Herts bus operator reaches on year of bus drivers standing up against abuse
A Hitchin and Stevenage bus operator is celebrating one year of its drivers standing up against Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG).
Late in 2024, Stagecoach East’s buses officially became places of refuge for people fearing that they will be subject to abusive behaviour, due to its partnership with Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Police Authority, and the Cambridge and Peterborough Rape Crisis Centre to join the Businesses Against Abuse (BAA) scheme.
Under the scheme, the operator’s existing safeguarding procedures are enhanced with additional training: drivers are trained to recognise people who are in vulnerable situations either on or off the bus – and are given guidance in how to offer help.
If a driver recognises that a women or girl may be in fear of abuse on the street, they are authorised to pull over and ask if they need help and then take her to a safe place on route, if necessary.
Reflecting on the scheme’s first year, Darren Roe, Managing Director of Stagecoach East, said: “A year on, I would like to reiterate the same message that we gave at the launch: your local bus is a place of safety. Anyone who is in fear of abuse, either on the bus or if they see a bus, should make yourself known to the driver, who will try to help you.
“Over the past 12 months, we have had numerous incidents where drivers have intervened to stop abuse against women, and their actions have kept them safe on our vehicles.
“These have ranged from young women feeling safe seeing our destination messages, diverting a bus service to take a vulnerable women to a safe area, and also direct interventions to keep a predators away from a young girl, one of whom was arrested.”
All Stagecoach East buses display BAA stickers with QR codes by their entrance doors, designating them as safe-spaces and all their buses have multiple cameras, so cases of abuse will be Recorded and Reported.