A new set of recommendations have been published by two leading female transport professionals, on making the transport network safer for women and girls. Commissioned by the Department for Transport (DfT), the recommendations set out how the Government can improve safety for women on the railways, at bus stops, and stations. 
West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) Chief Executive Laura Shoaf and Transport for West Midlands (TfWM) executive director Anne Shaw were appointed by the DfT last summer, tasked with identifying best practice to tackle violence against women and girls on our transport networks.
The recommendations were developed following input from over 200 stakeholders including charities, women’s safety advocates and transport experts. They come alongside shocking findings which show that almost half of women have felt threatened when travelling on public transport – stopping them from accessing opportunities such as education and employment as well as socialising.
They are being presented to Transport Minister Trudy Harrison by the UK’s first Violence Against Women and Girls Transport Champions.
Laura said: “There have been some horrific incidents of violence against women recently which have generated national headlines and sparked a deep re-examination of attitudes towards women and girls.
“While incidents of violence against females on our transport networks are thankfully low, these recent high-profile incidents in our wider society have understandably led to deep seated anxiety and fear for many women and girls when using public transport, especially for those travelling alone at night.”
The report highlighted West Midlands Safer Travel Partnership and Merseytravel’s Travel Safe Partnership as examples of how local police forces, the British Transport Police and transport operators are working together to reduce crime across all transport networks including rail, bus, tram and active travel modes.
Other examples of ways the network is being made safer include the West Midlands Regional Traffic Coordination Centre – a cutting edge control facility which monitors the region’s road, rail, tram and bus networks round the clock.