Recently there have been two cases of Islamophobic abuse on London buses.

In the first case, a woman has been arrested for racist abuse.

In the second case, the man who was shouting abuse at the elderly, disabled Muslim has turned himself in to the Police.

MPACUK joined in a national campaign to contact Transport for London (TfL) and demand assurances from them that there will take better measures to ensure the safety of passengers in such instances and that current failings will be addressed.

MPACUK have now received a response from TfL:

Dear MPACUK,

Thank you for your email regarding the instance of racist abuse on board a route 206 bus. I have seen video footage of the incident. I am also aware of the incident on board a route 149 bus. Full investigations into both incidents are now underway.
 
I can assure you we do not tolerate any kind of threatening behaviour on our transport network. Passengers who use our services should be allowed to do so without fear of abuse and we are working closely with the operator of route 206 to fully investigate this incident.
 
Our bus drivers are trained to react to instances of abuse, physical or verbal, by gauging each situation and acting accordingly. Drivers can instantly contact the London Buses’ emergency command and control centre, CentreComm, from their cabins. CentreComm works side-by-side with the police 24 hours a days, seven days a week to monitor and support the bus network. This partnership has helped to reduce crime on the bus network to its lowest ever level.
 
We are currently working with the respective bus operators to understand any further steps the drivers could have taken to help manage these situations.
 
Finally, I can confirm a 36-year-old woman has been arrested and charged with causing racially aggravated intentional harassment following a police investigation and is to appear at magistrates’ court.
 
Thank you for bringing this regrettable incident to my attention.
 
Yours sincerely
Leon
 
Leon Daniels
Managing Director Surface Transport
Transport for London

MPACUK are now chasing this up to ensure that proper steps are taken to protect passengers from any type of abuse on London buses.

For MPACUK to be able to run more successful campaigns like this & tackle Islamophobia we need your help – please donate to MPACUK via this link: https://www.mpacuk.org/donations