TFL Anti Abuse Campaign

Our intervention is based on creating a friendly environment for train and bus drivers where they do not feel isolated but feel appreciated for the job they do. We aim to do this through a social media campaign called 'Say Hi' by using Instagram, Twitter, and also posters to spread awareness. With increasing numbers of abuse faced by TFL staff, i wanted to see if TFL were doing any work of their own to tackle the issue.

Here are some figures i found from the London Assembly for the amount of Physical violence on Train and Bus Drivers:

• 2012/13- 998
• 2013/14- 1,009
• 2014/15- 988
• 2015/16- 917
• 2016/17- 1,051

And these figures are only the reported violence and i bet there are more cases as some people would be scared to report anything!

This violence and abuse has led to TFL giving staff fake names to protect them from commuters that may stalk or harass them. This policy has been in place for 15 years and “An employee can make an application to his/her manager for their name to be replaced by an appropriate pseudonym containing a first and last name. The requirement is to wear name badges and the use of pseudonyms is for exceptional circumstances and a valid reason must be given. For example if the member of staff has a particularly unusual name which could lead to their identification outside of work.” (TFL Spokesperson). 

So TFL does recognise that passengers can be violent towards their staff. However, is letting them wear fake names enough? TFL have also created posters highlighting the issue of abuse on tube staff (pictured above). The poster is of a child's handwriting explaining a situation where someone has shouted at their parent and it had a lasting impact on them that even their child has noticed. These posters can be seen on public transport and therefore can be seen by its target audience, us commuters. I think it meets its objective of trying to reduce abuse towards staff and humanise the staff by providing a story we can empathise with. 

Taking all of this into consideration, i believe that while TFL is trying to tackle the issue, i don't agree it is going about it in the right direction. The posters are basically saying 'don't abuse me' which ultimately could lead to everyone ignoring the staff and their job would still be isolating and lonely for them. I believe the posters should work by encouraging positive communication with the staff such as "Say Hi" or "Get to Know Me". This is where our intervention comes in! 

Tasha

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