Mr. Tim Gaston:

The Deputy has touched on an issue that is very pertinent at present, namely, antisocial behaviour and the whole question of it. Our experience and the feedback from customers is that it is typically both men and women who feel unsafe at times on public transport. Having said that, the research that we have done shows that over 90% of people who use public transport rate it as safe. However, there is a highly significant perception among people, who perhaps do not use it or do not use it very often, that there are safety issues.

There are two main differences between the train and tram services for people that are typically on a vehicle. Whilst on a tram there may be a driver, he is at one end of a long Luas tram and may or may not be aware of what is happening on the tram. On a train, passengers are even further away from the driver, who has no direct access to customers. On the onboard and on-platform issues that passengers are facing, whilst overall what is being reported to us is that there has been a reduction from the mid-point of 2021, there are still some very unsavoury and high-profile incidents that we want to work with the operators to address.