By Don Mort, local democracy reporter
Bus users are being urged to report bad experiences after a worrying trend in women feeling unsafe travelling at night.
Transport bosses said people should report crime to the police and use an online service designed to highlight safety problems.
The West Yorkshire Combined Authority (WYCA) found just 41 per cent of female passengers felt safe travelling in the dark, compared to 68 per cent of men.
The survey figures, gathered between January-March this year, were discussed by Leeds councillors on Wednesday (Nov 27).
Coun Peter Carlill (Lab, Calverley & Farsley), deputy chair of WYCA’s Transport Committee, said the safety issues were not unique to the bus network.
He said: “I would say the safety of women and girls across all of society is something that hasn’t had enough focus over many decades.”
Councillors were told measures to boost safety included the online Bus Safety Feedback Tool.
Coun Carlill encouraged people to use the service. He said: “Anyone can report any issues they have with the bus network.”
Asghar Ali, Labour member for Gipton and Harehills, said: “This should surely have some serious alarm bells ringing for us.”
Overall, 54 per cent of passengers felt confident in their personal safety when using buses at night, WYCA found.
Darren Rushworth, regional officer for the Unite union, said drivers were also affected.
He said: “We have female drivers who don’t feel safe after dark driving buses. It is absolutely not about perceptions. It is 100 per cent real.”
The Infrastructure, Investment and Inclusive Growth scrutiny board was told separate figures showed 73 per cent of passengers were either very or fairly satisfied with their bus journey.
The West Yorkshire figure was beneath the 80 per cent England average, and was the lowest of 34 participating transport authorities.
The Bus Safety Feedback Tool can be found on the MCard app and here.