Metro safety 'number one concern' for passengers
NexusMore must be done to make sure people using the Tyne and Wear Metro network feel safe, a passenger group says.
Sort Out the Metro, which campaigns for improvements to the service, said the latest survey of its 15,000 members identified safety and security as the main concerns for the first time, with staff being viewed as "ineffective" in tackling troublemakers.
The organisation raised those worries with North East Mayor Kim McGuinness at a meeting last week and made an appeal for there to be more security on trains after 19:00.
McGuinness said she was working to make the Metro system "safer", while operator Nexus pointed to investment in CCTV and body-worn cameras for staff.
Three years ago, Nexus announced it had expanded its security team from 24 staff to 44 and would have staff on the "majority" of trains from 19:00 each day.
However, Sort Out the Metro admin Kevin Dickinson said there was a "perception that it's less safe".
"Safety and security has always been an issue in the 11 years the group has been running, but it's never been the number one [until now].
"The common report we get is 'there were staff there and they did nothing'.
"Over the years there have been lots of initiatives and none of them have been effective as yet."
'Go further'
Common complaints include vandalism, graffiti and rowdy behaviour.
Dickinson said many incidents of anti-social behaviour "may not show up in crime statistics" because people worry they are too minor to be reported to police.
McGuinness said: "I know only too well from talking to women and girls that they often don't feel safe.
"The new trains make a big difference now drivers can see CCTV right through the carriages, but we need to go further."
North East Combined AuthorityErika Allen, of Nexus, said a dedicated security team patrolled trains and stations "every day of the week and through the evenings".
"We continue to invest in regular improvements in our CCTV and have increased numbers of body-worn cameras," she added.
Dickinson is cautiously optimistic about steps he says were proposed by McGuinness during their meeting that would see staff given more training and powers.
But he remains to be convinced by her suggestion the sideways seat layout on network's new trains "makes it easier for people to move away rather than be trapped in a square".
"My feedback is it doesn't," he said.
"A number of people in the survey said the seats are too narrow and they - particularly women - felt uncomfortable sitting next to two burly men with their legs stretched out."