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General Overview

Type of stakeholder

EICS Framework

Region of Reference

Africa
Asia
Australia
Europe
North-America
South-America
World

Description

This intervention refers to the introduction of background checks for all current and future public transport drivers and personnel. Background checks are important in ensuring that the appropriate person is hired for the job and that they have the required qualifications, verified personal details and history, and no criminal record. [2,3]

By not conducting thorough background checks, potential offenders are given access to positions of power (e.g., bus driver, train station security guard) within the public transport system, creating opportunities for them to harass and assault passengers and users of the system. [1,3]

Facts/Illustrations/Case studies

Source: https://www.monster.com/career-advice/article/most-likely-to-fail-background-checks

Types of Impact

To/from the stop/station/rank✕
Waiting for train/bus/paratransit✓
In the vehicle✓
At interchanges✓

This intervention would impact all areas except travelling to/from the stop/station. This intervention would impact public transport drivers, operators, security guards, and other personnel that work at public transport stops/stations or onboard the vehicles.

Day-time travel✓
Night-time travel✓
Peak-time travel✓
Off peak-time travel✓

All travel time categories would be positively impacted by this intervention.

Bus✓
Train✓
Rideshare✓
4 wheelers informal✓
3 wheelers informal✓
2 wheelers informal✓
Cycling✕
Walking✕

Modes with formal hiring processes and operations will be impacted by this intervention.

Girls✓
Boys✓
Adult Women✓
Men✓
Elderly Women✓
LGBTQI+✓

All public transport users could be positively impacted by this intervention, as safe and qualified drivers and personnel protects all passengers. However, literature shows that women experience sexual harassment more than men, so more women are likely to gain benefit from this intervention. [4,5]

Resources

Monetary Resource Requirements
The capital costs and operational costs of this intervention are low. The costs include the training of staff to conduct background checks and the necessary technology, and the salaries of said staff.
Capital Cost Requirements Operational Cost Requirements
Non-Monetary Resource Requirements
This intervention requires some skills and time to implement, as staff need to be trained on how to conduct background checks. There will also be some political will needed, as problems may arise with privacy concerns.
Skills Time Political Will

SWOT Analysis

Reduces the potential for crime committed by public transport personnel.
Increases the feeling of safety for passengers if they know that personnel are qualified and trustworthy.

Not effective in parts of the transport system where the intervention is not implemented.

To ensure that all drivers and other personnel are qualified and safe, therefore limiting sexual harassment.
Rewarding good behaviour by improving access to job opportunities for upstanding citizens

No database or a poor database from which to draw information for these checks will either prevent them from happening or make the results unreliable.

Effectiveness

Passengers, especially females, feel safer when they know that their public transport drivers and personnel are qualified, and safe, and won’t harass or assault them. [3] As there is little literature to support this, confidence in these ratings is weak.

Perception by (female) passengers
Perception by governing bodies
Level of confidence in these ratings

Implementation

Implementation of this intervention is relatively quick. Once training of the staff has been completed and the relevant data acquired, all drivers and personnel can have background checks done on them. The benefits ensue immediately once the intervention has been implemented. Unfortunately, if the intervention ends, all new employees won’t have a background check, which opens up the potential for undesirable people to be employed.

Implementation timeframe

0-1 year✓
1-3 years✕
>3 years✕

Timeframe to realise benefits

0-1 year✓
1-3 years✓
>3 years✓

Scale of Implementation

This intervention can be implemented at all levels.

National

Regional

City

Station or
Suburb

Ease of Implementation

This intervention is relatively easy to implement, although unwinding the employment of a current employee that fails a background check might be difficult and time-consuming.

List of References

Asia

1. Batra, K. 2018. Transporting metropolitanism: Road-mapping feminist solutions to sexual violence in Delhi. Journal of Postcolonial Writing. 54(3):387–397. DOI: 10.1080/17449855.2018.1461979.

2. Tripathi, K., Borrion, H. & Belur, J. 2017. Sexual harassment of students on public transport: An exploratory study in Lucknow, India. Crime Prevention and Community Safety. 19(3–4):240–250. DOI: 10.1057/s41300-017-0029-0.

3. Mondol, M.S.M.G.M. 2019. INVESTIGATING WOMEN’S SAFETY IN NEW DELHI’S URBAN TRANSPORT SYSTEMS. International Journal of Social Science and Economic Research. 04(03):2792–2806. www.ijsser.org [2022, January 24].

Europe

4. Gekoski, A., Gray, J., Horvath, M.A.H., Edwards, S., Emirali, A. & Adler, J.R. 2015. What works’ in reducing sexual harassment and sexual offences on public transport nationally and internationally: a rapid evidence assessment. [2022, January 11].

5. Kearl, H. 2018. A National Study on Sexual Harassment and Assault. Virginia, United States.

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