Drivers trained to spot trouble and stop to help if necessary.
Buses in Milton Keynes are set to become even safer, following the launch of a major new protection partnership.
Operator Stagecoach East has teamed up with police and rape crisis experts to make their vehicles ‘places of refuge’ for people fearing abusive behaviour.
The transport company has struck a partnership with Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Police Authority and the Cambridge and Peterborough Rape Crisis Centre to join the Businesses Against Abuse (BAA) scheme.
And it has enhanced its existing safeguarding procedures with additional training: drivers are being taught to recognise people who are in vulnerable situations – on or off the bus – and given guidance on 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 stop their bus and ask if they need help. If necessary, they can take her to a safe place along the route.
Drivers have also been given a range of other options to help, called the ‘5 Ds’. They include delegating others, distracting, and delaying until it is safe to challenge.
Stagecoach East buses now display BAA stickers with QR codes by their entrance doors, designating them as safe spaces and all their buses have multiple cameras, so that cases of abuse will be recorded and reported. The scheme is now in effect across Milton Keynes, throughout Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and the wider region.
“Tackling violence against women and girls is something that we all need to take responsibility for, and we are working very hard to play our part in this,” said Darren Roe, Managing Director, Stagecoach East.
“I would encourage anyone who is in fear or abuse, either on the bus or if they see a bus, to make themselves known to the driver, who will try to help them. Over time our drivers will become ever more confident with what we are asking of them. We also hope that, because our buses will be very visible as a place where victims can go and report abuse, it will deter would-be abusers.”
“We are really pleased to be working together on this,” added Norah Al-Ani, Director, Cambridge Rape Crisis Centre. “The training we have delivered to the Training Team so far has been a real success, and I hope that it will make a noticeable difference in our communities.
“If a woman or a girl, who is the subject of abuse, sees a Stagecoach East bus, they will now be able to recognise it as a place of safety.”
“We know that the figures for violence against women and girls are shocking throughout our communities, so these kinds of partnerships are invaluable in raising this as an issue of concern and giving victims somewhere they can go to find safety,” said Nicky Peacock, Businesses Against Abuse Accreditation Scheme Force Lead, Cambridgeshire Constabulary.
“I would encourage more local businesses to be like Stagecoach East and join BAA.”
Around 300 companies are now part of Businesses Against Abuse with more than 3000 people trained.
