SAFER Travel has welcomed three new team members into rand new roles created to tackle anti social behaviour on the public transport network.
Three transport safety officers (TSOs) are the first of their kind in the UK to operate across all three modes of public transport.
In their first three weeks on patrol they have engaged with more than 5,000 passengers and issued 15 verbal warnings and safeguarded a vulnerable young person.
The team of Justas Vasiliauskas, Mohammad Abid and Joseph Hawkes are being deployed across the region’s bus, rail and tram network specifically to deal with low-level nuisance and antisocial behaviour based on reports from transport staff or the public through the See Something Say Something text service.
The trio of officers have the powers to issue fixed penalty notices, obtain personal details and deal with nuisance behaviour.
Fines can be issued for things such as smoking, littering, disorder, damaging property and throwing fireworks.
Paul Franks of Safer Travel, said: “This is a brand new role dedicated to reducing low-level nuisance behaviour that can significantly affect passengers’ journeys and their perception of safety on the public transport network.
“We have listened to public feedback that antisocial behaviour can disrupt and even deter people from travelling via public transport altogether, and by introducing the transport safety officer role into Safer Travel, we are increasing the number of staff we have tackling the problem and providing an increased presence on the network.
“The TSOs will be deployed to areas and routes where they are needed most, therefore if you experience anti social behaviour that is affecting your journey, please report it to us using our See Something Say Something service and texting reports with the words ‘SeeSay’ to 81018.”
