Transport for London (TfL) is launching a 12-month trial of CCTV at 20 bus shelters across London, together with the Metropolitan Police Service (Met). 

The trial is designed to improve passenger safety, especially for women and girls, and ensure they can travel with confidence 24 hours a day. 

Tackling violence against women and girls remains a key priority for TfL and the police, with the trial yet another step toward delivering the Mayor's commitment to increase CCTV in bus shelters. 

Continuing TfL’s Test

The technology was tested at five bus shelters in March, and now a further 15 bus shelter locations have been fitted with CCTV systems. 

The locations were selected to provide good coverage across London and to understand the effectiveness of CCTV in different areas. This includes busy locations with high footfall, quieter locations with less frequent bus services, higher crime areas, or locations where women and girls have reported feeling more unsafe.

The cameras will be available to the Met to help prevent and investigate crime and to improve incident response with live access. Footage, which only the Met will have access to, will be retained for 31 days to support police investigations. 

TfL will also gather feedback from customers and stakeholders throughout the trial to assess the feeling of safety and security for customers using the bus network. 

Safety for Women, Girls

TfL has been a longstanding supporter of White Ribbon Day, a global movement to end male violence against women and girls. This White Ribbon Day, TfL has partnered with Tottenham Hotspur F.C, Fulham F.C, and Crystal Palace F.C to raise awareness of this important topic and to make it clear that gender-based violence and harassment is not tolerated. 

TfL has also displayed white ribbons on its Piccadilly and Northern Line trains and trams, and the Cable Car LED lights have been changed to white in support of White Ribbon Day. 

TfL is working hard to make the transport network safer in a variety of ways, with the introduction of mobile coverage across the Tube and Elizabeth line — including within tunnels — allowing people to stay connected while on the move. Large sections of central London now have coverage, and work is underway to expand coverage along the Northern, Victoria, and Piccadilly lines in the coming months. 

As part of the Mayor's strategy to end violence against women and girls, TfL and the Mayor's Office for Policing and Crime (MOPAC) have also worked with “We Made That” and carried out women's safety audits in the boroughs of Hillingdon, Lambeth, Westminster, Waltham Forest, and Brent. 

More than 70 audits have been completed by 50 women. Women's safety audits help to better understand the perceptions and experiences of women, girls, and gender diverse people in their use of public spaces and what is needed to make them safer and to feel safer. TfL and MOPAC are reviewing the findings to consider how audits can be used to plan, design, and manage public spaces.