Bus/Tram Operators

5.6% of workers will be threatened by members of the public during the course of their job*

Bus and Tram drivers, revenue collectors and inspectors are open to verbal, racial and physical threats and abuse on a daily basis.  These risks increase when working late at night, and especially at the weekend, when incidents are fuelled by alcohol and drugs.  Workers are particularly vulnerable when they are away from their vehicles.

There are over 160,000 people working in this sector in the UK, three times the number in the rail industry and far more fragmented.  *According to the 2004 British Crime Survey, 5.6% of these workers will be threatened by members of the public in the course of their jobs and additionally 2.8% of public transport workers were physically asaulted in the period.

Total reported physical assaults on bus drivers in the UK was 1,214 in 2002.This equates to over 3 physical assaults per day.  Ten percent of these assaults were conducted when the bus driver stepped out of the bus to attend traffic incidents.  The combination of these risks and relatively low wages has historically led to an acute shortage of bus drivers and a high turnover of staff, in some cases leading to recruitment from overseas.

The implications of these incidents for the Transport Sector include:

• Significant revenue losses and delays in transport services.
• Recruitment and retention of staff.
• Poor staff morale.
• Poor public perception.
• Days lost through illness caused by stress or injury.
• Potential court preceedings.

Bus and tram staff at risk include...

• Bus drivers
• Tram drivers
• Inspectors
• Fare collectors

SoloProtect benefits for the bus and tram sector

• Identicom is worn by the bus driver, fare collector or inspector and provides the ability to safely and discreetly raise an alarm enabling SoloProtect to instigate a rapid and appropriate response
• SoloProtect's 24 hour monitoring service means that trained staff can manage the response to any incident no matter what time it occurs.
• GSM technology ensures that Identicom will work in the bus (in the cab or on the lower or upper floor) or away from the bus dealing with a traffic incident.
• The open voice channel created when an alarm is raised is recorded by SoloProtect and provides the means by which to capture legally admissable evidence in incidents of verbal and racial abuse.
• Within the bus environment this audio capture can support the CCTV footage.
• SoloProtect provides the transport companies with the opportunity to deter incidents by promoting to the public that they have the capability of recording incidents as well as capturing on CCTV.
• Identicom can be pooled to provide a cost effective solution per vehicle, per shift, per department, etc.
• Professional training ensures that workers can use their devices confidently and correctly.