Half a million pounds of government funding is being invested in transport safety across Stoke-on-Trent to help stamp out antisocial behaviour.
The money will pay for a new pilot scheme that will see six transport safety officers recruited to travel on the city’s bus network in a bid to keep travellers safe.
In a first for the city, the officers who will be based at Hanley and Longton bus stations will have enforcement powers.
This could include powers to issue fixed penalty notices, obtain personal details and proactively deal with nuisance behaviour that can significantly affect passenger’s journeys. Fines could be issued for behaviour such as smoking, littering and disorder.
The funding has been awarded to Stoke-on-Trent City Council and Staffordshire Police who will run the pilot.
The money is part of wider Government commitments to improve public transport and follows the re-allocation of £150 million of HS2 funding to improve bus services in the North and Midlands.
Councillor David Williams, cabinet member for communities, education and safety said: “We hope this pilot scheme will reduce the overall incidents of antisocial behaviour on and around the public transport network in Stoke-on-Trent and that it will provide general reassurance, particularly for more vulnerable members of society, including the elderly, young persons and women.
“Promoting the use of public transport across the city is a big priority for the administration. We want to improve the attractiveness, experience and expectations of using our public transport network.”
The pilot will run from January 2024 through to March 2025 and the council will now begin to recruit and train the officers.
