Personal safety apps on public transport

While there is a plethora of personal safety apps available for download, there are only a few in the UK which have been designed specifically for use on public transport. The following section outlines the personal safety apps that are available in the UK and internationally for use on public transport. It is noteworthy that the use of apps on public transport have been much more prevalent in the Global South and represent relatively new developments in the UK. Most apps on public transport fall into the categories of reporting apps (e.g., Railways Guardian, Safer Transport Northumbria) and preventative/avoidance apps (e.g., StreetSafe).

Reporting apps

Reporting apps on public transport have been around for over a decade and allow uses to report incidents directly to transport officials, as well as uploading photographic evidence. International examples of reporting apps include The See Say smartphone app which was initiated by the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority Transit Police in 2012 allowing users to report incidents by text, share pictures and GPS location (Gekoski et al., 2015). In 2014, Metro Vancouver Transit Police in Canada launched their ‘See Something, Say Something’ campaign, where passengers could report incidents via an app (TransLink, 2015) also. Other examples include the LA Metro which launched a scheme in 2017/2018 where passengers could contact Metro security anonymously via text or phone call and submit photos of incidents. Another example is the Go Miami-Dade Transit app that allows users to report incidents anonymously, which go directly to security officials who monitor transport 24/7. The app allows first responders to be deployed and has a live chat function with passengers in real time (Miami Dade, 2023).

In the UK, reporting apps are a relatively new phenomenon. The Railway Guardian app was set up by the BtP in July 2022 to respond to VAWG on public transport. The app was developed in consultation with other app developers including StreetSafe, HollieGuard, Safe & the City, stakeholders like Transport for London (TfL) and charities like White Ribbon, and the Suzy Lamplugh Trust (BtP, 2023). The app is free, includes both English and Welsh language versions and it can be downloaded from Google Play or the Apple Store.

The aim of the app is to increase awareness of how to report crimes and to increase the reporting of unwanted sexual behaviour. The app allows users to share their journeys with trusted contacts, who can track their journey and who will be notified when the user arrives at their destination. The app also allows users to upload video and photographic evidence of unwanted behaviour, which is sent directly to the BtP control room. The app has educational and signposting functions and it provides links to charities like Women’s Aid, Shelter and ChildLine, as well as the National Rail Journey Planner. In March 2023, the Railway Guardian app partnered with Strathclyde Partnership for Transport (SPT) allowing use of the app on both train and subway networks throughout Scotland (SPT, 2023).

In 2021, Northumbria Police and Crime Commissioner launched a personal safety app called Safer Transport Northumbria, which allows users to report any unwanted behaviour on the bus and metro network in Northumbria. The safety app, in partnership with Moovit, was launched as part of the ‘Safer Streets’ campaign (Northumbria Police and Crime Commissioner, 2021). The purpose of the app is for users to access up to date travel information for better journey planning and to report any incidents that make users feel unsafe.

Preventative/Avoidance apps

The StreetSafe Police App was developed in conjunction with the Home Office and the National Police Chiefs' Council in 2021. Its purpose is not to report crimes, but it allows users to report areas with poor lighting, abandoned buildings, vandalism, incidents of verbal abuse or other unwanted behaviours (UK Police, 2023). This information is used to make improvements such as improving street lighting, installing CCTV etc. Other initiatives have been funded by the UK Government (2021) to provide more up to date travel information and reduced waiting times for buses. The West Yorkshire Combined Authority were funded in 2021 to launch a ‘Train Safety’ campaign to promote the access to this improved bus tracking (UK Government, 2021).

In Australia, the She’s a Crowd app works in the city of Melbourne, in conjunction with Transport for New South Wales. The app uses social media and influencers to encourage users to share their stories about gender-based violence on public transport in Australia. When women share their stories, they are geotagged and time stamped, and this data is then used to help local governments and urban planners identify hotspot or problem areas. Since launching in 2018, the app has collected 80,000 data points, indicating the potential usefulness of preventative apps to generate smart data. In Canada, an initiative by the Metropolitan Action Committee on Violence Against Women and Children (METRAC) creates transport safety audits, where community members can report on physical infrastructure like lighting and make recommendations for future work (METRAC, 2023).