Yob passengers are threatening to rape Scottish bus drivers as well as punching and racially abusing them, a shock new survey shows.
Trade union Unite surveyed 1,100 bus drivers in Scotland as part of its campaign for action after a 15-year-old boy killed driver Keith Rollinson at Elgin Bus Station in February.
The 58-year-old dad of two had been trying to reason with the drunk teen who had been in trouble previously for attacking another bus driver.
But the teenager repeatedly punched Mr Rollinson – an Army veteran – leading to his death and widespread shock within the Moray community.
Unite has since been determined to get to the root of the problem of yobs making drivers feel unsafe at work, and so quizzed its members in recent weeks before announcing the survey results today.
One in five of those who filled out the survey drives buses in the north-east, the Highlands or the surrounding area.
Half of all respondents said they don’t feel safe at work.
Eight in 10 drivers said being unsafe behind the wheel was “just part of the job”.
The responses were particularly shocking from women.
One said: “I find I get more abuse given than my male counterparts.
“I’ve been threatened with being stabbed multiple times and on one occasion threatened with rape.
‘Abusers can stare at you or try to touch you’
“I’m at the stage now where, if there’s a large group of teens waiting at a bus stop, I won’t stop because I know it’s just going to be trouble from the get-go.”
Another said: “I find it challenging to drive late evenings on weekends when folk are drunk.
“They can stand, stare at you or start to try to touch you or to have a conversation by telling you how beautiful you are, which makes me feel very uncomfortable.”
More than eight in 10 of those surveyed said they think abuse has got worse in the last year.
All but 17% of those responding have been verbally abused at work, while 16% have been physically abused.
‘Yobs told me they know where I live’
Even more shockingly, 1% have been the victims of sexual abuse or assault while working.
One driver said: “I have been the subject of physical abuse twice and racial abuse twice.
“I have twice had to protect and defend myself from assault.”
Another added: “I have been spat at three times by teenagers in the last 12 months.
“There have been threats of harming me and saying they know where I live – so threats to my home and family.
“There’s no point even reporting it as there’s nothing done about these individuals they are just allowed to travel, say and do what they want.”
That last statement was echoed by other drivers filling out the survey.
Of those drivers who had reported an incident to their boss, almost seven in 10 said they were dissatisfied with the outcome.
‘It took half an hour for police to come’
Almost eight in 10 said they didn’t report abuse to police and almost half said they had did tell their boss.
Giving an insight in to the reporting process, one driver said: “I was verbally abused and threatened by a group of youths in January.
“I called police via 999 in the cab.
“It took over 30 minutes for police to respond while it was still happening.
“After the event I was spoken to by a manager in an informal setting who had read my report from the incident.
“Following that I have had nothing.”
However Police Scotland urged people to report emergencies on 999 and non-emergencies on 101 and said every incident would be treated seriously.
‘In 16 years, I’ve never known a yob to be banned’
Drivers said they feel frustrated that it is almost impossible to ban yobs from buses, as they feel it gives abusive passengers free reign.
One driver, who has 16 years experience on the buses, said: “Not once have I ever known the people who committed these acts to be punished or even banned from using public transport.”
Another driver said: “Verbal abuse is a daily occurrence while driving a bus.
“It can range from basic insults of being told you are rubbish at your job to personal insults to racial insults to threats to your personal safety.
“You get told ‘just ignore it’ and ‘stay calm’ – but you shouldn’t have to put up with being spoken to like that at your work.”
Call for summit to target problems
Unite wants the Scottish Government to call a summit to tackle the problems.
The union also wants a new law making assaulting a transport worker a specific offence.
That would then allow court sheriffs to consider relevant punishments, such as keeping persistent offenders off the buses.
Its general secretary Sharon Graham said: “Urgent measures must be taken to address the staggering level of abuse being suffered by bus drivers.
“In no way is this acceptable. Unite members will not tolerate abuse any longer.
“The Scottish Government has to step up and step in to ensure our members feel safe at work.
“A ‘do nothing’ response is not an option.”
Politician’s meeting with union
On behalf of the Scottish Government, a Transport Scotland spokesperson said: “We have the greatest sympathy for bus drivers who are at the sharp end of anti-social behaviour from a small minority of bus passengers.
“Everyone should be able to go to their work without fear of abuse.
“That’s why the Cabinet Secretary for Transport (Fiona Hyslop) met Unite representatives last month to discuss the safety of bus drivers.
“She confirmed that she is committed to ensuring a full range of options is available to support the police, local authorities and bus operators to tackle this issue.
“The vast majority of passengers travelling by bus behave appropriately, including people of all ages using their free bus entitlement to travel.
“None of this would be possible without bus drivers keeping communities connected.
“However, there is a minority of people, of all ages, who abuse their entitlement, including to commit offences, and which can result in serious harm to bus employees and passengers.
‘Firms can kick yobs off buses’
“That is simply not acceptable.
“Bus operators can already restrict access to their services in line with their own conditions of carriage and we are working with operators, unions and other stakeholders, to develop further sanctions and preventative measures.
“This includes development of a new behaviour code for passengers and a process for temporary suspension of concessionary travel cards.”
A Stagecoach Scotland spokeswoman said: “We take anti-social behaviour seriously at Stagecoach, and it’s something that we work alongside Unite and Transport Scotland to encourage our teams and passengers to report when it does occur.
“We remain committed to providing a safe working environment for our drivers and will continue to work with all stakeholders, to ensure our network is as safe, welcoming and efficient as possible.”
Paul White, Director, CPT Scotland, which represents bus providers, said: “CPT is working with Transport Scotland, operator members, Unite, and other stakeholders to ensure that a full and effective range of preventative measures and sanctions are in place to tackle anti-social behaviour on the bus network and bring about positive changes for the benefit of staff and passengers.
“We hope the upcoming findings and recommendations of the Scottish Government’s independent working group on anti-social behaviour reflects the concerns raised, and solutions proposed by the bus sector.
“Where incidents are linked to the scheme offering free bus travel for under 22s, we would like to see sanctions such as the suspension or removal of the right to free travel.”
The boy who killed Keith Rollinson, who is now 16, is due to be sentenced next week.