To mention assault on 207 bus (Shepherds Bush, West London) this afternoon

[Tikitaka20]

Just wanted to post here about some antisocial behaviour I saw on the 207 bus going to Shepherds Bush. It happened between 4:40pm and 5:10pm - can’t remember exactly when. I’ve reported it to the Met Police online and told the bus driver.

Just reposting it here in case anyone was also there.

A female passenger on the bus top deck asked a male passenger to get his feet off the seats. He swore and shouted at her, calling her a bitch, and spat at her as she walked down the stairs to the bottom deck. He was really aggressive and it was quite scary. I witnessed it, as did several other passengers on the top deck.

Sadly I've learnt over the years if you confront people they may act with extreme aggression.

It's so annoying because it means you basically can't call out shitty behaviour in case they decide to stab you or cause some other scene.

Thanks @Buttercream101 - I totally agree. I don’t think I would have said anything, so I was silently applauding the woman when she spoke up. The man behaved disgustingly though. I hope the police find him and give him a good talking to.

I called out some guy on the central line late at night once for smoking a joint and stinking out the whole carriage. He went nuts and started yelling in my face. I thought oh well at least if anything happens there’ll be cameras to record it. He ended up kicking me hard in the shin when he got off the train a few stops later. When I reported it the next day (too late to do anything at the time and my station wasn’t manned) they said no, the central line didn’t have any cameras so not much anyone was able to do about it! The police officer advised me not to call anyone out in future for similar behaviour as it was such a big risk to myself. Couldn’t believe it.

Jesus, I’m really sorry. That’s awful. I’m shocked the Central line doesn’t have any cameras. I would’ve thought the underground would have at least one camera at each station.

I’m sorry?

I’m sure they do at most of the stations, but for some reason I assumed they’d have actual cameras on the trains too- but nope.

I’d have thought they’d have cameras on the trains too. I’m really sorry. Maybe they just have them on the newer trains e.g. Elizabeth line.

Ignore that poster. Just another moron assuming that all crime is committed by migrants.

not all just a likelihood based on per capita stats

Does it matter? A crime is still a crime, whoever the person is.

There was an article on the BBC a few weeks ago about the completely inadequate CCTV coverage on the tube and the effect of this on women's safety.

Awful behaviour. That sounds fairly nearby to us. Hope they do something about it.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cwy6746rydro

Right - thanks all. I’ve got my fingers crossed that something positive will come out of this awful situation and that the police will find the man responsible for assaulting the woman.

We need to all agree to stand up against this type of thing, the man could not have got away with it if other passengers literally stood up to him also.

100%. The other passengers did a great job of standing up to him. I wish I’d got a photo of him and of the bus number plate. I’ll remember that in case anything like this ever happens again, although I’m really hoping it won’t. Anyone know what are the chances of the police finding him?

I’ve just checked my phone photos and, luckily, have the details of the bus number plate in another photo I took.

I guess you can't exactly predict the level of aggression you'll get for confronting those who break the rules.

But ultimately they don't care much about society or how people see them else they wouldn't be disobeying perfectly reasonable rules in the first place. So someone like that is more likely to have zero filter when it comes to rudeness or even resorting to assault.

Basically I guess I feel like I kind of wish she hadn't said anything to him. That's awful isn't it? It almost sounds like victims blaming. But to be spat on is not worth a seat on a bus.

Being on edge on London public transport is my default settings these days. I am now planning to leave London because it just wears you down. There are dickheads everywhere but I am so over London because of it. Not transport, but on a bus looking out at a bus stop, saw someone trashing the front of a central London Tesco Express this morning. Kicking off, damaging the doors and security barriers.

I agree with you that you can’t predict the level of aggression you’ll get for challenging someone in these situations.

I feel awful that the woman was spat on and sworn at - that should never have happened.

However, I’m very very glad that the woman was brave enough to speak up to that man. Not only because it’s good civic behaviour but also because she and several other passengers witnessed the man’s subsequent behaviour.

Since I - and hopefully other passengers- reported his behaviour, I’m hoping he’ll be found by the police and cautioned. He should never have behaved as he did. But his behaviour on the bus - in full view of several passengers - suggests to me that he will behave worse in future. Given this, the woman’s bravery in calling him out has hopefully meant that he’ll be on the police’s radar now, should his behaviour escalate in future.

That’s awful - I’m sorry to hear it. I hope we don’t become like America, where public transport is often badly managed and not often used, partly because people see it as dangerous. I really want the London mayor to crack down on bad passenger behaviour.

Yeah you're right. It's just so sad really that people could spit at someone? I mean even just say 'no, piss off' and just don't do what they say if you wanna be an arsehole but spitting is assault and absolutely vile.

Let's hope he is caught. The cameras on busses are quite good now.

I totally agree. Spitting is so aggressive and invasive, isn’t it. I’m really hoping the police catch the man - I’ll try and keep you updated on this as much as I can. Out of curiosity, does anyone know how police go about trying to find suspects identified on cameras on public transport? I can’t imagine it’s easy.