Bus crime falls by 65% in West Midlands

[dutchman]

Crime on and around the West Midlands bus network has fallen by 65% over the last five years, figures have shown.



The Safer Travel Partnership, which includes the police, said bus crime had gone down by 16% in Coventry and 15% in Birmingham over a year.

Figures also dropped by 11% in the Black Country up to 31 March compared to the previous 12 months.

But a survey by the Passenger Focus watchdog found 18% of passengers had cause to worry or felt uncomfortable.

Its study in March also discovered that 11% were dissatisfied with their personal safety on buses, with 16% having safety concerns at bus stops.

'No crime den'

Insp Gareth Morris, of the Safer Travel Police Team, said: "While crime is down, nuisance behaviour remains a concern for passengers and we are working with operators to identify hotspots and respond appropriately.

"Last year we took 2,000 intelligence reports directly from bus drivers."

Passenger Focus said the key passenger concerns about anti-social behaviour were abusive behaviour, music being played too loudly, rowdiness and smoking.

National Express West Midlands said it takes crime and anti-social behaviour on its buses "very seriously".

Mark Babbington, crime reduction manager at the regional transport authority Centro, said it was working "very closely" with bus operators to ensure that "CCTV coverage is enhanced".

Mr Babbington said National Express West Midlands has "significant CCTV coverage" and added it was "absolutely key" for passengers to report low-level nuisance.

West Midlands spokesman for passenger group Bus Users UK Phil Tonks said: "There's a million passenger journeys per day on the West Midlands network and the crime is falling.

"It does go on, but it's not a den of crime that people may think it is."