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London Underground safer than Perth rail lines
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April 19, 2008 06:00pm
COMMUTERS are more likely to be assaulted on a Perth train than on the London Underground.
Statistics obtained by the Public Transport Authority and British Transport Police reveal the London Underground is safer to ride than Transperth rail lines.Armadale was the worst of the five lines, recording the highest number of incidents, including assaults, disorderly conduct and substance abuse.
It was closely followed by the city and Joondalup lines.
A statistical snapshot of Perth and London lines in 2006-07 shows that the London Tube was safer.
With 1.6 billion passenger trips on the London Tube last year, there were 1806 reported assaults.
In Perth there were 161 assaults.
Taking into account the 35.8 million boardings, figures show that there was one assault for every 222,360 Perth people who used the train, compared with one assault for every 449,690 tube commuters.
Public officers also were more likely to be assaulted on a Perth train than on the tube, with one assault in every 233,986 commuters, in comparison with the Tube, which had one in every 1.64 million.
Disorderly behaviour was another area of concern, with Perth recording only 21 per cent fewer incidents than London despite the huge gap in patronage.
Perth train commuters this week told The Sunday Times they weren't surprised by the findings.
One woman said she would rather walk to the city from her home in the southern suburbs than catch the train.
Perth-based Jose Horn works for the Australasian Performing Rights Association and says his work involves regular trips interstate and overseas.
In London last year he caught the Tube every day without so much as a flinch.
When in Perth, he avoided using trains because he did not feel safe.
"Perth train stations are desolate and dangerous,'' he said.
"In London, there are plenty of people who use the train until the early hours. And there is always a sense of security with numbers.''
Mr Horn said he'd seen intimidating behaviour while riding a Perth train and had seen unruly behaviour on platforms, including fights and police chases.
Former Perth lawyer Bonnie Mendelsohn, who has worked in London, said the statistics spoke for themselves.
"There is no doubt people feel more threatened on Perth trains,'' she said.
"When I was living in Perth, I hardly used the train and when I did, it was during the day and with friends.
"More security presence at our main stations late at night wouldn't hurt.''
The Public Transport Authority said the safety and security of all customers was a top priority.
About 23 per cent of its annual budget was allocated to improving it.
Public Transport Authority chief Reece Waldock said in the past five years Perth had shown a significant improvement on the number of rail incidents.
"Figures show we have fundamentally improved by 30 per cent, so it's not all doom and gloom,'' he said.
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Latest Comments:
I have never seen a guard on the train (I often use them) and two months ago in one week I witnessed four instances of aggressive behaviour on the trains. This made me very reluctant to use them. We are always being told not to use our cars. Please improve safety on the trains. Of couse there is always plenty of bad and unpleasant behaviour but I must add there is also some great and polite behaviour from some of our young people. They are the one's who will go far in life - good luck to them.
Posted by: Reluctant passenger from Northern Suburbs. 7:31pm today
Totally agree with this article. I moved to melbourne after living in Perth 25 years and felt safer walking home from Crown casino at 2am by myself than I did in Northbridge at 10pm with other females. Having now lived in London 2 years, I consider it safer again- the trains in Perth are not frequent enough nor patrolled well enough to consider using them. I think nothing of walking home through Soho at 1am after catching the last tube. I would never EVER do that in Perth. Sad but true- and there's no street drinking in Perth. In the UK, street drinking is legal (which I think is nuts) and I still feel safer with all the drinks staggering past with a bottle in their hand.
Posted by: Lee of London UK (formerly of Perth) 5:49pm today
I honestly feel sorry for the people who have to use the train system here in WA. The Midland and Armadale lines are especially a joke. It seems as if the scum of Perth congregates and travels on these lines daily.
Posted by: Scholesy of null 4:45pm today
Read all 100 commentsYou can certainly never know what to expect on the trains in perth. I caught the midland line to and from work for over a year. I can count on one hand the amount of incidents I saw in peak time. None of them were serious. After hours or during the middle of the day is a different story though. One day I left work at lunchtime due to illness. At maylands station a large group of youths boarded. They then proceded to grab another lone youth who was sitting opposite me and pin him against the doors and interogate him about weather or not he bashed one of their younger brothers or not all the way to maylands. After one held him and another punched his face (typical behaviour from these pussys I have seen numerous times on this line) a few times they got off. Not a transit officer insight any where. Full respect to all the transit officers out there. There is no way you get paid enough to risk your life on a daily basis. The officials at the PTA should be forced to take the Armadale and Midland lines outside of peak times for a few months . Then perhaps they will pull their head out of their own arse and do something about getting more security.
Posted by: Now I catch the bus of Inglewood 3:03pm today
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