By Tom Austin-Morgan

In the UK, recorded sexual offences on the rail network have increased in recent years. Data from the British Transport Police Authority’s annual reporting says that while there were 17% fewer robbery offences and 2% fewer serious violence offences in the years 2024/5 than 2023/4, and the solved rate of those crimes has also risen, reported sexual offences, harassment and violence and intimidation against women and girls increased.

Meanwhile, large-scale passenger research by Transport Focus found that two of the factors most strongly associated with feeling safe on buses are functioning CCTV, and brightly lit, graffiti-free and well-maintained bus stops; both of which transport professionals can directly influence.

Internationally, UN Women’s global initiative, Safe Cities and Safe Public Spaces for Women and Girls, demonstrates how gender-sensitive design and community engagement can make transport environments more inclusive. In Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea, for example, it has “contributed to increased safety, hygiene, and comfort among women and girls working in markets and while travelling on public transport”.

In Quito, Ecuador, an adopted local regulation includes “a specific provision against sexual harassment in public spaces, resulting in reduced sexual harassment on transportation in the city, and it also informed the national strategy on gender-based violence”.

Adding to economic difficulties

Complementary evidence from the US’s Mineta Transportation Institute points to similar international trends and challenges as urban violence patterns evolve.

One of the authors of the paper, ‘Changing Patterns of Violence Pose New Challenges for Public Transport’, Michael Jenkins says: “A public fearful of traveling adds to economic difficulties for transportation operators and reduced resources for facilities improvements, service and security. The fact that there are fewer riders may contribute even further to a sense of insecurity and it is possible that increased ridership actually contributes to security.”

Further reporting from City Hub and Network for Gender Equity (CHANGE), a network of 17 cities across six continents, shows how these cities are tackling gender-based violence in transport, especially in terms of design and operational choices. 

In Bogota, Colombia, harassment on transportation is now labelled a “high-impact crime”, while the Bus Rapid Transit System brought together teams of psychologists and lawyers to work in tandem for victims and survivors of harassment and abuse, according to CHANGE.

An annual survey in Barcelona explored how women use public transport, concluding "[they] typically feel more threatened in these spaces than men do”. As a result, more women were hired in operational positions, with an on-demand night bus service set up.

Safe, welcoming public transport is essential to sustainable mobility. For practitioners, solving the issues commonly faced by women and girls points to integrated, locally-tailored packages of design, operations and community engagement, tested and measured.

Find out more on this issue including a useful toolkit at the Bus Centre of Excellence’s “Anti-Social Behaviour and Violence Against Women and Girls Knowledge Hub”.

Image: women sit in a specially reserved area on a bus in Jakarta, Indonesia. Credit: Shutterstock.