Experiences and perceptions of anti-social behaviour and crime on public transport

This release includes statistics on perceptions and experiences of anti-social behaviour and crime on public transport. Figures show that:

• Most respondents (84 per cent) said they would feel safe travelling on public transport, though respondents were more concerned after dark than during the day.
• Only a small proportion said they did not make more use of public transport because of concerns about anti-social behaviour or crime (3 per cent did not use buses and 2 per cent did not use trains more often because of these concerns). 
• The most common reason for feeling unsafe on buses and trains was anti-social behaviour of young people. 32 per cent were concerned about this on buses and 20 per cent were concerned about this on trains.
• 22 per cent said they had been a victim of one or more incident of anti-social behaviour or crime while on public transport in the preceding year, while 76 per cent had witnessed anti-social behaviour or crime. 
• Experiences most often related to intimidating, insulting or disruptive behaviour or environmental anti-social behaviour, such as vandalism ot littering. Less than 5 per cent said they had been the victim of a theft or a violent or sexual incident.
• 43 per cent of public transport users said they had felt intimidated by the behaviour of other passengers in the last year. This suggests that witnessing certain behaviours even if not directly targeted at the individual, can lead to feelings of intimidation. 
• Public transport users who travelled regularly and after 9pm were more likely to have experienced or witnessed anti-social behaviour or crime, as were younger, non-white and London respondents.
• Among bus or rail users, respondents considered a policy of refusing drunk or rowdy people to travel, the presence of staff other than the driver, and CCTV to be particularly effective safety measures. 

Notes

The National Centre for Social Research Omnibus Survey included questions in January to May 2008 to assess perceptions of safety from crime while using public transport, personal experiences of anti-social behaviour or crime on public transport and public views as to measures that would be most effective in making them feel safe when using public transport. The Omnibus Survey covered a representative sample of around 3,100 adults.

Publication details

Published on 18 September 2008 by Transport Statistics as official statistics.

Email: attitudes.stats@dft.gsi.gov.uk for queries concerning this release.