Safer journeys for women and girls

9 November 2026  |  Silviya Barrett  |  Buses

When Transport Focus surveyed women, it found that 49 per cent had felt threatened when making a journey on public transport. Sixty-five per cent said that they avoid travelling alone when it is dark.

So, we welcomed the Transport Select Committee’s inquiry into ‘Safer journeys for women and girls’. Because if transport feels unsafe, then it has fallen at the first hurdle.

To inform and illustrate our response to the inquiry, we invited our supporters to tell us what changes they would like to see, to help them travel safely and confidently.

Reading through the responses, it was crystal clear why many women feel unsafe when travelling.

Carole from East Sussex wrote:

“I sometimes see people that are aggressive and very noisy and they are never tackled. We have to put up with the noise and swearing or try to move without being noticed. It is intimidating.”

Zoe from Surrey reported:

“Often station staff don’t have information about rail replacement buses. This is particularly frightening late at night when I have been waiting nearly two hours for a replacement bus!”

Here are some of the improvements we called for in our response to the Transport Select Committee’s inquiry.

Safer train travel

Key to safer train travel – mentioned time and again by our supporters – is having visible staff, with appropriate training to respond to incidents.

Platforms and waiting areas should be well lit and well maintained, and there should be clear contact information on display for requesting assistance and reporting faults.

Fundamentally, train services need to be reliable. One of our supporters called for “Reliability… so people do not fear being stranded or having to hang about for long times.” And there need to be more evening and night-time services.

Safer bus travel

While rail stations need improving, their security features are much more advanced than those at bus stops. For instance, our survey for our 2024 Better Bus Stops report showed that just 18 per cent of people had lighting at their nearest bus stop.

Bus stops need clear sight lines. Side panelling on shelters should be transparent, and bushes and other obstructions should be removed.

More bus stops should have real-time information screens. One supporter from Lancashire explained why this is important to her:

“It would be good to have live updates at bus stops showing which buses are due and when; also showing delays so people can make an informed choice… Often I have let a bus go because the next one should take me nearer to home but then that bus is delayed. If I’d had that information, I could have taken the first bus and walked a little further at the end of my journey. I’d rather get as near to home as possible than be stuck not knowing how I will get home.”

Better bus stops are coming soon, however. We are glad to be working with the Department for Transport, Arup and AECOM to develop new national guidance on the safety and accessibility of bus stops.

Safer active travel

Walking, wheeling and cycling routes that are well lit and not overgrown, with controlled crossings, would enable women and girls to travel more safely. Fiona from South Yorkshire called for “better lighting, efficient routes with easy wayfinding so you can be confident you won’t get lost, minimising alleys and hiding places.”

As well as crime and antisocial behaviour, traffic is of course another deterrent from active travel. Hannah from Leicestershire called for “More cycle lanes separated from motor traffic, to make cycling across the city less like an assault course!”

Integration is key

It was striking how many of our supporters referred to integration between transport modes.

Improvements could include coordinating timetabling between trains and buses, and providing safe interchange facilities. And the routes to and from bus stops and train stations should be clear, well designed and well lit. Caroline from Kent lamented the walking route to her local station: “The underpass is horrid… The side path is extremely unfriendly…”

Helen from Cornwall’s story was particularly affecting. On a recent journey, her train was delayed, meaning she missed the bus she had planned to catch by a few minutes. The station closed, and Helen had to wait two hours in an unstaffed bus station for the next bus, during which time she had some unsettling encounters. Helen wrote:

“If the buses and trains were timetabled to connect properly – or, better still, there were more bus services in the evenings so that missing a bus would not entail waiting for ages in an unsafe place – I would not have had last weekend’s unpleasant experience.”

Striving for better

Many people and organisations are working hard to make journeys safer. The training developed by CPT and Understood to help bus drivers understand what violence against women and girls looks like, how to respond and how to make sure it is recorded and reported effectively is a good example.

And improvements are happening in many places. For example, Transport for London’s pilot of new bus shelter designs features brighter lighting, and CCTV at selected stops.

However, funding availability and local authorities’ capacity and capability can be major constraints on delivery.

We were glad of the opportunity to respond to the committee’s inquiry and spotlight the issue of women’s and girl’s safety. We are grateful to all of our supporters who shared their views on this vital topic.

A longer version of this blog was first published as an article in Passenger Transport.