A campaign has been launched to encourage Londoners to “become a friend” to fellow passengers being harassed on the capital’s public transport network.
A hard-hitting film showing real-life examples of people being targeted on the bus, Tube and train platform is being shown from Monday in cinemas and on TV.
Transport for London wants to encourage passengers to become “active bystanders” and use distraction techniques to help victims, or to offer support and information about what they have witnessed in the immediate aftermath of an incident.
TfL’s customer director Emma Strain said the aim was to “encourage customers to act like a friend” and know how to de-escalate threatening situations.
A total of 679 hate crimes – the vast majority based on the victim’s race, religion or sexual orientation - were reported to the police in the first half of 2025.
Over the same period, 500 sexual offences and 271 cases of sexual harassment were also reported to the authorities.
TfL says the overall crime rate on its services is “very low”, at 13.5 crimes reported for every million journeys.
However, in the two years between 2022/23 and 2024/25, reports of sexual offences or harassment on the TfL network increased by 14 per cent, from 1,675 to 1,910 incidents. Over the same period, there was a nine per cent in passenger numbers.
Of the offences recorded in 2024/25, 929 were on the Tube, 777 on buses, 100 on the Elizabeth line, 65 on the London Overground, 29 on the DLR and 10 on the Croydon tram.
Siwan Hayward, TfL's director of security policing enforcement, said: “This campaign speaks to the very heart of our mission at TfL. We want every journey that is made in London to not only be safe but to feel safe.
“Every day, millions of journeys are made that are utterly forgettable and go without any incident at all.
“But we also know that, for many women and girls, and those in marginalised communities, it doesn’t always feel that way.”
TfL is aware that sexual predators will target the Tube but says it is committed to making the transport network a “hostile place” for offenders.
More than 2,000 police and police community support officers and 500 TfL enforcement officers patrol the network.
TfL was unable to say how many of the crimes reported this year had resulted in arrests.
Ms Hayward admitted the crime statistics were “sobering” and “incomplete” and added: “These statistics don’t tell the full story. Many victims, many of those targeted, never come forward.”
She added: “There is a really significant ‘ripple effect’. If you witness crime or anti-social behaviour, that is going to impact on you, on wider communities, and contribute to fear of crime and fear of making journeys.”
She said victims found their experience was worsened by the decision of bystanders not to intervene.
TfL hopes its campaign will provide other passengers with the skills and confidence to “de-escalate” threatening situations and become “active bystanders” – as long as they don’t put themselves at risk.
Ms Hayward said: “Being an active bystander does not mean policing the network. It does not mean confronting the offender and putting yourself at risk – we strongly discourage that.
“What it does mean is recognising when something isn’t right and choosing some very simple, safe and supportive ways to support the individual being targeted.
“These small actions send a really powerful message about the standard and behaviours we expect on our network, and that those hateful, vile offences that we do see are categorically not accepted.
“It also helps the victim to feel that they are not alone, and that the offenders know that they are being watched. It’s about building a culture where passengers choose to support rather than sitting in silence.”
How to 'act like a friend' on public transport
- Strike up a conversation with the person being targeted, ignoring the perpetrator if it is safe to do so. Speaking directly to the victim can provide a distraction and help defuse the situation
- Make a note of what is happening, (what line, station, bus number or Tube/train carriage number), what time it is, what the perpetrator looks like, what they're wearing and any other important details.
- Reporting what a person witnesses helps with the investigation and can stop it happening to someone else. Use these details to report what's happened. For Tube and rail, text British Transport Police on 61016. On buses call the Metropolitan Police on 101 or online at met.police.uk. In an emergency or if the suspect is still on scene, customers should call 999.
- Check whether the victim is OK. Assure them that what happened isn't OK, offer them support and let them know that you will report the incident too. This can make them feel less isolated and more confident to report it themselves.
- Speak to a member of TfL staff for help. Directly challenging the offender about their behaviour is risky and people need to assess the situation very carefully before speaking up.
The initiative coincides with National Hate Crime Awareness Week, when TfL will hold awareness-raising events at Edmonton and Stratford bus stations, London Bridge Tube station and Euston and Waterloo train stations.
Detective Chief Inspector Nia Mellor, of the British Transport Police, said efforts were being made to make it easier to report crime.
“We still recognise there is a huge issue around under-reporting, particularly sexual harassment and sexual offences,” she said.
She said the increase in hate crime “does tend to correlate with world events”.
She said: “There is no better time for us to be coming together in London and looking out for each other, and looking out for those behaviours that are not to be tolerated.”
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