Passengers on Luas services are three times more likely to feel unsafe on their journey than other public transport users.
The latest annual survey on customer satisfaction levels published by the National Transport Authority reveals a significantly higher proportion of commuters feel unsafe when either travelling on the Luas or waiting at stops for trams compared to bus and rail passengers.
The latest figures show 13 per cent of Luas passengers surveyed in 2023 reported feeling unsafe while travelling on trams compared to four per cent of bus passengers and five per cent of rail passengers.
While 66 per cent of commuters and bus and rail services said they felt very safe on such transport modes, the figure dropped to 40 per cent for Luas passengers.
Tram passengers are also more likely to report feeling unsafe at or near stops than other public transport users.
Approximately 10 per cent of Luas passengers said they felt unsafe waiting at stops compared to six per cent of bus commuters and four per cent of rail users.
While fewer women felt very safe compared to men when walking to and from bus and rail stops, both genders felt almost equally unsafe when near Luas stops.
The results of the survey show the attitude of commuters about safety levels on public transport services is virtually unchanged since the previous year.
The NTA noted that 96% of all users still felt safe across all stages of their journey on public transport services last year – an increase of one percentage point on 2022 levels.
Overall, the survey of over 6,100 public transport users showed that 83 per cent of passengers had a positive sentiment towards Transport for Ireland services, of which 39% claimed they were “very satisfied” with services.
Despite the safety issues, the highest satisfaction levels were still recorded with Luas services at 91 per cent compared to 90% for rail services and 80% for buses.
Punctuality and reliability were cited as the main reason for commuters being satisfied with all types of public transport modes.
Approximately 80 per cent of all public transport users expressed satisfaction with crowding levels and the number of seats available on services.
However, the figure decreased to 63 per cent among Luas passengers with 20% of commuters unhappy at the level of crowding on trams.
The survey showed that eight per cent of commuters were dissatisfied with levels of cleanliness on public transport vehicles.
Almost nine out of 10 commuters felt their journey on public transport services represented value for money with many welcoming the TFI 90 minute fare in the Dublin area.
As a result of the initiative, which allows multiple trips across bus, rail and tram services for a single fare so long as the last journey is started within 90 minutes of the first, 60 per cent of commuters said they were taking more journeys.
When asked for areas to improve public transport services, commuters gave better frequency, punctuality and more late night/weekend services as the most common recommendation.
While 6% of all commuters called for increased security on services, the figure was 27 per cent among Luas passengers.
A record 308 million passenger journeys were taken on public transport services last year – an annual increase of 24 per cent.
In Dublin, two phases of the BusConnects network redesign were introduced, while over 60 new and enhanced bus services were launched in towns and villages under the Connecting Ireland Rural Mobility Plan.
The survey showed 35 per cent of commuters believed public transport services had improved during 2023, while 50 per cent said they were about the same with five per cent claiming they had got worse.
