New SOS text service on buses to alert police to trouble

The pioneering scheme would allow travellers to raise the alarm discreetly and without being spotted by troublemakers and criminals who might otherwise turn on them.

The scheme would work by giving individual buses their own code letters, which would be advertised on posters around the bus.

If trouble flares all a passenger would have to do would be to type the letter in and send it to a dedicated text number. This would alert the police, who would be also able to identify which bus the distress signal was made from and where the bus was.

The idea came from a group of secondary school children taking part in a competition run by Haringey council to devise ways of making London safer.

Richard Wood, Haringey police acting borough commander, said: "We feel this is an excellent, innovative idea that potentially could assist us in the gathering of intelligence and keeping buses safer."

Nilgun Canver, Haringey's cabinet member for enforcement and safer communities, said the council was "thrilled" about the police's enthusiasm.

A London Assembly report recorded a 15 per cent increase in the number of crimes on buses since 2004, with teenage antisocial behaviour of particular concern.

However, crimes per journey actually fell one per 50,000 because more people used the buses, meaning passengers were less likely to become victims.

The report listed the most problematic bus routes, all north of the river, and including route 29, which runs through the centre of Haringey from Wood Green Station to Trafalgar Square.

A spokeswoman for Transport for London said: "We welcome this effort to directly involve young people in tackling crime.

"This is exactly the kind of discussion that can help isolate and deal with the tiny minority of criminals. Transport for London would be happy to meet these young people and discuss their ideas to see which are most practical."

She said more police were already boarding buses.

"Crime on London's buses is low and getting lower but we are committed to driving it down further," she sadded.

"This year Transport for London has deployed an extra 440 police and community support officers across London to target anti-social behaviour and youth disorder."