Since the start of the year drivers of Prague Transport Company (DPP) have turned to the police on 532 occasions. 13 drivers have been physically attacked.
Watching over public transport
Prague City Police have a specialized division which watches over the safety of public transport, which is the responsibility of 231 police officers. These are on constant duty in Metro stations. Police officers also assist in closing Metro stations and checking night-time tram and bus services. “In the first quarter of this year almost 10,000 people were checked, 14 wanted people were detained, 1,252 minor public order offenses were dealt with, 123 hypodermic syringes were confiscated along with a further 300 items of drug-related/infectious material,” said public transport director Eduard Šuster.
Silent-call emergency button
Public transport drivers have the use of an emergency button with which they can call help at any time. They don’t have to say anything, the system pinpoints their location and dispatches either officers from the specialised division or the nearest police patrol. “Police officers are usually on the scene within four to five minutes,” says Šuster.
What form do attacks take?
A typical case in which a public transport driver uses the emergency button to call for help was seen on 8th May when three people injured a bus driver. Police officers arrived a few moments after the attack and were able to trace the three attackers to a nearby hostel. Thanks to the emergency button many similar incidents are avoided. Attacks usually escalate, going from verbal abuse to physical attack, so drivers often sense when the storm is coming and tend to press the button before anything serious happens.
Not only attacks
According to Prague City Police, public transport drivers use the emergency button about five times a day. “It isn’t always because of an attack. It can be a case of sudden illness, a problem between passengers or something similar,” said police spokeswoman Jana Přikrylová.