Bus drivers in Scotland face 'staggering' levels of abuse at work as SNP Government urged to help

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Bus drivers in Scotland face "staggering" levels of abuse with a majority now claiming they no longer feel safe at work.

A survey of more than 1,100 drivers found that 84 per cent had experienced more abuse over the last year - including being shouted or spat at by passengers.

Unite released the findings as part of efforts to improve safety in the aftermath of a bus driver in Moray earlier this year.

Keith Rollinson, 58, died of cardiac arrest following an assault at an Elgin bus station after he refused to let a teenager - who was allegedly “noticeably intoxicated” - on board.

A 15-year-old boy later pleaded guilty to culpable homicide.

According to the survey, 83 per cent of drivers said they suffered verbal abuse at work, while 16 per cent were subject to physical violence.

One anonymous driver said: "The abuse is terrible. I have been spat at three times by teenagers in the last twelve months, threats of harming me and saying they know where I live so threats to my home and family.

"There’s no point even reporting it as there’s nothing done about these individuals - they are just allowed to travel, say and do what they want."

Sharon Graham, Unite general secretary, said 99 per cent of respondents supported stronger legislative measures to protect drivers.

Minimum safety measures put forward by the union would include increased police or community warden presence on buses, CCTV coverage on vehicles and at stations, panic buttons and other enhanced security features like internal locking systems.

Almost 80 per cent of bus driver abuse was not reported to police, while 48 per cent was not reported to an employer.

Graham said: "Urgent measures must be taken to address the staggering level of abuse being suffered by bus drivers. In no way is this acceptable. Unite members will not tolerate abuse any longer.

"The Scottish Government has to step up and step in to ensure our members feel safe at work. A do nothing response is not an option.

"Unite is working with its members to explore all options to ensure endemic workplace abuse is tackled in the workplace."

Unite Scottish secretary Derek Thomson said the union was also calling on the Scottish Government to host a public transport summit with key stakeholders.

“This is a national public safety issue affecting drivers and passengers,” he said.

A Police Scotland spokeswoman said: "No one should expect to be the subject of violence while simply doing their job. We will not tolerate any form of abuse or anti-social behaviour and we strongly encourage people to report incidents to the police.

"We continue to work closely with partner agencies and transport companies to prevent abuse of workers and trace those involved.

"The increasing use of CCTV on public transport helps us identify those responsible and by working with partners we can gain a clearer understanding of the issue and inform our future approach to tackling this sort of behaviour."

A Transport Scotland spokesman said: "We have the greatest sympathy for bus drivers who are at the sharp end of antisocial behaviour from a small minority of bus passengers.

"Everyone should be able to go to their work without fear of abuse.

"The vast majority of passengers travelling by bus behave appropriately, including people of all ages using their free bus entitlement to travel.

"None of this would be possible without bus drivers keeping communities connected. However, there is a minority of people, of all ages, who abuse their entitlement, including to commit offences, and which can result in serious harm to bus employees and passengers.

"Bus operators can already restrict access to their services in line with their own conditions of carriage and we are working with operators, unions and other stakeholders, to develop further sanctions and preventative measures."

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