Parts of Bristol’s public transport are “unsafe” because of a lack of CCTV and lighting, while graffiti has made Montpelier railway station look like “The Bronx”, a campaigner warned. Passenger champion David Redgewell told a council meeting that many bus and train stations and shelters felt intimidating, the public were treated as though “we don’t exist” and that the police were not patrolling the network enough.
Avon & Somerset Police says it works closely with Bristol City Council in tackling illegal graffiti and runs regular operations targeting taggers, while British Transport Police (BTP) says both uniform and plain clothes officers patrol the train network around the clock. Bristol Public Transport Community Safety Partnership member Mr Redgewell told councillors that the authorities did not fully understand or grapple with the issues facing public transport users.
He said: “In combined authority areas like Manchester and Birmingham, much more effort is put into making sure the public transport network is safe. We have only just succeeded in getting cameras put up at local railway stations but only a few of them are on the control centre.
