Galway city for a very long time now. It just makes sense in terms of supporting the night time economy, offering a sustainable option to commuters who work at night or very early in the morning, giving more options to students who maybe be commuting due to the lack of accommodation in the city, and simply making our transport system more sustainable and accessible, and less congested.
“Safety is another concern, particularly for women. A night bus would be a safe and reliable option for women trying to get home at night. Many women are forced to walk home, which can also be unsafe and frightening, either because there isn’t a taxi available, they can’t afford one, or don’t feel comfortable getting a taxi alone. Over the last number of months, I have watched as several new night bus services are announced for Dublin, which is great, but somehow Galway and the west always seem to be forgotten when it comes to improved public transport. It is so frustrating and disheartening.”
Despite a night bus service being a valid option in theory to help people to navigate the system safely, Deputy Farrell says that it would need to be frequent and reliable, unlike the current public transport system.
“A night bus service would be great for helping people get around safely at night time, but it needs to be frequent enough and reliable so that people aren’t waiting at bus stops for ages, unsure if the bus will ever actually show up. I know that is currently a common experience in the day time for people trying to get the bus, so we really need to look at the public transport system as a whole. Frequent, reliable, and accessible bus routes in all areas of the city day and night would create a safer transport system for women, for workers, and for the environment.”
