19 Nov At last, a national focus on bus safety for women
At last, a national focus on bus safety for women
By Sarah Walker, Project Manager, Women’s Night Safety Charter
When trade union Unite asked me to support their Get Me Home Safely campaign, I didn’t hesitate. The campaign has gathered huge traction across the UK, and for good reason.
Despite all the awareness work focused on trains and the Underground, there has never been a dedicated campaign tackling violence against women and girls on buses.
And that’s the issue that comes up time and again when the Women’s Night Safety Charter speaks to people who use public transport to get to and from work.
Buses remain one of the biggest gaps in women’s safety at night.
British Transport Police’s 61016 text number doesn’t work on buses. There’s no clear reporting route, and most drivers haven’t been trained to respond to harassment.
Too often, when something does happen, it’s the victim who’s removed from the vehicle rather than the perpetrator.
And while many people assume buses are covered by CCTV, the reality is that much of what happens goes unreported, unseen, or simply tolerated.
We hear from women – particularly younger women – who avoid buses altogether at night. Others tell us that daytime journeys can be just as uncomfortable, when overcrowded services lead to unwanted touching and groping. It shouldn’t be treated as inevitable and, as I said in Unite’s campaign video, that affects a woman’s freedom and quality of life.
That’s why Unite’s campaign matters. It calls for real, structural change with six demands:
- Safe and free transport home
- Extend employers’ duty of care to the daily commute
- Better buses and public transport – safe, reliable, more frequent
- Zero tolerance to sexual harassment and gender-based violence on public transport
- National minimum standards for taxi and private hire
- Tax legislation updated to incentivise paying for taxis.
Those principles align perfectly with the seven pledges of the Women’s Night Safety Charter.
Two of our pledges are directly reflected in Unite’s campaign:
- Reminding customers and staff that London is safe — but also telling them what to do if they experience harassment, and
- Encouraging reporting by victims and bystanders.
Both campaigns are about shared responsibility. No one organisation can fix this alone. It takes employers, local authorities, transport providers, unions and campaigners working together to create cultural change. Collaboration is what makes these movements powerful.
For our part, the Women’s Night Safety Charter already works with thousands of businesses to improve women’s safety.
When an organisation signs the charter, it commits to training staff to spot vulnerability, respond to incidents and design safer spaces.
Unite’s campaign adds another crucial layer by focusing on the journey home, ensuring safety doesn’t stop when a shift ends or the venue closes.
I’m encouraged that training for bus drivers is now being piloted across the UK. It will help drivers recognise and respond to harassment properly. It’s a small but vital step towards changing how we travel and how we think about what’s “normal” on public transport.
Businesses do worry about the cost of late-night taxis. If Government made such travel tax-deductible, as Unite’s campaign demands, it would become far easier for employers to do the right thing.
Ultimately, this campaign sends a message that harassment will not be ignored, particularly on buses which have been overlooked for too long. This is the start of a journey to changing how we travel, acknowledging that this behaviour and anxiety is not OK and we need to stand up and say something about it.
Bus safety has long been overlooked, but that’s changing. Change doesn’t happen overnight, but every partnership moves us forward. The more we work together, the faster that change will come.
And if campaigns like Get Me Home Safely mean that more women can finish a shift, catch a bus and get home without fear, that’s a journey worth taking.