Nearly one in ten travellers occasionally shun public transport for safety reasons

Nearly one tenth of Dutch public transport users occasionally feel so unsafe that they opt for an alternative or prefer to stay at home. This most frequently occurs in Rotterdam and The Hague.

Women in particular tend to shun public transport

Early this year, 9 percent of travellers indicated they occasionally shunned public transport because they felt unsafe. In 2 percent of cases, people regularly felt unsafe. These figures have hardly changed in recent years.

Women in particular frequently feel unsafe in public transport: for more than 13 percent of them this is a reason to opt for an alternative or not go out at all. Men are less bothered: only 5 percent of them sometimes refrain from travelling by underground, tram, train or bus for safety reasons.

Travellers shunning public transport for safety reasons, 2008

Feelings of insecurity common in Rotterdam and The Hague regions

Feelings of insecurity were most common in the regions of Rotterdam-Rijnmond and Haaglanden. Nearly 20 percent indicated they less often used the public transport system for this reason. With 14 percent, this proportion is also relatively high in the Amsterdam-Amstelland region.

In the northeast and south of the Netherlands, passengers feel relatively safe. In regions like Groningen, Drenthe and southeast Brabant, less than 5 percent of public transport passengers refrain from travelling by train or bus because they do not feel safe.

Travellers shunning public transport for safety reasons by police district, 2008

Carin Reep