The Public Transport Authority has a zero-tolerance approach to violent or antisocial behaviour on our bus network; the personal safety and security of everyone – passengers and staff – on our system is paramount. We invest heavily in ensuring our network is as safe as possible for the people who use it, and pride ourselves on offering the best security system on public transport in Australia.
Our bus and train stations are designed with passenger security in mind, and all have high-level lighting. All major stations are staffed, with a particular emphasis on security after 3pm.
We have thousands of CCTV cameras across our network, on fixed infrastructure as well as inside buses and railcars. Footage from all train and bus stations (including car parks and bike shelters) is monitored at our CMR (central monitoring room), a state-of-the-art facility which is manned 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Footage from railcars and buses is recorded and available for use if needed.
A fleet of 32 patrol cars (ten operated by transit officers covering the rail system, and 22 operated by contracted security officers covering the bus and ferry systems) provides a fast and effective response to any incidents of antisocial behaviour.
All buses have dash-mounted duress alarms, integrating with the bus radio system and SmartRider to provide GPS tracking. Buses with an active duress alarm are tracked in real time by their depot and the CMR, improving the on-road safety of our bus drivers as well as customers.
The following figures are based on bus driver reports.