Campaigning at Victoria

So on Tuesday Katy, Hamza, and I went to Victoria station to talk to commuters about our campaign and see what they thought about it. We chose Victoria because it is a busy station with lots going on. We printed out some leaflets that can be seen in a previous post by Katy which stated some staggering facts about abuse on TFL. Our aim was to raise awareness of these facts and hopefully create a happy positive atmosphere for staff and commuters. So our visit to Victoria was a test run for our main intervention, which in short, is to transform a normal plain bus stop into a happy place that will brighten people's day and hopefully they will pay this happiness forward to the staff that are driving their bus or other method of transport. It also helped us practice and become comfortable with approaching the public and getting their opinion.

So we started outside the tube station and because we were nervous we only started by handing our leaflets out but obviously this wasn't very effective. Therefore, we decided to start approaching commuters just for a chat about our idea. Hamza even asked the woman behind the Krispy Kreme counter what she thought! We asked them questions such as:
1. Do you engage in conversation with anyone when at the bus stop or waiting for the tube?
2. Do you acknowledge your driver?
3. How do you feel on your daily commute?
4. If the atmosphere you were waiting in was more happy and comfortable do you think this would impact on your experience and day?
5. Would you be likely to pass this happiness to other people?
The response we got was great! Currently, next to no one engaged in conversation with another commuter or even acknowledged their driver, only if they needed to ask a question or complain about delays. We also found that most people feel tired and miserable in the morning commute but drained and stressed on their evening commute. The commuters general consensus was that they would like to think that a nice atmosphere at the bus stop, for example music, coffee, comfy seats, would increase their mood and sociability. When observing the bus stops at Victoria, it was a depressing sight with everyone on their phone and their headphones in. Time for a change!

Tasha

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TFL & Brexit?

Hi Lads,

In recent reports, TFL has warned commuters to avoid over 13 key stations due to Brexit marches. In essence, this creates more problems for TFL workers. This is due to adding more stress to the workers. With that, the people taking the TFL getting aggravated and the madness coming from the protesters. It will be extremely busy and crowded. 

"Please avoid these stations where possible. The Jubilee, Central and Piccadilly lines are also expected to be much busier – please allow extra time for your journey."

https://www.standard.co.uk/news/london/tfl-warns-commuters-to-avoid-13-key-tube-stops-ahead-of-brexit-rally-a4099041.html. 

What can be done to make this day go smoothly for the TFL workers?
In essence, there needs to be more precaution for times like this. 

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ViaVan Trip

ViaVan Trip.

What's up guys, this morning I decided to take a ViaVan to work rather than TFL, to help with some of our intervention work. Usually if I do travel anywhere i'm more of an TFL user, so I was curious to see how this differed from public transport. Straight away there was a problem booking it because the drivers can only pick you up from certain areas in London. For the driver to pick me up I had to walk about 5 minutes from my house to the nearest pick up point. To be honest this felt very inconvenient as the closest bus stop to me is literally outside my house. 

As soon as I got into the ViaVan I was curious to why my driver chose ViaVan over the popular Uber or even being a bus driver and whether they offered anything to entice drivers. When I asked these questions, the driver told me that the reason why he joined was that drivers were guaranteed £300 for their first 10 pick ups. I then asked him whether he liked to engage with riders, with which he replied it did not really bother him as he did not want to intrude if people were shy. He also told me that he did not want to work for TFL because of the strict schedule and with ViaVan he felt like his own boss.

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Say Hi! Campaign

Based on Katy's "Get to Know Your Driver" idea in our discussions earlier today, I aim to contact the Public Relations of a few London bus companies to see if they will allow myself and whoever else would like to accompany to visit a few of their garages and talk to drivers. I would conduct little interviews that could contribute to any clips or short films we are thinking of uploading onto Instagram or Twitter. 

The objectives of the interviews include discussing the sociability between driver and passengers, how this differs throughout the day (e.g. peak hours and night journeys) and how they deal with the more challenging issues of abuse or vulnerable passengers in compliance or against the relevant written or unspoken rules that the company may have. The interviews would additionally contribute to the format of the "Get to Know" or "Say Hi" social media campaign or discourse (whatever you want to call it) listed below:

• Post a photo of a bus driver.
• Caption: 'Say hi to Driver A'.
• Background knowledge or interesting fact about them.

We should link up to design a logo for the campaign, make storyboards for any clips or short films we might add to our Instagram/Twitter profile and better clarify our intervention because I am currently skeptical about its 'outward' effectiveness going forward. I think this campaign is quite strong if we put our minds to it, however. Katy, big up.

Archived from Pages, last edited on 5 March 2019.

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Summary

Hey,

Check out a summary of my ideas below. Feel free to adapt them on another Page, tell me what you like or dislike or give other suggestions. Overall, I think aiming for the simplest interventions are potentially most effective, especially if we think of how this module places value on the overlooked banalities of the everyday.

Buses - I want to explore the everyday life in a driver's cab. I've found that in the city, people are less likely to acknowledge their driver when boarding or alighting whereas heading towards the outskirts of London there is a greater sense of community and recognition between drivers and passengers and amongst the latter alike. I would like to visit bus garages to get some bus drivers' insights into the political and social aspects of their jobs and perhaps make a survey for the general public to get their corresponding attitudes on this mode of transport.

Cycling - road space is narrow in London and the introduction of cyclist speedways has been cause for controversy amongst motor road users against cyclists. It would be good to get the perspectives of both those who cycle and those who drive on how demanding it is to share road space in London and how this has been intensified by cyclist speedways. Perhaps a comparison could be made with other cities regionally or internationally, that is if anyone has any anecdotes or experiences from elsewhere in regards to this or would like to expand their findings to this extent.

Train - the London Underground has great scope for analysis: from the isolating experience of driving a train and the possible deskilling of drivers by the ATO systems of most modern trains, to ticket machines succeeding ticket offices and the consequent reduction of jobs in this industry. How do these factors affect the smooth operations behind providing train services and the experience of the daily commute? Surveys could be good for this one, e.g. are people content with ticket machines or do they want ticket offices back?

Uber - I sense a culture emerging for catching an Uber. Studying the pros and cons of its self-employment ethos and making a survey for people's opinions on Uber, e.g. its convenience for them and how frequently they use it, could make for an interesting insight into the popularity for this relatively new mode of transport.

Isaiah.

Archived from pages, last edited on 5 March 2019.

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Project Planning

Isaiah

Hey,

I want to adopt and extend the project one group did discussing the political and social influences underlying people's daily commute on the train to that of buses, perhaps cycling and Uber.

Basically, each one of us would be assigned to a mode of transport to explore the everyday life of workers providing the services as well as the experiences of using them for daily commuters. The practical elements of this project would mainly comprise of interviews and surveys, although more ambitious approaches are welcome. I think that any research or statistics included in our blog posts should be driven and evaluated by our empirical findings, as I find that despite its dominance in official studies the quantitative is insufficient in understanding the complexities of everyday life.

Let me know what you guys are saying for this project.

Tasha

Heya, 

The idea sounds really good and I’m on board but I just wanted to know how we plan to make this an intervention rather than just research?

Isaiah

Something along the lines of speaking to people who are a part of our everyday lives who we never speak to. It could be from talking to fellow commuters or workers in the modes of transport mentioned.

I'm not too keen on that, myself, but perhaps that's the point of highlighting the 'banality' of everyday life and the challenge of "intervention", although, to be honest, I am strugging to understand what intervention demands.

Can our intervention be as simple as talking to commuters, acknowledging a bus driver or making conversation with your Uber driver? Or does "intervention" require us to, for example, do something more demanding like create a score system for each mode of transport based on their levels of sociability?

Tasha

I’m not to sure either about what intervention can be classed as but the idea of the scoring system doesn’t sound too bad? Or something along those lines.  

Shall one of us create the blog? cause we get graded on our contributions and discussions.


Hamza

Sounds like a solid idea👍🏽

In terms of interventions could it be that we our selves maybe take peculiar routes to Univeristy?

As in we mix up our routes for something different?

Isaiah

Tasha, I have created the blog.

The score system for each mode of transport based on their levels of sociability seems the most effective intervention so far. All agree? 

I think by doing something peculiar like walking a long distance to university instead of using public transport could be another good intervention in response to recent public transport cuts, maybe. Or do you mean we each take separate routes to each other to uni, Hamza?

We are not limited to one intervention, are we?

Archived from Pages, last edited on 5 March 2019.

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Handouts

Flyer

To go with our intervention, think it would be good to have something to hand to people with more information on our campaign; what we stand for and what we hope to achieve.
I've tried to make it quick, clear and colourful to draw attention and also used some 'shock' tactics to generate curiosity.

I started by look for articles and accounts of assault of TFL staff to find shock stories that would draw people in:

Shock stories:

1/10 London Underground Staff Sexually Harassed by Passengers and 1/5 have been assaulted by passengers

            https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/women/london-underground-sexual-harassment-workers-tube-passengers-assault-violence-tfl-rmt-a8829366.html

·     ¾ of tube staff have experiences verbal abuse while working

·      1/5 have experienced such forms of hostility more than 20 times a year

·     1/10 of verbal abuse is related to gender

·     1/3 is related to race

·     1/5 of participants have said they’ve been physically assaulted at work

·     Anecdotes provided by tube staff about times when they’ve been sexually harassed at work:

o  “Drunk males stopping me walking along platforms by stepping in front of me and making inappropriate comments”

o  “Males stopping to ask a question but its been if I’m single/for my number. Even when I’ve said no they continue to push for details or imply they want sexual relations.”

o  Another explained that a customer made “lewd sexual remarks” about their mother when they were refused free access through Tube barriers”

Abuse for just doing their job

https://www.standard.co.uk/news/crime/commuter-who-hit-tube-staff-in-yellow-line-row-faces-jail-term-a4009066.html

·     Tube staff member assault and victim of homophobic abuse for asking passenger to step back behind yellow line at Baker Street station

·     Assaulted second staff member who intervened when trying to calm situation down 

Tube station workers face ‘growing tide of violence’

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-47612001

·     Staff have been threatened with knives and shoved towards tracks (rail, maritime and transport union have said)

·     8 staff have said to been threaten with a weapon when working on ticket barriers

Man Charged with pushing TFL staff member onto Victoria station tracks

https://www.mylondon.news/news/west-london-news/man-appears-court-charged-pushing-14529489

·     Pushed onto the district line tracks April 10^th

·     No injuries sustained but “understandably shaken”

This was the information I used to create the flyer:

I also used this information to create more posters that we can use both in social media if we want; but also to put up at the bus stop to spread the message we want. The bus stop intervention can be both creating a sense of happiness and comfort whilst also trying to educate those that take part. 

Katy 

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Intervention Ideas: BUS STOP

Ideas for possible intervention:

In an effort to make transport more friendly and a better atmosphere for everyone involved, we need to make the place where people wait for this service friendly. 

To do this, our intervention can be to improve the day of those waiting at bus stops, showing acts of kindness in order to project this kindness forward. 

We can make a comfy, welcoming and friendly bus stop for anyone that comes through. 

We could include:

·     more available, make it more comfortable; use cushions or blankets to make it better depending on the weather

·     decorations to make it happier and also draw more attention to what we are doing for any passers by

·     offer hot coffee or biscuits or sweets as a sign of goodwill

·     playing music to improve the atmosphere

When we do it, we can ask those that are taking part in our intervention to pass these acts of kindness forward in the time they are going to be on London Transport. This would be a simple act, that wouldn’t disrupt the everyday life of those using the bus but instead help to encourage it and better it. 

To ensure that people are engaged with the ideas we are trying to spread, provide flyers and information on our campaign. This way we can hopefully instil our message through creating a memorable experience.

I think this would be a really good intervention as would draw some good attention from people as their curiosity would take over. But it isn't over the top and it doesn't overly impact their day so would be more likely that people take part. 

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Brilliant Idea #1

Hey Everyone!

I just thought I should post the idea we spoke about in the lecture.

We

• Put up signs at bus stops which either say 'closed' or 'move along'
• we then wear yellow vests and direct people to the next bus stop down which is five minutes away.
• while walking them to the next stop we engage in some meaningful conversation.
• people tend to believe those in yellow vests!

What do you guys think?

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#travelkind

The #travelkind campaign was originally launched to ensure passengers and commuters were being considerate when using the services to those with disabilities. 
The campaign was super successful and many find it helpful to spread awareness as many are intolerant and some do not pay attention to those around them!

As linking to my previous post the use of the badges and indicators have proven to be really helpful and successful. 
The evening standard complied a post from the trending topic and many tweets were made. To see some more, check out the article by clicking here! Also, I have found a varied range of tweets from the hashtag myself, maybe I'll do another post with my own compilation!

Hanna! 

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Badges and Cards

The "please offer me a seat" badges and cards are an innovative idea undertaken by TfL to ensure the comfort and safety of all passengers who are in need and aren't physically evident such as those with- impairments, conditions or illnesses. 

• available for use on all TfL services: London Underground, Overground, TfL Rail, Buses, DLR, Trams and River services!

My excessive use of transport means naturally when I see an individual who is fragile, pregnant or even just in need of a seat I am first to offer, however, the use of the badges makes it visibly clear when someone is in need and highlighting this. As we go through our everyday oblivious to some of the difficulties some face in maneuvering and being able to operate especially with the busy network travel links we have in London. 
Speaking to a fellow passenger today, A young man who suffers from autism on his way to Uni, about how he feels having access to the badge and his response was that the ability to get a seat when in need has "assisted and prompted me to use the TfL more" indicating the success of the badge 
Further, into our chat, we concluded it has reduced his anxiety and risk of panic attacks for instance as there is not that guilt of people looking at you for taking a seat as he may not look like he is in need. "Particularly on the central line and how claustrophobic it is!" it allows for him to have his own space and continue about his travels. Allowing him not to feel uncomfortable by explaining his reasoning and feeling vulnerable. 

They are easily accessible and super easy to order, so if you know or are in need of one: click here  to apply for one!!!

Hanna!

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TFL Change Part 2

Hey again!


On today's journey on the train I decided to check twitter. As I was browsing as per usual on my phone, there is a timing of between 5 to 10 seconds to get wifi and load up everything. What I load up is tweets so I can browse whilst waiting for the next stop... and keep doing the same again.

I found some images that I thought I'd share as I'm yet to see TFL workers with religious garments. Or any particular indication of the workers being from a particular religion.

These images were from twitter in by which the aim is to show that there is total support for the people who work at TFL. As being on public transport all the time it's easy as you can get off and get along with the rest of your day. Whereas, working on the TFL with that, getting the constant hate and attack is draining. It can have a mental toll on you. The pictures taken by a woman on twitter (@javeriasheikh_).  The pictures were for a media campaign to promote a campaign regarding a contemporary issue in the society of today. The issue is very personal for me as I do a follow a religion where it's evident by the clothing.

My next aim is to interview a TFL worker to get their view and a day to day understanding of what happens. Also, getting to know to know how they feel and what others can do to make them feel better or any other suggestions??

Until next time,
Sabrina

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Abuse of TFL Staff

Abuse of those who work on London Transport is an issue that has been present for some time and is a constant battle for the TFL.
Most of us will have seen or at least know of the campaign posters that appear across the transport network of our city; they say 'Don't take it out on out Staff.'

This was a campaign launched in late 2012 by Transport for London to combat the increased abuse (mostly verbal) that their staff have to deal with far too often. These posters were put up on London Overground and London Underground stations in response to a 6% increase of aggressive incidents towards Tube staff alone from 2011-2012. Verbal abuse increased by 17%, many of these incidents taking place when staff confronted people pushing through Tube Gates without paying.
This campaigns shows the continued dedication of the TFL to support its staff and its attempt to tackle this growing issue to ensure its staff have the best working environment. However, a continued increase of abuse raises questions about the effectiveness of their efforts. Transport for London advertises its continued dedication for the cause as it funds dedicated workplace violence police officers and staff to investigate reported cases. Additionally transport across London is supplied with more than 2,500 police offers (at the time of this article, 2012) along with over 12,000 CCTV cameras all which contribute to convictions of 90% of cases taken to court.
The 2012 Director of Community Safety, Enforcement and Policy for TFL in 2012 said the following: 'TfL takes workplace violence extremely seriously and we always encourage staff to report any instance of abuse whether physical or non physical so that preventative measures can be taken, and the strongest penalties brought against offenders.

'Our staff do a tremendous job helping customers on and around the transport network, and we and our partners in the British Transport Police and Metropolitan Police are committed to stamp out any behaviour that intimidates staff and customers.'

https://tfl.gov.uk/info-for/media/press-releases/2012/december/new-campaign-aims-to-tackle-violence-against-transport-staff-head-on

When this campaign was launched in 2012, the issue of staff abuse was severe enough for it to be a focal point for the TFL. And although general crime rates on London transport isn't as bad as it was 2005-2010, it is still an issue for TFL and Metropolitan Police.  An annual report brings together crime statistics from the Metropolitan Police Service and British Transport Police to provide a summary of changing crime rates within London. The report covers the 2017/2018 Financial year (1 April 2017-31 March 2018). The headline figures of the report include:

• Levels of bus-related crime in 2017/18 were 5.8% lower (792 fewer offences) compared
  with the previous year. The rate of crime for the bus network has decreased to 7.0 crimes
  per million passenger journeys (from 7.4 in 2016/17).
• Crime on LU increased during 2017/18 by 23.6% (2,557 additional offences) compared with
  the previous year. The rate of crime also increased to 9.9 crimes per million passenger
  journeys (from 7.9 in 2016/17).
• Crime levels on DLR increased during 2017/18 by 7.2% (39 additional offences) compared
  with the previous year. The rate of crime also increased to 4.9 crimes per million passenger
  journeys (from 4.5 in 2016/17).
• Crime on LO increased during 2017/18 by 28.0% (323 additional offences) compared with
  the previous year. The rate of crime also increased to 7.8 crimes per million passenger
  journeys (from 6.1 in 2016/17).
• Crime on TfL rail increased by 44.8% during 2017/18 (189 additional offences) compared with the previous year. The rate of crime also increased to 13.5 crimes per million passenger journeys. The volume and rate have risen mainly due to the change in the infrastructure TfL are responsible for as the network has expanded throughout 2017/18. This makes it difficult to meaningfully compare with previous years.
• Crime on London Trams increased by 8.8% during 2017/17 (21 additional offences) compared with the previous year. The rate of crime also increased to 8.9 crimes per million passenger journeys (from 8.1 in 2016/17).

http://content.tfl.gov.uk/crime-statistics-bulletin-1718.pdf

The 20 page report provides a breakdown of crime across transport types and geographical location but these headline figures alone show that the atmosphere of London Transport as a whole one of general crime. All of this crime create a general environment of being tense and almost fearful when one if aware of the crime possibilities. And the impact on those who work on the services have to face these repercussions day in and day out.

An article produced by LondonLovesBussiness online claims that the TFL has had to spent £3million over a 5 year period on counselling for its staff as a result of stress, assault and other issues they face. It claims that from 2010-2014, almost 5,000 staff members received counselling for stress, anxiety and depression, train suicide, anger management and harassment. The TFL has responded to the claims by saying that "The health and well-being of staff is extremely important for any business but it is paramount for an organisation like Transport for London.. Counselling has been found to be a safe and cost effective way of helping staff who suffer from stress, depression and other issues."

https://londonlovesbusiness.com/exclusive-tfl-spent-3m-in-five-years-on-counselling-staff-for-stress-assault-other-issues/


So it is clear to see how abuse/crime on London transport can have a direct impact on its staff. That the atmosphere of the tube is one that is detrimental to the mental health of those who work on it. Campaigns such as 'Don't Take it Out on Our Staff' have positive intensions in reducing these crime statistics but surely it sets the bar too low. Instead simply asking the bare minimum of not assaulting the staff, we should be supporting and spreading ideas of creating a positive environment. 'Thank Our Staff" or "Make Sure Our Staff Feel Safe" are barely one step above the existing campaign but put out a better message than one of bare minimum effort to not assault staff. The Tube driver, bus driver or train conductor can be a very isolating jobs and I think efforts to make this environment not only safer, but happier, positive and friendly are extremely important. Through this campaign we can try and combat this; improving the lives of those people who are often those who are the receiving end of this abuse.

Katy

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