A new system allowing passengers to quickly and discreetly send a text message to report anti-social behaviour has been revealed as one of the cornerstones of a new campaign aiming to reduce the blight on the Tyne and Wear Metro. The campaign has been titled not big, not clever, not here and is in response to feedback who want to see more done to improve security on the network.
The campaign is set to be highly visible on Metro stations and trains and makes it clear that anti-social behaviour will not be tolerated. It builds on recent investment in policing, extra security teams and improved CCTV.
The new system allows passengers to “report it, to sort it” by texting REPORTIT to 66777 followed by details of the anti-social behaviour they are reporting. This can be anything from vandalism, graffiti, rowdy behaviour and holding doors open to abusing and threatening employees.
The text will send an alert directly to a screen on the customer service desk at the South Goforth control room, from where action can be taken swiftly and security staff can be deployed where required.
If there is an emergency then people are still urged to phone 999 or 101 for non-emergency situations that require the Police to attend straight away.
Cathy Massarella, Interim Managing Director, said: “Our customers want to see more done about anti-social behaviour and we are acting on that with this new campaign and the roll out of our new text alert system. We are determined to ensure that Metro is a safe and secure environment for our customers to travel on. We have already invested hugely in policing, extra security and new CCTV cameras and are working closely with the Northumbria Police and Crime Commissioner.
“This new campaign is really visible and demonstrates that we have an ongoing commitment to tackling issues of disorder and bad behaviour on our network. The new technology that we’ve had installed at our Gosforth control room is faster and more effective than the current text alert system. By texting us on 66777 you get through to the customer service desk straight away and the message appears immediately on their screen so it can be reviewed and the necessary action taken to support the person who has messaged us.
“It’s a system that we hope will give much greater confidence to customers that when they are travelling with us it’s really quick and easy to report something discreetly.”