By Chris Green
Scottish ministers have been urged to consider the deployment of ‘bus wardens’ on the transport network to deter antisocial behaviour.
The recommendation is contained in a report from the Independent Working Group on Antisocial Behaviour, which was established in November 2023 to examine the issue.
It said the Scottish Government should consider replicating trial projects in England which involved the deployment of transport safety officers or ‘bus wardens’.
Officials could “deter antisocial behaviour, provide on-ground support, and enhance passenger reassurance,” the working group stated.
The call comes after a recent survey of 1,100 bus drivers by Unite the union found that 84 per cent are reporting increased levels of abuse at work, with 99 per cent supporting stronger legislative measures to deal with the problem.
One female bus driver responding to the survey said: “I find I get more abuse given than my male counterparts… I’ve been threatened with being stabbed multiple times and on one occasion threatened with rape.”
The working group’s report highlighted trials in two parts of England. One, which took place last summer in Stoke-on-Trent, involved the deployment of six bus wardens working in shifts to deter antisocial behaviour, both during the day and at night.
The officials were given the authority to issue fines for littering and vandalism. The scheme followed a similar project in the West Midlands in 2023, where transport safety officers worked in co-ordination with local police and the British Transport Police to deal with low-level disorder. It has since been expanded.
Confederation of Passenger Transport
Last year, 1919 reported how more than 2,000 incidents of antisocial behaviour took place on board Edinburgh’s Lothian Buses in 2023/24, a 60 per cent rise on the previous year.
The rollout of free bus travel to people in Scotland aged 21 and under in 2022 has been highlighted as a key factor in the rise, with the Confederation of Passenger Transport (CPT) saying similar increases are being recorded across Scotland.
However, the working group report said there is not enough data “to quantify or establish a direct link between the introduction of free bus entitlements for citizens and a rise in antisocial behaviour”.
It cautioned against a sudden clampdown on the free bus travel policy, arguing that suspending it could lead to “wider unintended consequences” and “exacerbate issues elsewhere in communities”.
The CPT, the trade association for the bus and coach industry, told 1919 it understood that Transport Scotland has already been in touch with the Department for Transport about the pilot projects in England.
A spokesperson added: “Some bus operators in Scotland already part-fund police transport liaison officers and undertake education and outreach work with young people, but there is not a uniform approach across the country.
“We hope that the Scottish Government will commit to developing a national passenger behavioural code and escalation procedures, including the ability to remove travel from concessionary pass holders in the most serious cases of criminal antisocial behaviour.
“This has been one of our asks of government since 2023 as we believe there must be responsibilities that accompany the right to free concessionary travel.”
A Transport Scotland spokesperson said: “We have the greatest sympathy for bus drivers who are at the sharp end of antisocial behaviour from a small minority of bus passengers. Everyone should be able to go to their work without fear of abuse.
“The Cabinet Secretary for Transport [Fiona Hyslop] met Unite representatives to discuss the safety of bus drivers and confirmed that she is committed to ensuring a full range of options are available to support the police, local authorities and bus operators to tackle this issue.
“The vast majority of passengers travelling by bus behave appropriately, including people of all ages using their free bus entitlement to travel.
“However, there is a minority of people, of all ages, who abuse their entitlement, including to commit offences, and which can result in serious harm to bus employees and passengers. That is simply not acceptable.
“Bus operators can already restrict access to their services in line with their own conditions of carriage and we are working with operators, unions, and other stakeholders, to develop further sanctions and preventative measures.
“This includes development of a new behaviour code for passengers and a process for temporary suspension of concessionary travel cards.”