Revealed: Victoria’s most unsafe public transport areas

Commuters travelling on one major train line between the CBD and a popular suburb are most likely to be subject to criminal activity. Find out where.

The 2022 data shows where criminal activity has occurred the most in public transport areas of the state. Picture: Supplied

Commuters travelling between Dandenong and the city are most likely to be subject to criminal activity, new data has revealed.

Crime on and around public transport has increased by almost 41 per cent in the year ending December 2022 compared to pre-Covid levels, according to new data from the Crime Statistics Agency.

Greater Dandenong remains the local government area with the highest public transport crime rates outside of the CBD.

Melbourne’s CBD saw more than 1800 crime recorded around public transport last year, with Greater Dandenong close behind at 982 incidents.

The City of Brimbank in Melbourne’s west had 469 incidents, Frankston saw 423 crimes recorded around public transport and Maribyrnong came in fifth at 366 incidents.

Outside of the Melbourne metropolitan area, Greater Geelong had the highest public transport crime rate at 323 offences, followed by Greater Bendigo on 182, and the Latrobe Valley at 181.

The city of Ballarat had 130 crimes recorded while Baw Baw had 120.

Large regional towns such as Greater Shepparton had just 29 offences recorded for the year, Mildura 23, Wangaratta 21, Warrnambool 18 and Wodonga 15.

More than 60 per cent of all public transport crime occurred at train stations in the year ending December 2022, with a further 12 per cent taking place in train station car parks.

Overall, train related crime — that being on trains, rail tracks, at stations or in carparks — accounted for nearly 80 per cent of all public transport crime.

Crimes on buses and at bus stops accounted for 12 per cent of all incidents, with tram related crimes were just 5 per cent of the total.

In October last year, a teenager was stabbed after he tried to break up an alleged fight between his friend and a man outside a Dandenong bus stop.

Meanwhile, in June 2022, a man allegedly performed a sex act in front of a 17-year-old girl on a bus near Mordialloc.

And in May, a man allegedly attacked two women on a V/Line bus in Warrnambool.

A Public Transport Users Association (PTUA) spokesperson said while public transport was overall a very safe way to travel, personal safety was a genuine concern for some people.

“Travelling at night can be particularly intimidating, and is not helped by the typically longer waits at stops after dark,” the spokesperson said.

“Authorities must do more to improve safety, including more CCTV, more staff on the system, better intercom systems to call for help when needed, and more frequent services to help attract more passengers onto the system.

“Ultimately, everyone has a right to feel safe and be safe when they use public transport.”

Data statistics of criminal activity on buses and at bus stops has also seen an increase in 2022. Picture: Supplied

Crime Stoppers Victoria chief executive Stella Smith said everyone can play a role in keeping our public transport network safe.

“If you see someone behaving suspiciously or illegally while travelling on public transport, you can always share this information anonymously with Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or crimestoppersvic.com.au,” Ms Smith said.

“If you are in need of immediate police assistance, contact triple-0.

“Every report to Crime Stoppers helps to create a safer Victoria.”

She said it is important to note while each new piece of information Crime Stoppers receive can help police investigations, you should never put yourself at risk.

“Your safety always comes first,” Ms Smith said.

Victorian Taxi Association director Peter Valentine recommended passengers should never negotiate fares and always use the metre to avoid confusion and arguments.

He said all taxis have cameras and if any passenger hops into a vehicle where there is no metre, cameras or a driver in uniform, it could be just anyone trying to drive them around which is a safety concern.

“All cars are supposed to by law and legislation have cameras — the driver’s photo ID from the government should also be displayed — if there’s no photo ID you might start to query to whether this is a legitimate trip or not,” Mr Valentine said.

“We had a lady hop in a car and rang us about two weeks ago, she’s got a vision impairment and she got in a cab at Southern Cross Station — well she thought she did.

“She handed over her multipurpose taxi card — the government half price card — and the driver said sorry I can’t take you I don’t have that equipment.”

Mr Valentine said that it was either the driver was not legitimate or the woman didn’t get in an actual taxi.

Multiple attacks and assault have taken place on many public services in Victoria. Picture: Supplied

Mr Valentine added many taxi drivers faced criminal activity from the public and there were ways they could stay safe doing their job.

“We teach our drivers to be wary of situations and to be street smart, to always greet and to always be nice,” he said.

“Where possible, drivers are allowed to ask for prepayment or payment upfront — that helps, even if it’s not quite right.

“If you know you’re in trouble, just drop them off and let them go whenever you can — don’t worry about being paid because the trouble they’re going to cause you if they start arguing, fighting, kicking and scratching either to you or if they get out of the car and kick the door — is not worth the effort and the issue.”

Mr Valentine said taxi drivers were told not to park in “desolate” positions and to ensure they were parked in a well-lit location such as a rank, out the front of a cinema or elsewhere.

“Don’t go parking in a shopping centre that’s not open for a while — because 50 per cent of those people around those areas are going to be a bit cagey and strange,” he said.

Of the crime committed in taxis, 14 per cent took place in the CBD in the year ending December 2022, with a further 10 per cent committed in Port Phillip.

“The biggest problems are in the city — however there was one in Sale in Gippsland a couple of weeks ago,” he said.

“We believe there should be 20 (enforcement officers) at least in the city at any one time in Melbourne, night-time and daytime.

“That’s what it takes and that’s what it needs — deregulation has brought with it this element of unsafe transport — and with the lack of officers and enforcement these drivers are going to run around and do what they like.”

The Department of Transport was contacted for comment.