Passenger safety paramount as next stage of Bee Network bus franchising fast approaches

Further improvements are planned for the Bee Network app that will help passengers report incidents of crime and antisocial behaviour to the police quickly, easily and discreetly.

In a significant move, people will soon be able to access the TravelSafe Live Chat function through the app.

Live Chat allows users to discreetly report a crime or antisocial behaviour and connect them with Greater Manchester Police in real time.

Live Chat is staffed by professionally trained call handlers from the GMP call centre who will have awareness of the public transport network and know how to get in touch with key TravelSafe partners.

Messages sent via Live Chat will be triaged similarly to an emergency 999 call to figure out the best course of action, whether it’s to log the incident as a crime, or request police to attend depending on the severity of the situation.

Transport for Greater Manchester will continue to promote Live Chat on the Bee Network app through prominent advertising on the network and across social media to ensure that people travelling on public transport are aware of the service.

Ensuring the safety of passengers on Greater Manchester’s public transport system continues to be of vital importance as the Bee Network gears up for the next stage of bus franchising, which is heading into Oldham from this weekend.

Andy Burnham, Mayor of Greater Manchester, said: “As we grow the Bee Network it’s essential that people feel safe and have an enjoyable experience whenever they travel around our city region.

“We know one of the biggest barriers that prevent some people from using public transport is concerns about safety, and I want to reassure everybody that we take a zero-tolerance approach to crime and antisocial behaviour on the network.

“Whether it’s additional staff and dedicated operations, engagement and education initiatives, monitoring our extensive network of CCTV cameras or now making it easier for people to report incidents quickly and discretely with TravelSafe Live Chat, we are investing in a range of measures to give people the confidence to use the Bee Network.

“Ensuring the safety of passengers is our number one priority, and as we approach the second phase of bus franchising, we are redoubling our efforts to ensure the Bee Network remains a safe, welcoming and secure environment for everyone who travels with us.”

Last September, 30 new TravelSafe Support and Enforcement Officers (TSEOs) were recruited to patrol franchised bus services, interchanges and bus stations in the first phase of bus franchising.

They will be reinforced by additional TSEOs in areas covered by the second phase.

Between December last year and February this year TSEOs attended 946 incidents, including young people involved in criminal damage and tram surfing, while vaping is a common ‘lower-level’ antisocial behaviour.

TSEOs also dealt with 105 safeguarding/welfare incidents - including those linked to homelessness - and submitted 486 pieces of intelligence.

Over the same period, TravelSafe enforcement activity resulted 19 exclusion notices being issued to prolific offenders - removing the implied permission of entry to TfGM sites.

Four travel passes were also removed.

The introduction of a new plan to tackle fare evasion on Metrolink has led to impressive results, with the operator now employing more staff than ever to check tickets and reassure the travelling public.

Fare evasion fell by a third between July 2023 and January 2024, and staff now have access to new revenue inspection devices to help them identify persistent offenders.

The TravelSafe Partnership, which carries out specialist operations across the public transport network, will ramp up activity to two deployments per week from March 2024 targeting hotspot locations to help reassure passengers, while deterring crime and antisocial behaviour.

They will continue to support Operation AVRO, a Greater Manchester Police, force-wide monthly day of action which targets crime runs in a different district each month, as well as Operation Vulcan.

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