Hate Crime Charter: Supporters
The following organisations and transport providers have pledged their support to the National Hate Crime Charter:
Aberdeen Taxis
Aerial ABW Cabs
All The Fives
British Transport Police
CalMac Ferries
Capital Cars
Community Transport Association
Confederation of Passenger Transport
Disability Equality Scotland
First Bus
GlasGo Cars
Inverness Taxis
Lothian
McGill’s Bus Services
Mobility and Access Committee for Scotland (MACS)
People First (Scotland)
Police Scotland
ScotRail
Serco NorthLink Ferries
SEStran
SPT
Stagecoach
Transport Scotland
West Lothian & County Private Hire
ZetTrans
Pledge Your Support
We want to encourage transport providers across Scotland to support the Hate Crime Charter. Please complete our contact form so we can share further details on how you can get involved.
Supporting Statements
British Transport Police
Barry Boffy, Head of Inclusion and Diversity: “We’re proud to stand alongside Transport Scotland and all of the partner agencies who have come together to develop this Hate Crime Charter. The launch of this Charter is further evidence of our shared commitment to ensuring public transport that meets the needs of all passengers and staff – and is an environment free from hate and intolerance.
At British Transport Police, we firmly believe that everyone should be treated with dignity and respect and have the confidence to work or travel on public transport free from fear, harassment, intimidation or persecution.
“This Charter is a pledge to not only those who live and work in Scotland, but all those who choose to visit this incredibly diverse and vibrant part of the UK. We Stand Together with you.”
Disability Equality Scotland
Emma Scott, Operations Manager: “Our public consultations indicated that people would rather travel on a service that shows its commitment to tackling hate crime, than not. This Charter providers clear and common standards for challenging hate crime, encouraging reporting with the overall aim of prevention of hate crime incidents on the public transport network. We are delighted so many transport partners are engaged in this process which will help everyone feel comfortable and safe to travel and will play a part in encouraging people back onto public transport in Scotland.”
FirstBus
Graeme Macfarlan, Commercial Director for Scotland: “All passengers have the right to travel on our services without being targeted simply for who they are, and our drivers are trained and equipped to deal with any potential on-board situations. The Hate Crime Charter gives a clear message to passengers that operators won’t tolerate any form of inappropriate behaviour. We’re therefore proud to be involved in the charter and its objectives to increase confidence among public transport users alongside the support that it charter offers everyone.”
Mobility and Access Committee for Scotland (MACS)
Linda Bamford, National Convener of MACS: “Everyone has the right to travel safely and without fear. MACS are proud to stand alongside other organisations to support the hate crime charter. Please be an active bystander. If you notice inappropriate or threatening behaviour towards a disabled person, do something! Call it out or call for help. Let’s keep each other safe.”
People First (Scotland)
Keith Lynch, Chairperson: Hate crime on public transport has a significant and damaging impact on the lives of many people with learning disabilities. We hope that the Hate Crime Charter will send a message that it is not okay to abuse people with a learning disability on public transport and that transport providers will not tolerate this kind of behaviour. We also hope that it will help change attitudes among the general public and other passengers and encourage them to report hate crime when they witness it.
Police Scotland
Assistant Chief Constable Gary Ritchie (Partnerships, Preventions and Community Wellbeing): “There is never a justifiable reason to target another person, and hate crime is a despicable offence, and one which I hope is increasingly viewed with a zero tolerance approach in our communities.
“Hate crime is an historically under-reported issue, and we can only establish the true scale of this type of offence if people give us the opportunity to address the incidents they’ve experienced. I very much hope this charter this will encourage anyone who’s been a victim – or a witness – to hate crime, either on our transport network or elsewhere, to report it by calling 101, or 999 in an emergency, or through our third party reporting partners, who are listed on the Police Scotland website.”
ScotRail
Alex Hynes, Managing Director of Scotland’s Railway: “Everyone has the right to travel safely. Hate crime has no place in society and certainly not on Scotland’s Railway.
“It is a cowardly and disgraceful way of targeting someone on the grounds of their disability, race, religion or sexual orientation.
“ScotRail is proud to be one of the first transport providers to sign up to the Hate Crime Charter and we will do all we can to help outlaw this despicable offence.”
SEStran
Jim Grieve, SEStran Partnership Director: “SEStran welcomes the launch of the Hate Crime Charter, because everyone should feel safe to use public transport. The Charter sends a strong message that we do not tolerate hate crime on public transport, or indeed in any walk of life, and encourages everyone to report such incidents. Together we can achieve a more inclusive transport system.”
SPT
Valerie Davidson, SPT Chief Executive: “SPT is proud to support the Hate Crime Charter and to work with so many organisations and transport providers to tackle this issue. Everyone in society has the right to travel on public transport without fear or intimidation. The Charter sends a clear message that we do not tolerate any form of hate crime on public transport, and we encourage anyone who has been affected by a hate crime to report it.”
Stagecoach
Douglas Robertson, Managing Director, Stagecoach East Scotland: “We are delighted to be involved in the Hate Crime Charter and believe it is a positive step in tackling hate crime. We do not condone any behaviour of this manner, on or off our services and will continue to work with partners to ensure all our customers and staff are treated fairly and with respect. We look forward to seeing how this progresses over the coming months.”