Transport User Voice January 2025 – Feeling safe on buses

23 December 2024

What are bus passengers’ concerns? 

What are the challenges in getting existing and new passengers back on the bus? Passengers tell us that reliability is one of the most important factors in their decision to use the bus – but passengers also say that they want to feel safe when travelling. 

Personal security Women’s safety has been high on agenda in recent months and years with some worrying high-profile cases putting the spotlight on this area.  

Which behaviours cause passengers to be concerned?  

A recent Bus Centre of Excellence event gave Transport Focus the opportunity to bring together our most recent research findings into a single review – and provide the industry with some valuable first-hand evidence: 

• Overall, 72 per cent of passengers feel safe at the bus stop whilst 80 per cent feel secure on the bus itself.  

• Eight percent of passengers said they had experienced something which caused them concern at the bus stop. The same percentage reported that other passengers’ behaviour caused them concern on the bus. 

• Rowdy and nuisance behaviour were the top concern at the bus stop (49 per cent), followed by smoking/vaping (41 per cent)

Who feels unsafe? 

• 16-18 year olds are three times as likely to rate their personal security as poor (nine per cent) compared to those over 18 (three per cent).  

• Those with difficulty learning, understanding or concentrating, were three times as likely to say that other passengers’ behaviour caused them concern at the bus stop (21 per cent compared with six percent) and on the bus (18 per cent compared with seven per cent) than those without any disability/impairment. 

• Those with a visual impairment were twice as likely to rate their perception of safety at the bus stop as ‘poor’ compared to those with no disability (12 per cent compared with six per cent). 

• Passengers from ethnic groups are more likely to rate their personal security on board the bus as ‘fairly poor’ or ‘poor’ than those who identify as white. 

What would make people feel safer? 

Better behaviour campaigns: promoting good behaviours and reminding people of the types of behaviours which cause concern.  

Gender-based violence and sexual harassment initiatives: better staff training, reviewing, and standardising how transport companies and staff respond to incidents.

Reporting mechanisms: clear routes to reporting unwanted behaviour, information readily at hand at stops and on operator apps and websites about how to report incidents of concern. 

CCTV: CCTV can be reassuring for some passengers, but not all passengers trust it is being monitored or are unsure if it is always in working order.

The bus driver: passengers greatly value the role of the bus driver. This is particularly the case in relation to passengers with disabilities, learning difficulties or mobility issues who may be in need a bit of extra support 

Bus stops and facilities: the condition of a bus stop can make passengers concerned about their safety. A brightly lit, graffiti-free and well-maintained bus stop sends a more positive message to passengers than one that has been vandalised.  

Personal security is clearly a complex issue that cuts across society as a whole rather than being specific to the bus sector and, as a result, is not something bus companies can address on their own. Transport Focus will continue to work with local authorities, bus operators and passengers to develop ways of improving security and safety. 

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