The bus has had a long-held reputation as a site of antisocial behaviour and criminality. So much so that investment has recently been put into deploying Police Community Support Officers (PCSOs) onto bus networks to combat this and reassure the public.
Yet, by contrast — and much to the benefit of the transport mode’s image — in a newly launched initiative by Stagecoach East, buses are being hailed as “safe spaces”.
The operator has partnered with Cambridgeshire Constabulary and the Cambridge Rape Crisis Centre to join the Businesses Against Abuse (BAA) scheme.
That project already has the support of around 300 local businesses, who have taken part in training a total of approximately 3,000 staff to play their part in combating violence against women and girls.
Women or girls who are in fear of abuse — whether they are on or off a bus — are being encouraged to make themselves known to drivers, who are authorised to pull over and take her to a safe place en route if necessary.
It is in operation on all Stagecoach East buses across the network in Cambridgeshire and Bedfordshire.
A key part of the initiative is in the training given to drivers, who are imparted with the knowledge to be able to spot the early signs of a threatening situation, to know when to intervene and when not to, and to take the right approach.
CCTV makes buses safer
The fact that Stagecoach East buses are loaded with as many as 16 cameras is another reason why they are particularly useful to the BAA campaign and why they should be seen as safe spaces rather than a breeding ground for antisocial behaviour.
The scheme is less effective if women and girls in the region don’t know about it, so all buses will display the BAA logo, drivers will be encouraged to wear BAA badges, the scheme was publicised initially on all destination screens, and the specially branded bus used for a high-profile launch at Milton Park and Ride on 17 October will appear around Cambridge for the first year.
The real big message for the drivers is we’re not asking you to step out of the cab, rip your shirt open and be Superman flying in – Simon Woollard
Stagecoach East Managing Director Darren Roe says: “It’s a sad part of the reality that we have some individuals in our community that are vulnerable and some who take advantage of that, so it’s really important that we work with the police and the [Cambridge Rape Crisis Centre] team to help support victims and those who have the sense that something’s not quite right.
“If somebody’s feeling a little insecure, they can get onto one of our buses, speak to one of our brilliant drivers and we’ll look after you from there. Does it mean we’re going to take you to a police station? Probably not — but if we need to, we will do.
“We have hero moments every day across the network that we don’t necessarily share with everybody. This was for us just an enhancement of the safeguarding procedures that we’ve already got.”
Training is key
As Darren says, bus operators already train drivers to help ensure the safety of the public and this aspect is crucial to the scheme.
It is a reminder that the job of a coach or bus driver entails more than driving, although those taking part in the launch were keen to stress the programme need not impose a great challenge or burden for those who are on the front line of services.
Simon Woollard, Stagecoach East Training Officer, was tasked with rolling out the training programme, which was formulated in conjunction with Cambridge Rape Crisis Centre and the police.
He says: “The real big message for the drivers is we’re not asking you to step out of the cab, rip your shirt open and be Superman flying in. Quite, quite the opposite. We don’t want our drivers to put themselves or potentially the victim at risk.
“The drivers are already taught safeguarding — looking after children, vulnerable adults. We already do that training through our Certificate of Professional Competence, so it was just a small step to make them aware.
“To be honest, we can spot when something is not right, so can our drivers — we don’t need to train them that. It’s just a matter of how they react and it depends on the driver individually — if they are not a confident person, they might not say anything but just report and record or, if they are more confident, it might be going out and asking that woman, ‘Are you okay?’, just to interrupt the situation.”
Simon points out that there are many ways drivers could try to diffuse a brewing situation. If necessary, police or local CCTV personnel could be alerted.
“It could be just taking her away from the situation two or three bus stops and they have an opportunity to call a friend or relative to pick them up,” he says.
Norah Al-Ani, Director of the Cambridge Rape Crisis Centre, adds: “It’s been really interesting talking to the drivers and realising that they are already doing a lot of this anyway and it was just about giving them a structure and a framework to fit that into.”
Drivers are perfectly placed to help, according to Nicky Peacock, Businesses Against Abuse Accreditation Scheme Force Lead at Cambridgeshire Constabulary.
She says: “People — especially predators — overlook bus drivers. They go unseen. So drivers can see things long before anyone else can and alert people like the police and we can get there and we can deal with that.”
The operational cost of the exercise did not enter the equation, says Ross Barton, Operations Director of Stagecoach East, who explains the idea was mentioned to them by local police at a community event.
He says: “It didn’t come into our minds. We had some training costs associated with it but, more importantly, it’s the right thing to do. I think the disruption to services is completely secondary.”
Taking it further afield
Stagecoach East will be hoping the initiative helps counter negative headlines for the bus sector which have been noted in the past year or so when it comes to passenger security.
The introduction of the Young Persons’ Free Bus Travel Scheme north of the border was linked to an increase in misconduct, a fact gaining a mention in the Scottish Parliament. At that time, statistics from Lothian Buses cited a doubling in the incidence of antisocial behaviour between 2019 and 2022.
It’s a scheme that we’re extremely passionate about and we will be sharing it with the other Stagecoach companies to see what they can do locally – Ross Barton
West Yorkshire Combined Authority and Transport for West Midlands are among those who have used PCSOs or Transport Safety Officers as a deterrent, including with the aid of Bus Service Improvement Plan funding.
Those involved with BAA in Cambridgeshire are thus keen that the scheme can be duplicated elsewhere. Nora says: “It’s our hope that Stagecoach can be an absolute inspiration to other public transport companies across the country and others can develop similar schemes.”
Ross adds: “We share best practice internally, it’s a scheme that we’re extremely passionate about and we will be sharing it with the other Stagecoach companies to see what they can do locally.”
