A recent survey has found that passengers are feeling safer when travelling on Metro buses in Launceston.
When asked to give a rating of how safe they feel on the buses, passengers gave an average score of 84 per cent, compared with 81 per cent when surveyed in 2008.
The number of passengers who had seen antisocial or criminal behaviour on buses also dropped by 11 per cent compared with the 2008 survey results.
In March this year, Closed Circuit Television (CCTV) cameras were installed at bus stops in the Launceston CBD and on all Metro Tasmania buses under the Safer Public Bus Stops and Travel (SPBST) project.
Launceston City Council received a $438,720 grant from the Australian Government to implement the project.
Of those surveyed, 89 per cent said that the SPBST campaign message and the CCTV cameras have had some form of positive effect on antisocial and criminal behaviour on and around buses.
The SPBST project is a community safety program coordinated by the Launceston Safer Communities Partnership, which was formed to support Launceston’s crime prevention initiatives.
The partnership includes several organisations, including Launceston City Council, Tasmania Police, Launceston Chamber of Commerce, Cityprom, Metro Tasmania and Northern Regional Crime Stoppers.
“Increasing the number of people using buses results in social, economic and environmental benefits to the wider community,” said Launceston Mayor Albert van Zetten. “But to achieve this and get more people on the buses, the public transport system must be safe.
“These results are encouraging and show we’re well on the way to deterring antisocial and criminal behaviour on buses and at bus stops by educating regular offenders that they are being watched and their behaviour is not acceptable.”
