Transport planner Susan Leadbetter’s 2021 dissertation - A study on women’s personal safety on public transport in London - has thrown an industry spotlight on an issue that was already gaining more public attention in the wake of the #MeToo movement and the high-profile murder of Sarah Everard in March 2021.

I wanted to do something I was passionate about for my dissertation, says Susan Leadbetter, senior engineer with WSP, sponsor of the research. “Women’s safety was very timely, and after Sarah Everard’s death, we saw an outpouring on social media from women about safety and public spaces, but also about public transport.

Leadbetter created a questionnaire to examine women’s perception of safety and experiences of using public transport in London, with 24 questions spanning four categories: demographics; travel habits; perception of safety while using public transport; and experience of unsafe conditions on public transport.

To boost an initially low response rate, Leadbetter approached a social worker who explores educational and gender-related issues on her social media platform @Lalalaletmeexplain.

She shared it on her account and within 24 hours I received over 600 responses to the survey, which was absolutely crazy, Leadbetter recounts. We captured data from every single borough in London and people all across the UK. The feedback and the amount of detail that women went into was overwhelming.

Leadbetter’s dissertation has shifted the dial on the debate around women’s personal safety on public transport, largely because of compelling data that had previously never been collected.

Capturing and sharing experiences and perceptions

TfL releases an attitudes to safety and security report every year, with a few questions about sexual harassment. My survey delved into experiences at another level, looking at different modes of transport, different times of day and different scenarios, depending on who you're with. We captured data about different experiences and circumstances, and also perceptions. For example, have you witnessed anything? Has this impacted your safety perceptions? Do you avoid certain locations as a result of X, Y, and Z that you hear in the news?

TfL saw the study online and reached out to Leadbetter, wanting to know more. After completing the dissertation, the transport planner was able to have meetings with TfL, presenting a summary and the key findings. She also put together a series of interventions and recommendations to TfL based on the findings of her study, that could be implemented within their policies and the network. 

“There was no strategy document to tackle sexual harassment, at least not in the public domain,” says Leadbetter adding, “and from the conversations that I had, they weren’t even aware that this was such a problem on the network.”

Converting research into transport strategy

TfL’s raised awareness led to a campaign launched last October to “emphasise a zero-tolerance approach to all forms of unwanted sexual behaviour and sexual harassment on London's public transport network”.

With such an important issue now receiving its due attention, Leadbetter is able to enjoy receiving the CIHT research accolade. 

I’m just completely overwhelmed: really taken aback by the response and super happy. I feel like it was a really heavy piece of work, and a lot of time and effort went into it. It was quite emotional to write, but I feel that so much good has come from it and it's getting a lot of recognition within the industry and raising a lot of awareness.

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Learn more about the TfL zero-tolerance campaign launched last October.