Women voice fears on night transport

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Most women believe travelling at night in London on public transport is dangerous, a survey reveals today. The poll also found more than a third of men think the Tube, buses or trains are "fairly or very unsafe".

The survey comes as at least 20,000 more people are thought to have started using public transport since the start of Mayor Ken Livingstone's congestion charge. It found:

•61 per cent of women and 36 per cent of men think the Tube at night is fairly or very unsafe;

•60 per cent of women and 36 per cent of men think London buses are unsafe;

•More than 80 per cent of women think putting more police on the Tube system would improve their experience of using public transport;

•The same numbers - of men and women - say a better public transport service is their highest priority to improve quality of life;

•40 per cent of women think better staffed rail stations would be "extremely important" - twice as many as men. Another priority is a round-the-clock Tube service.

The YouGov poll of 1,000 women and men asked Londoners what would improve their quality of life in the capital.

It was conducted for Nicky Gavron, Deputy Mayor and Labour candidate for the post in the next election. Ms Gavron said: " Women should be able to travel safely around London, day or night. This is not a privilege, it is a right. Women deserve regular, reliable and above all safe travel."

Other high priorities were more police in the capital (64 per cent of women and 69 per cent of men); cleaner streets (just under 60 per cent of both sexes); better hospitals (59 per cent women, 55 per cent men); and combating drug dealing (half of all respondents). Also mentioned was less congestion on the roads and reduced air pollution.

Transport for London estimates-there has been a 20 per cent drop in road traffic since the congestion charge started.

But anti-congestion charge campaigner and actress Samantha Bond has said more women will be put at risk because they will have to use public transport at night.

She said: "It will jeopardise the safety of people who travel on an insecure transport system. This is about a great swathe of London's population, including teachers and nurses."

The poll comes after the latest figures showed there were 44,000 crimes on the trains last year.

Andrew Buckingham of Victim Support said: "It is a concern these figures are so high. We know from the feedback of the 1.5 million crime victims we help every year that fear of crime can be paralysing.

"There is about a one in four chance of being a crime victim in any year. But about three million people use the Tube every day - half of them women. The vast majority of journeys pass without incident."

 

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