Safety and security on public transport: A winning collaborative initiative in Manchester

Context: Safety and security on public transport, a priority for Keolis and its partners

Ensuring safety and security on public transport, is a top priority for Keolis. In each region where the Group operates, Keolis implements measures to ensure the safety of its people and the protection of its assets. This improves the experience for all and places a particular focus on combating all forms of sexual violence.  

Keolis Amey Metrolink (KAM) delivers the operation and maintenance of Metrolink on behalf of Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM), which serves 99 stops across eight tram lines and provides more than 34 million journeys every year. Joining together with a variety of stakeholders across the Greater Manchester area, KAM has introduced a new initiative which aims to make women feel safer on public transport by reducing the number of incidents of sexual harassment and other forms of violence on the network. 

Innovation: In Manchester, the Safer Streets initiative focuses its efforts on improving women’s feelings of safety and security on public transport

Launched in December 2021, the Safer Streets program is a multi-dimensional approach designed to roll out and evaluate a wide range of measures that address women’s safety and security on public transport. 

Six actions were implemented at the beginning of 2022 following consultations with women and girls:

- Raising awareness among users and encouraging them to report incidents via the police’s instant messaging service

- Co-creation of poster campaigns on acceptable and unacceptable behavior with students from Oldham College (north of Manchester)

- Deployment of trusted representatives on the network to reassure users. The Home Office also funded the presence of two TravelSafe agents on the Oldham-Rochedale line for six months.

- Modernization of the video surveillance system to improve image sharing with the authorities

- Introduction of a police surveillance drone

- Training of 570 employees in best practices in the event of an incident

By pooling resources and information between Keolis Amey Metrolink, Oldham Council, the police and other key stakeholders in the Greater Manchester area, it was possible to rapidly deploy and monitor the systems.

Benefits: Improved passenger experience for women and all users 

After six months of testing, the program has already recorded positive results. Between November 2021 and January 2022, the feeling of safety and security increased from 75% to 93% during the day and 61% to 66% at night. At the same time, there was a notable decrease in the number of sexual harassment cases reported, demonstrating the measures’ fast and significant impact.

In addition to the customer benefits, the Safer Streets program has strengthened ties between KeolisAmey Metrolink and all its partners in the region. This connection will now provide fertile ground for future collaborations and projects.

Next steps: Expanding this collaborative approach to safety and security on public transport

Bringing together all stakeholders, the Safer Street program aligns perfectly with the multi-partnership approach to innovation that is central to the Keolis Group. This is an effective approach that is likely to be expanded to other areas based on the local context. The results achieved in Manchester open excellent prospects for making progress in the fight against sexual harassment and, more broadly, against all forms of discrimination.