This summer we’ve already seen warnings in Nottingham about youths risking their lives by hanging onto moving trams and now as part of a crackdown in Manchester, eight people have been arrested after being caught riding on coupling units on trams in the city centre.
The eight have been charged with public order offences and other criminal offences after they were caught on Monday 23rd June.
Between January and May this year there have been 108 reported incidents of people holding onto the back of buses or riding on automatic couplers between trams. This is more than the whole of 2024 when there were only 80 reports. All buses and trams are fitted with CCTV cameras and footage of these incidents is being shared through the TravelSafe Partnership. High resolution dashcams are being installed on trams to help identify offenders.
Daniel Vaughan, TfGM’s Chief Network Officer, said: “We are aware of a worrying rise in reports – here and elsewhere in the country – of people, mostly youths, riding between trams and hanging off the back of buses, with footage of these reckless incidents circulating on social media.
“This incredibly dangerous behaviour could have catastrophic consequences, and these arrests demonstrate our zero-tolerance approach to crime and antisocial behaviour on public transport.
“Unfortunately, we have seen people die as a result of falling between trams having climbed onto an auto coupler, and we want to prevent this from happening again.
“We would urge parents and guardians to speak to their children about the dangers of participating in this kind of behaviour and for schools to highlight the danger to pupils. Anyone caught in engaging in dangerous activities are not only taking their own lives in their hands, but they will also face very real consequences when they are caught.”