- When drivers have tried to get passengers to pay and they have been exposed to threats.
Therefore, together with the bus company, we have deployed security guards on some routes, says Pär Welander, traffic director at Länstrafiken Kronoberg.
According to the traffic director, this is an unusual measure.
The guards will make it safer for the drivers and passengers, but they will also perform ticket checks.
Many went for free during the pandemic
During the pandemic, when the front doors of the buses were closed and the passengers had to go on at the back doors, Länstrafiken in Kronoberg had problems with many ignoring paying.
Now passengers need to show a valid ticket to the driver again.
- In general, I would not say that it is common with threats against drivers, but now it has been a lot.
I think that when we opened the front door again, there are some who think that now they can continue to ride for free.
Nobody asked for a ticket when you walked in the back door, says Pär Welander.
Also physical threats
SVT Nyheter Småland has read the county traffic deviation reports from the last three months.
There you can read that travelers have made threats against bus drivers, but there has also been physical violence on a couple of occasions.
A driver was pushed when the passengers understood that the driver did not intend to drive away, because they did not pay.
On another occasion, a driver was spit on, after a discussion about an invalid ticket.
- I understand that the drivers think it is a concern.
In some cases, they have also gone after a fellow traveler who tried to help and it is very sad.
Fortunately, it is not so common and we report all such incidents to the police, says traffic director Pär Welander.