Text Red Protects Passengers On Borough's Buses

New Safer Travel Initiative Sees Local Transport Team Shortlisted For Award

Hounslow Safer Transport Team have been short listed for the The Safer Travel Problem Solving Awards. The Award is a unique way to highlight the variety of measures undertaken to reduce problems associated with travel in and around London.

Acting Sergeant Richard Dufton from the Hounslow Safer Transport Team says, “The Hounslow Bus network is a critical service to the populace of the borough. It allows residents without their own means of transport to travel to work, school, retail outlets and access to council services. It also provides a means for people to escape isolation and to socialize, not to mention the impact it has in reducing pollution. This is why when anti-social and criminal behavior occurs on the transport network, it has a significant negative impact on the community that relies on it and the people who provide the service. This is why our initiative, ‘Text Red’ is imperative to maintaining the reliability of this network and via osmosis, faith in our Police Service that patrols it”

This initiative created and developed by the Hounslow Safer Transport Team aims to tackle anti-social and criminal behaviour on the Bus network for the Borough of Hounslow by using existing Met equipment and implementing it in a new and productive way to lower crime rates.

The Safer Transport Team have held one-to-one meetings with bus officials, drivers and commuters to enable them to devise an action plan to reduce crime and to increase effective high visibility presence in and around the transport networks of Hounslow.

The method that the Team intend to employ is ‘TEXT RED’; this will give Bus Drivers a direct contact to the Safer Transport Teams on the Hounslow borough. It will enable the team to have a clear report on where incidents of disturbance and crime are occurring on specific routes and time scales. From these reports resources can be deployed to the point of the problems, reassurance patrols can be made and record intelligence to target resources.

Acting Sergeant Richard Dufton says, “The Safer Travel Initiative is a perfect example of how working in partnership with other agencies and communities can lead to the resolution of issues concerning safer travel”

December 17, 2007