GOOD bus and Metro services are vital to our region, and it’s crucially important people feel safe on them as well.
That’s why I have invested in a new transport safety app for passengers in Northumberland, Tyne and Wear.
Yes, we all know more police and Metro staff are the first step to making people feel safer on public transport, but years of Tory austerity have drastically reduced that.
So to help I have launched Safer Transport Northumbria - that’s the name of the app that transport users across Northumberland, Tyne and Wear are being urged to download as part of a regional effort to help make our transport links the safest in the country.
Whether you commute to work via the Metro or head out to the shops on the bus, this travel app is a phone must-have quickly enabling you to tell us about incidents, get support and crucially, help support others.
It has been designed by experts to keep things simple, but keep you and others safe by guiding you through the routes to help for you, or fellow passengers.
We all have a responsibility to help keep each other safe and that’s what I love about this app. I’m always proud that we are one of the safest, most welcoming regions. There really is a fantastic spirit that we stick together up here and that’s what this app is all about – looking out for each other. It’s the end of the line when it comes to unwanted behaviours and attitudes that make us feel unsafe.
Men, women, whoever, it doesn’t matter – what matters is that you don’t just sit there and ignore the fact that a woman is being harassed by a group of guys on the Metro or put up with feeling uncomfortable at a remote bus stop because the lights are out.
Women have told us they don’t always feel safe when they take public transport – this is a key step to changing that. People often don’t know whether to report things and when they do they’re unsure of who to go to and how to go about it. This app is the answer. It’s about telling us. The more we know, we can help, and the more we can make our transport networks safer.
This app has been developed by my office in conjunction with Rape Crisis Tyneside, Northumbria Police and the travel operators including Nexus, Go North East, Arriva, Stagecoach North East.
The app is available to download for Apple devices from the Appstore here
The app is available to download for Android devices from Google Play here