'Safe space' buses for women hailed a success

Bus drivers have stepped in "numerous times" to assist potentially vulnerable or abused women since a new scheme was launched three months ago.

Stagecoach East has joined Businesses Against Abuse across Cambridgeshire, Peterborough and Bedfordshire, with the collaboration of police forces and rape crisis groups.

Drivers have been trained to recognise if someone may be in danger on the street and been authorised to pull over and ask if they need help, before taking them to a safe place on route.

Director Darren Roe said successes included diverting a bus "to take a vulnerable woman to a safe area" and "direct interventions to keep predators away from a young girl, one of whom was arrested".

At the launch last year, the company said people could "stay on the bus as long as you feel comfortable - we will drop you at a safe part of the route, or stay on until someone can meet you, or someone from the authorities or police".

Mr Roe said: "I am so proud of how our training team, drivers and everyone concerned have reacted to being part of this important scheme. They are making a real difference in our local communities.

"The message remains the same as it was at launch - your local bus is a place of safety.

"I would encourage anyone who is in fear of abuse, either on the bus or if they see a bus, to make themselves known to the driver, who will try to help them."

The company said all buses displayed Businesses Against Abuse (BAA) stickers with QR codes by the doors, designating them as safe spaces, and had multiple cameras to recorded any incidents.

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