Arriva securing safety on Dewsbury buses

Arriva has installed over 600 CCTV cameras on Dewsbury buses inorder to combat vandalism and to give passengers peace of mind whentravelling throughout Kirklees.

The very latest CCTV technology has been installed on all 85buses operating in the Kirklees area. Arriva and Metro joint fundedthe project, investing a total of £300,000 in the newtechnology.

The system monitors activity 24-hours a day and its camerasprovide top quality playback. The cameras have a running time of 28days and can be accessed at the central control room at theDewsbury Depot. Phil Stone, managing director of Arriva Yorkshire,said:

Safety is central to everything we do at Arriva andwhile buses are one of the safest forms of travel, we're aware thatconcerns about personal safety can be one of the barriers to usingpublic transport.

Phil Stone added:

We expect the benefits will be a reduction in vandalismincidents, anti-social behaviour, assaults, accidents andfraudulent insurance claims. We want to make travelling by bussafer, more convenient and a better experience for all ourcustomers, potential customers and employees – this technology willplay a key part in helping us to deliver this.

Employees at the central control room are working closely withthe police who have already found the system useful in the fightagainst crime.

Almost a quarter of Arriva's buses throughout the UK are nowfitted with CCTV, and Arriva plans to fit all of its UK buses– some 6,000 – with the system over the next fouryears.