Safety of Tube Staff on the London Underground

Officers are preparing an answer.

It is essential we do everything we can to ensure Transport for London (TfL) staff feel safe and are able to go about their work without fear or intimidation. London’s transport network remains a low-crime environment, but any incident of violence or aggression against frontline staff must be treated with zero tolerance.

TfL has been working closely with Trade Unions, staff groups and policing partners on strengthening its approach to work-related violence and aggression. In November 2019, TfL announced a number of initiatives to tackle the issue, including measures to address the common triggers of workplace violence and aggression, such as antisocial behaviour and fare evasion. This includes:

• 60 new revenue control officers in London Underground will be recruited, focussed on providing a uniformed presence to deter fare evasion, taking action on fare dodgers and issuing penalty fares.
• A team of approximately 150 staff will be recruited to prevent work-related violence, aggression and anti-social behaviour.
• Funding for 50 additional British Transport Police (BTP) officers dedicated to tackling work-related violence against TfL staff people.
• Making body worn videos available to all station staff in response to requests to see these more widely deployed.

This is part of a series of measures to strengthen support for staff across the TfL network. It is the first stage of TfL’s Workplace Violence and Aggression Strategy, which is due to be published shortly. Once engagement with the Trade Unions and staff groups has concluded and the strategy has been approved, I have asked TfL to contact your office to arrange a briefing.