TfL is urging passengers to ‘Act Like a Friend’

It’s true that campaigns like this shift responsibility to innocent victims and bystanders – but it’s progress nonetheless. Framing intervention as a subtle, friendly interaction avoids escalating violence and gives TfL users the tools to travel as safely as possible.

In an ideal world, more would be done to prevent attacks and harassment before it occurs, but pouring more money into transport security is just as much bandaging a wound as the ‘Act Like a Friend’ initiative itself.

According to TfL’s latest figures, 1,268 hate crime offenses have been reported across it’s services in the first six months of the year. A number of victims report a lack of support from fellow passengers.

On Friday, I was being stared at by a man on a train from Stevenage to London Bridge. At London Bridge, he came very close to me asking me to talk to him and calling me a racist for not doing so. I approached station staff and he walked away.

When I got on the tube to Waterloo,…

— Andrea 🇬🇧🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿🇮🇪🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 (@andie1105) October 7, 2025

Speaking to ITV, Sophie Choudry, 47, recounts being racially abused by a group of children on an Underground journey from Paddington to Maidenhead on 7th September. Despite being on a crowded carriage, Choudry says not one passenger intervened.

‘During that whole process, I looked around to see if any passengers were going to give me any support, but sadly nobody raised an eyebrow. I knew I was on my own.’

Many of us may fear similar attacks if we were to get involved in cases of harassment. But this prevents bystanders from helping victims. The ‘Act Like a Friend’ campaign demonstrates how understated acts like saying hello can drastically minimise the threat of violence from perpetrators, without drawing too much attention to those who intervene.

‘Too often we see people being harmed while those around them stay silent, not because they don’t care but because they don’t know how to step in safely,’ says Szymon Glowacki, director of Stronger Communities at Protection Approaches.

‘Our active bystander training gives people the skills and confidence to respond in those crucial moments – to support those at risk and to help prevent harm from escalating.

Those calling from more stringent security on board TfL’s network have every right to express concern for their own safety on board – and the responsibility of preventing violence on a public service should be shared by all who use it, including those in charge.

But if ‘acting like a friend’ is as simple as lending an ear when someone needs it, who wouldn’t want to? It’s free, and could even save somebody’s life.