A trade union representing bus drivers has called on the Scottish Government to hold a summit as concerns grow about their safety on the job.

It comes as more than 80% of drivers say the level of abuse at work has increased over the past 12 months.

Unite launched the survey in a bid to improve bus driver safety in the aftermath of Keith Rollinson’s death after he was assaulted at his place of work in Elgin in February this year.

Last month a 16-year-old boy admitted killing the 58-year-old, who suffered a cardiac arrest after being headbutted and punched by the teenager. Sentencing was deferred until next week.

The union has been campaigning for change and has called on the Scottish Government to hold a public transport safety summit involving all key stakeholders including unions, bus companies, transport bodies, local authorities and the police.

The survey involved 1,100 bus drivers across Scotland and it found historic high levels of abuse and major concerns about safety on public transport.

As well as 84% of respondents saying the number of instances of abuse at work had increased, 83% say it was verbal while 16% suggest it was physical abuse.

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A further 1% revealed they had been victims of a sexual assault while working.

One female respondent said: “Being a female, I find it challenging to drive late evenings on weekends when folk are drunk. They can stand, stare at you or start to try to touch or to have a conversation by telling you how beautiful you are etc, which makes me feel very uncomfortable.”

“I have been the subject of physical abuse twice and racial abuse twice… I have twice had to protect and defend myself from assault.”

Another added: “Being a female driver, I find I get more abuse given than my male counterparts…I’ve been threatened with being stabbed multiple times and on one occasion threatened with rape.

“I’m at the stage now where if there’s a large group of teens waiting at a bus stop, I won’t stop because I know it’s just going to be trouble from the get go.”

Many of them say the abuse suffered wasn’t reported to the police, with 48% not reporting it to their employer.

69 of drive%rs who reported an abuse incident say they were dissatisfied with the response they received from their employer’s response.  

Unite is demanding that its 'Road Map to Safety' is implemented which would introduce a set of minimum safety measures aimed at discouraging anti-social and violent behaviour on buses.

The road map includes increasing the presence of police officers or community wardens on buses, CCTV coverage on buses and at bus stations, panic buttons and other enhanced safety features installed on buses including internal locking systems.

Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “Urgent measures must be taken to address the staggering level of abuse being suffered by bus drivers. In no way is this acceptable. Unite members will not tolerate abuse any longer.

 “The Scottish Government has to step up and step in to ensure our members feel safe at work. A do nothing response is not an option.

“Unite is working with its members to explore all options to ensure endemic workplace abuse is tackled in the workplace.”

The union has repeatedly called for stronger legislative measures to be enacted to protect bus drivers either through new legislation or by amending the Emergency Workers (Scotland) Act 2005.

It has highlighted that anti-social behaviour has been widespread for years on buses and that the problem pre-exists the extension of the bus travel scheme. However, bus drivers are reporting that the rate of incidents has increased with the scheme’s extension.

Unite Scottish Secretary Derek Thomson said: “A public transport safety summit involving all key stakeholders needs to happen as a first step. This is a national public safety issue affecting drivers and passengers.” 

“We need legislation, without delay, which addresses this wave of anti-social behaviour and violence towards bus workers because as each day passes drivers are being put at risk.”

A Transport Scotland spokesperson said: “We have the greatest sympathy for bus drivers who are at the sharp end of antisocial behaviour from a small minority of bus passengers. Everyone should be able to go to their work without fear of abuse.

"That’s why the Cabinet Secretary for Transport met Unite representatives last month to discuss the safety of bus drivers and confirmed that she is committed to ensuring a full range of options are available to support the police, local authorities and bus operators to tackle this issue.

“The vast majority of passengers travelling by bus behave appropriately, including people of all ages using their free bus entitlement to travel. None of this would be possible without bus drivers keeping communities connected.

"However, there is a minority of people, of all ages, who abuse their entitlement, including to commit offences, and which can result in serious harm to bus employees and passengers. That is simply not acceptable.

“Bus operators can already restrict access to their services in line with their own conditions of carriage and we are working with operators, unions and other stakeholders, to develop further sanctions and preventative measures. This includes development of a new behaviour code for passengers and a process for temporary suspension of concessionary travel cards.”

Paul White, director of CPT Scotland, which represents the bus companies in Scotland, added: “CPT is working with Transport Scotland, operator members, Unite, and other stakeholders to ensure that a full and effective range of preventative measures and sanctions are in place to tackle antisocial behaviour on the bus network and bring about positive changes for the benefit of staff and passengers.

“This is a complex issue, involving Ministerial responsibilities across Transport, Justice and Education. We hope the upcoming findings and recommendations of the Scottish Government’s Independent Working Group on Antisocial Behaviour reflects the concerns raised, and solutions proposed by the bus sector.

“CPT bus operator members always have the safety of staff and customers as their priority with safety measures and deterrents deployed on buses operating throughout Scotland. Where criminal acts have taken place and are reported, these are also reported to the police to action. Where incidents are linked to the scheme offering free bus travel for under 22s, we would like to see sanctions such as the suspension or removal of the right to free travel.

“As Unite highlight, antisocial behaviour incidents have a marked impact on bus drivers and other frontline staff. Additionally, communities may lose vital local services that cannot be run due to operators taking action to protect staff. Vulnerable passengers may become isolated if they feel unsafe travelling on public transport."