THURROCK Council leader Cllr Andrew Jefferies has welcomed a cross council initiative that will see the appointment of transport safety officers across the south Essex region.

In collaboration with Southend City Council and Essex County Council, Thurrock Council is part of a Department for Transport pilot scheme that aims to improve safety on public transport across the two train lines across Essex on Greater Anglia and C2C.

The new Transport Safety Officers (TSO) will patrol targeted routes and locations, working in co-ordination with the British Transport Police and Essex Police. The officers will work to improve safety with an emphasis on engagement and education.

However, they will also hold the power to issue fixed penalty notices in response to certain antisocial behaviour offences such as disorder, smoking, littering and graffiti. The officers will also be providing visible reassurance regarding violence against women and girls.

A government statement says: "Front-line safety personnel will be rolled out on public transport in four English areas to help stamp out anti-social behaviour on buses, trains and trams.

"The new TSOs will patrol targeted routes and locations, working in co-ordination with local police forces and the British Transport Police. The officers will work to improve safety with an emphasis on engagement and education, however, they will also hold the power to issue fixed penalty notices in response to certain antisocial behaviour. 

"Following the successful implementation of a TSOscheme by Transport for West Midlands (TfWM), £2.5 million in funding from the Department for Transport (DfT) will see TSOs deployed in:

• Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole
• Lancashire
• Stoke-on-Trent
• Thurrock – in collaboration with Essex and Southend-on-Sea councils

"The pilots will allow local authorities to develop and implement approaches that react directly to the specific needs of their local area."

Cllr Jefferies, who is also portfolio holder for community safety, said: "This funding and these officers will help us ensure that public transport in the borough, and throughout Essex, is safe and free from anti-social behaviour.

"The officers will aim to engage and educate in the first instance but that will be backed by enforcement powers that mean they will be able to issue fixed penalty notices for certain types of anti-social behaviour.

"This pilot is welcome for the borough. We know that our community safety officers have had a real impact in tacking anti-social behaviour so I am pleased to see this scheme which will extend that to public transport to protect passengers as they go about their business."