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Safety

Approach

“The safety and security of our passengers, our people and the general public is an absolute priority. We continually strive to improve our already high safety performance.” Sir Patrick Brown, Chairman

Ensuring the safety and security of our passengers and employees, and helping to build safer local communities is an absolute priority for us.

In particular, we:

• have invested in the latest security technology for our vehicles and stations and we ensure that our employees are fully trained for security situations they may encounter.
• believe that taking a collaborative approach, where we work closely with community partners such as the police, local authorities and schools, is the most effective way to create a safer environment.

In this past year we have:

• increased the number of train stations with Secure Station Status. Such stations meet strict security criteria, including a reduction in crime rates and good station maintenance, including lighting and CCTV.
• achieved more Secure Stations accreditations. The scheme is managed by the Department for Transport (DfT) and British Transport Police (BTP).
• seen Southern’s Safer Travel Team make an instant impact, with 52 arrests made since the team was launched. The team, comprising Southern’s own Rail Neighbourhood Officers and British Transport Police Officers patrol the Southern network day and night responding to incidents, dealing with low-level crime and taking time to talk with passengers.
• launched Southern ‘Eyewitness’, which gives its 4,000 employees the chance to help reduce anti-social behaviour on the network by reporting incidents via a dedicated email address, monitored by the 24-hour CCTV centre and Safer Travel Team.
• set up a trial in Newcastle with CCTV cameras at bus stops to further improve the feeling of safety for our passengers is currently underway in partnership with Nexus, the Tyne and Wear Passenger Transport Executive.
• produced a unique training video called Accidents Can be Avoided, aimed at our 8,000 bus drivers and used as part of their Certificate of Professional Competence training. The video raises awareness of bus accidents and how to prevent them and illustrates the importance of efficient management of claim costs if an accident does occur.

The Group’s health and safety forum has met four times this year and is attended by senior health and safety managers from each of our businesses. It promotes health and safety best practice across the Group, develops common standards, shares lessons learnt from incidents and acts as a focal point for contact between Group companies. Health and safety audits are regularly made at our operating company sites. Recommendations made as a result of the audits are systematically followed up to ensure they have been actioned.