News item | 10-10-2025 | 08:00
Dark corners, empty spaces, poor lighting and little supervision: recognizable situations that can make stations feel unsafe. This is especially true at certain times such as in the evening and for certain groups of travelers, especially women. The government is therefore working together with NS and ProRail, among others, on a new program to improve social safety at stations. This is done through ‘Station deals’. The stations where the situation is most urgent are given priority. The government has made 20 million euros available for the new program.
State Secretary Thierry Aartsen (Public Transport and Environment): “You should be able to feel safe on public transport. It should be self-evident, but it is not always and not everywhere. Some travelers consciously avoid public transport because they feel unsafe at stations and are afraid of being harassed. We also see that public transport employees are more often physically and verbally threatened. That is unacceptable. The limit has been reached. Stations must be safe places are a nice place for both travelers and employees. We are now going to work hard on this to make public transport safer.”
Action plan
The government is presenting the Action Plan ‘A safe station; always for everyone!’ to improve social safety. This program looks at the station and the immediate surroundings of a station. The Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management, together with ProRail, involved carriers such as the NS and other stakeholders such as municipalities, wants to improve the situation at and around a number of specific stations. Which stations receive priority is determined based on the rating in the Station Experience Monitor, incident data, signals from employees and local input.
The aim is to conclude a ‘Station Deal’ for each of these priority stations. So customization. Such a deal could include measures such as more (camera) surveillance and a greater presence of BOAs or security teams at crucial places and times. The physical environment can also be addressed by, for example, better lighting on platforms, tunnels and approach routes. Or pruning away shrubs for a better view and shops that are open until late at night.
The government has made 20 million euros available for the implementation of the Station Deals, it was announced during Budget Day.
Number of incidents is increasing
In a recent study by the Knowledge Institute for Mobility Policy (KiM), 61% of regular public transport travelers indicated that they had felt unsafe on public transport in the past 12 months. The same research shows that for all modalities, including public transport, women more often feel socially unsafe. This hinders travelers, especially women, from using public transport, especially in the evening. On average, 55 stations scored lower than a 6 last year when asked whether people feel safe in the evening after 7 p.m. In 2023 there would still be 50. This conflicts with the principle that stations and public transport as a whole should be a safe place for everyone, at any time of the day.
When it comes to public transport employees, social safety is under pressure. The hardening of society is reflected in public transport: NS staff are confronted with aggression, threats or intimidation on average three times a day. The number of incidents of physical and verbal aggression against employees has increased by more than 60% since 2020. At stations, the number of incidents during ticket checks increased by almost a quarter last year.
The design of stations also determines how safe people feel. Dark corners, deserted platforms and poor lighting are factors that contribute to the feeling of insecurity. This mainly affects women, especially as soon as it gets dark. This requires more attention to the design of stations to prevent an unsafe feeling from arising.
Approach to social safety
The action plan fits into the existing approach of the Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management to improve safety in public transport. For example, ProRail provides more camera surveillance at stations. 12 million euros was also recently released for the use of body cameras by NS chief conductors. There is also discussion about the use (on a trial basis) of a short baton by NS conductors. Furthermore, the fine for fare evasion has increased by 40% as of October 1.
In addition, the powers of boas in public transport are being examined, to give them more options to determine the identity of people. For example, boas will have access to the driving license register from 2026. Pilots by the NS and the RET involving the sharing of information with the police show that this not only contributes to the professional deployment of boas, but also leads to better cooperation between boas and the police. In view of the positive results of the pilots, JenV and IenW are working together on the broad legal guarantee of this method.