Campaigners at Byker charity Skills for People have said a bigger security presence on the Tyne and Wear Metro has made it feel safer for people with disabilities to travel in the evenings.
New security staff were stationed on trains throughout the evening starting over the recent Bank Holiday, and North Shields woman Catherine Hope - who herself has lived experience of learning disabilities and has been on the wrong end of bullying - said the boosted security operation helped give her peace of mind.
She said knowing security would be around helped make public transport more accessible to those with disabilities. She said this was due to knowing that the security staff deter antisocial behaviour and bullying.
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Catherine is a member of the self-advocacy board at Byker-based charity Skills for People. The charity works to boost opportunities for people with disabilities and ensure they have a voice in public debate and the rights they deserve. As part of this, people with experience of disability form the self-advocacy board and raise issues they experience in day-to-day life.
One issue raised is that harassment and bullying is common, and this can often make public transport an unpleasant place to be.
North Shields-based Catherine, 51, said she felt much safer going out in the evenings given the increased security presence. She said: "I feel a lot safer now compared to it just being the driver, especially on the darker nights."
Catherine explained that the bigger security presence helped deter bullying from people who "act like I've a sign saying 'disability' on my head".
Speaking on his last day as deputy chief executive at the charity before retirement, Nick Ball - who has four decades' worth of experience in the social care and charity sector - said: "The self-advocacy board often speaks about it not being easy to go out and do things in the evenings - and about the routine experience of bullying for people."
Nexus confirmed in May it would be adding 20 extra security staff to its roster to deter anti-social behaviour, with there being one on "almost every train" after 7pm. This forms the system's largest-ever security presence.
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