Transport leaders in London have convened an urgent summit to address growing concerns about violence, abuse and intimidation faced by staff working across the capital’s transport network.
The meeting, organised by the Transport for London (TfL) and led by the Sadiq Khan, Mayor of London, brought together senior transport officials, frontline workers, police representatives and trade unions. The goal: confront the rising hostility toward transport workers and develop stronger protections for those keeping London moving.
The 2026 Work-related Violence and Aggression (WVA) Summit gave staff and unions a platform to share firsthand experiences from the front line. Officials say those insights will help shape a new five-year strategy aimed at significantly improving safety for employees across the network.
“No one should have to clock in and brace for abuse,” the Mayor said in his keynote address, stressing that protecting transport workers must remain a top priority. “We can, and will, solve it together.”
London’s Transport Commissioner Andy Lord reinforced the message, stating that TfL will not tolerate violence or aggression in the workplace.
“Every member of our workforce deserves to feel safe, respected and supported as they carry out the essential job of keeping London moving,” Lord said. “While we’ve made progress in reducing the most serious incidents, the rising hostility and hate seen across society shows we cannot become complacent.”
Violence levels remain high despite progress
TfL’s data shows the scale of the challenge. Workplace violence and aggression incidents across the network have remained stubbornly high in recent years, with around 10,500 incidents recorded in 2023/24 and an estimated 10,800 expected in 2025/26.
There have been some positive signs. Physical assaults against directly employed TfL staff dropped 12.6 percent, falling from 957 incidents in 2023/24 to 836 in 2024/25.
Overall incidents reported by TfL employees have also fallen significantly this year. By this point in 2023/24, 4,333 incidents had been reported; the figure currently stands at 3,317 in the 2025/26 financial year, a decline of roughly 23 percent.
However, the picture is far more troubling for bus drivers and rail operating staff. Reports of violence and aggression against these workers have risen by 28 percent compared with two years ago. Incidents increased from 4,576 at this stage in 2023/24 to 5,856 this year, highlighting persistent safety concerns on parts of the network.
Hate-related incidents rising
TfL officials say abuse directed at transport staff increasingly includes elements of hate crime. The proportion of incidents involving hate-related behaviour almost doubled from 7 percent in December 2024 to 13 percent in December 2025.
Despite significant investments in security — including expanded CCTV coverage, widespread use of body-worn cameras and stronger policing partnerships — many transport workers continue to face threats, harassment and intimidation while on duty.
Fare disputes and antisocial behaviour major triggers
According to TfL, the most common causes of confrontations with staff remain fare evasion, ticket disputes and wider antisocial behaviour.
The organisation has stepped up enforcement efforts in response. More than 500 revenue protection officers operate daily across the network, issuing over 52,000 penalty fares and reporting more than 15,000 passengers for possible prosecution so far this financial year.
Those efforts appear to be having some effect: the overall fare-evasion rate across the TfL network has dropped from 3.8 percent in 2023/24 to 3.5 percent.
Expanding enforcement and police presence
TfL says visible enforcement remains key to deterring crime and reassuring both passengers and staff. The organisation works closely with the Metropolitan Police Service and the British Transport Police to tackle disorder across stations, trains and buses.
Alongside those forces, TfL operates its own Transport Support and Enforcement (TSE) team of around 300 officers, trained to deal with conflict, antisocial behaviour and byelaw enforcement.
Additional late-night enforcement teams were introduced in 2024, and TfL plans to recruit 100 more officers this year to strengthen coverage during high-risk periods.
New five-year safety strategy in development
The summit also reviewed progress made since TfL launched its first network-wide violence and aggression strategy in 2020. Officials say the new strategy being developed will build on lessons learned over the past five years and introduce stronger collaborative approaches across the organisation and its partners.
For transport leaders, the message from the summit was clear: while improvements have been made, violence and abuse directed at staff remain unacceptably high.
And as London’s transport network continues to carry millions of passengers every day, ensuring the safety of those who operate it is becoming an increasingly urgent priority.
London's Transport Commissioner, Andy Lord, said: "Every member of our workforce deserves to feel safe, respected and supported as they carry out the essential job of keeping London moving. While we've made real progress in reducing the most harmful forms of violence and aggression, the rising levels of hostility and hate across society make clear that we cannot be complacent. Today's summit is about strengthening our shared determination, across TfL, our Trade Unions and the police, to build on the improvements we have achieved and to focus relentlessly on safety and protection for our people."
The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, said: "Violence and aggression towards anyone at work is completely unacceptable, and we must have zero tolerance for this on London's transport network. Everyone has the right to work without fear of being assaulted, abused or threatened, and I'm determined to stamp out these harmful and traumatic incidents. Today's summit reaffirms our commitment to eliminating work-related violence and aggression, while setting out further decisive action to protect all those who do vital work every day to keep the capital moving, as we continue building a safer London for everyone."
BTP Deputy Chief Constable Stuart Cundy said: "Nobody should be subjected to violence or abuse on the railway network, especially staff who are simply doing their job. Just one report of an offence against rail workers is one too many. Today's summit reaffirms our commitment alongside TfL to ensuring those who serve passengers feel safe when doing so.
"Our teams of uniformed and plain clothes officers are out on the London railway day in and day out to protect everyone on the network and deter offending. Anyone who witnesses or experiences violence and intimidation on the railway is urged to report it to us by texting 61016. We take every report seriously and will act immediately to trace and arrest offenders."Photo by Fortek67, Wikimedia commons.