Gewaltbetroffenheit der Beschäftigten im öffentlichen Personenverkehr und ihre Folgen

There are various indications that employees in local and long-distance transport are regularly and increasingly insulted, threatened or physically attacked. To investigate the extent of violence against employees in the transport sector and possible approaches to action, both transport companies and employees in public transport were surveyed about their experiences of violence as well as existing prevention and aftercare measures as part of two standardised online surveys. The aim was to create a scientific basis for the development of sustainable and differentiated strategies for dealing with violence against employees in public transport. The study was based on a broad concept of violence that includes both verbal and physical violence. However, only violence committed by third parties (e.g. customers) against employees of transport companies was considered.

A total of 1030 employees and 36 transport companies participated in the survey. A key finding was that 40% of employees had experienced violence—primarily insults and threats—within one year. However, two thirds of the incidents of violence experienced were not reported. Even though various preventative measures have been taken by the transport companies, employees were very dissatisfied with the support received after such an incident.

Practical Relevance: So far, there are hardly any studies that take a closer look at the extent of violent assaults in public transport that are not reported by employees. For this reason, the article empirically examines the number of unreported violent assaults and the reasons why employees in public transport do not report violent experiences. In addition, statements can be made on the prevalence and the cost-benefit balance of prevention and aftercare measures. This makes it possible to identify starting points for improving the protection of employees in public transport against violent assaults.