Our Ref: FOI-3213-2425
Thank you for your request received on 7 January 2025 asking for information about sexual assault and harassment reports from bus drivers and London Underground staff.
Your request has been considered in accordance with the requirements of the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act and our information access policy. I can confirm that we hold some of the information you require.
Our staff work hard to serve the millions of customers who use the transport network every day and have the right to go about their work without fear or intimidation. We take workplace violence extremely seriously and know that it is underreported, so always encourage staff to report any instance of abuse, whether physical or non-physical, so that preventative measures can be taken and the strongest penalties brought against offenders. We have very recently made body-worn cameras for all frontline customer-facing roles essential kit as they are proving to reduce the risk of assaults. We also deploy teams of Transport Support and Enforcement officers who were introduced to protect frontline staff and tackle workplace violence.
A specialist unit within TfL works with both the Metropolitan Police Service and British Transport Police to investigate crimes against staff. The Workplace Violence and Aggression Team supports staff and their managers, and assists the police in the investigation of physical assault and verbal aggression against our staff, including public order offences and hate crime. Sexual harassment cannot be easily disaggregated broken out from other public order offences in Police data.
We do not record the victim’s gender as the reports are anonymised, therefore we do not hold the requested information solely for female bus drivers or London Underground staff. However, I have attached overall figures for both London Underground and the bus network. Please note that bus drivers are employed by the bus operators, not TfL.
We have been measuring workplace violence and aggression this way since the start of the 2020/21 financial year, and we therefore only hold information from this date.
If this is not the information you are looking for, or if you are unable to access it for any reason, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Please see the attached information sheet for details of your right to appeal.
Yours sincerely
Gemma Jacob
Senior FOI Case Officer
FOI Case Management Team
General Counsel
Transport for London
foi@tfl.gov.uk
