THE tram network in Oldham continues to be hit by yobs causing crime and anti-social behaviour, a report has found.

A Metrolink Service Performance Report, prepared by Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM), revealed there were more criminal damage incidents from mid-November to early February on the Oldham to Rochdale line than any other in the region.

Bus shelters in Failsworth being damaged also remains a problem, according to the document.

TfGM’s TravelSafe team, which tackles crime on the network, is cracking down on problems reported in the area.

The report by head of Metrolink at TfGM, Danny Vaughan, said: “Criminal damage continues to be an issue on the network and periods 9, 10 and 11 (from November 14 last year to February 5) saw more incidents on (the) Oldham (to) Rochdale line than any other lines.

“Failsworth continues to be a hotspot location where the most significant issue remains criminal damage to shelters.

“This line is a current TravelSafe tactical priority and TSO (TravelSafe officer) deployments are prioritised for this line, especially during evenings.

“Periods 10 and 11 (December 12 to February 5) saw an increase in youth related anti-social behaviour on the network especially on (the) Oldham (to) Rochdale and airport lines.

“The incidents primarily involve youths engaging in anti-social behaviour and activating door handles, resulting in delays on the network and distress to passengers.

“Incidents of misuse of the door handles on the airport line have decreased since period 9 (from November 14, 2021), however, it is still an ongoing issue.

"Rochdale town centre stop saw an increase in youth related incidents with eight incidents of door handle activations on this stop alone." 

TfGM’s TravelSafe partnership manager, Kate Green, said her colleagues are taking action to reduce the problems.

She said: “Everyone using public transport in Greater Manchester is entitled to a safe and enjoyable journey, and the TravelSafe Partnership is committed to taking an enforcement, engagement and education-led approach to ensure that this is possible.

“We take a zero-tolerance approach to crime and anti-social behaviour on all forms of public transport, and officers are regularly deployed to specialist operations at hotspots across the network – including the Oldham-Rochdale line – to deter this behaviour and reassure the travelling public.

“Police officers and transport staff spend around 5,000 hours a week patrolling the public transport network, which is also monitored by TfGM and Metrolink 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, using 3,800 CCTV cameras."

She added: “For incidents on the bus and tram networks, passengers can also report incidents quickly and discreetly to a live Greater Manchester Police call handler, from their smartphone, using the LiveChat service or by calling 101 – or 999 in an emergency.

“We’re also investing around £500,000 from the government’s Safer Streets fund to make safety improvements at stops across Oldham, such as new CCTV and extra, dedicated security staff deployments, including Oldham Council’ s Trusted People initiative – aimed at helping women and girls feel safe and confident when using the tram network.”