Train commuters terrorised by hooligans each week, says Transport Police chief

Commuting can be a pain, especially when you’re tired, the train or bus is packed, kids have music blasting from their phone and all you want to do is be home away from the noise and stress of the working day.

British Transport Police chief constable Paul Crowther has said the “casual thuggery” of sports hooligans has been disrupting travel for many commuters, which officials claim has caused 630 related incidents on UK transport networks during the 2015 season.

The London Evening Standard reports that Crowther revealed the BTP’s findings at a summit held to discuss solving these incidents.

He branded the thuggery “unacceptable” and said, “Sadly, this type of casual thuggery is occurring just about on a weekly basis on our trains – with a sizeable minority who are behaving in a threatening, loud and sometimes racist way to the great terror of people who are using the system to get about and do their day-to-day business.”

“We are in danger of saying those types of experiences are OK,” he added. “We are saying ‘Why do people think this is acceptable on trains?’ You don’t see this sort of behaviour on an aeroplane, for example.”

Representatives from football, the police and other groups attended the BTP summit to positively tackle the matter and discuss real change in this area. The attendees heard stories from everyday people who had witnessed train carriages being overrun by drunken sports fans, and others with young children who had to endure the constant swearing of passengers.

Liftshare is dismayed to see this kind of behaviour on public transport, and urges anyone who wants quieter, comfortable and safe commuting to consider car sharing with others. Not only is it cheaper than trains and other forms of public transport, our 430,000+ community is both friendly and keen to help the environment. Why not sign up today?