Public Transport Safety
What recorded crime data shows across NSW transport.
Official BOCSAR figures show recorded offences at public transport premises across Greater Sydney, Regional NSW and the state as a whole.
Latest geographical breakdown: July 2025–June 2026 · Recorded incidents, not unique victims
Explore the figures ↓All NSWGreater SydneyRegional NSW
Read the evidence accurately
Public transport data is broader than bus-stop evidence.
Two related evidence views
Public transport premises data covers the wider transport system. BOCSAR’s mode dataset identifies railway premises, bus premises, ferries, airports, light rail, taxis and other transport settings. Its definition of bus premises includes buses, bus depots, bus passenger terminals and bus stops.
Bus-stop evidence is narrower. The available published data does not isolate bus stops from other bus premises, so this page does not claim a bus-stop-only crime count.
Counts describe incidents recorded by NSW Police. They do not include offences that were not reported or detected, and they do not measure risk per passenger, trip or hour of exposure.
Latest NSW picture
Serious offences are recorded across public transport premises.
The latest geographical tables cover July 2025 to June 2026. The headline subtotal combines assault, sexual offences and robbery. “Steal from person” is shown separately and is not included in the 2,071 subtotal.
The average is a mathematical description of the annual subtotal. It does not mean incidents occurred evenly across days, locations or transport modes.
Compare the areas
Five recorded offence categories, three geographical views.
Choose an area to see the exact figures. NSW is the combined total: Greater Sydney and Regional NSW must not be added to NSW again.
All NSW
Public transport premises · July 2025–June 2026
2,208total across all five categories
Non-domestic violence related assault1,403
Sexual offences355
Domestic violence related assault199
Steal from person137
Robbery114
| Offence category | Recorded incidents | Share of all NSW incidents in that category |
|---|---|---|
| Non-domestic violence related assault | 1,403 | 4.0% |
| Domestic violence related assault | 199 | 0.5% |
| Sexual offences | 355 | 1.6% |
| Robbery | 114 | 6.6% |
| Steal from person | 137 | 7.7% |
| Five-category total | 2,208 | Not a total of all public transport crime |
Greater Sydney
Public transport premises · July 2025–June 2026
1,817total across all five categories
Non-domestic violence related assault1,171
Sexual offences284
Domestic violence related assault151
Steal from person112
Robbery99
| Offence category | Recorded incidents | Share of Greater Sydney incidents in that category |
|---|---|---|
| Non-domestic violence related assault | 1,171 | 6.2% |
| Domestic violence related assault | 151 | 0.7% |
| Sexual offences | 284 | 2.6% |
| Robbery | 99 | 9.0% |
| Steal from person | 112 | 9.5% |
| Five-category total | 1,817 | Not a total of all public transport crime |
Regional NSW
Public transport premises · July 2025–June 2026
391total across all five categories
Non-domestic violence related assault232
Sexual offences71
Domestic violence related assault48
Steal from person25
Robbery15
| Offence category | Recorded incidents | Share of Regional NSW incidents in that category |
|---|---|---|
| Non-domestic violence related assault | 232 | 1.6% |
| Domestic violence related assault | 48 | 0.3% |
| Sexual offences | 71 | 0.7% |
| Robbery | 15 | 2.4% |
| Steal from person | 25 | 4.1% |
| Five-category total | 391 | Not a total of all public transport crime |
The percentage column compares public transport premises with all recorded premises in the same geography and offence category. It is not a passenger risk rate.
What the time series can show
Two years of NSW transport data. No ten-year transport trend.
| Offence category | 2024–25 | 2025–26 | Raw annual change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Non-domestic violence related assault | 1,438 | 1,403 | −2.4% |
| Domestic violence related assault | 194 | 199 | +2.6% |
| Sexual offences | 295 | 355 | +20.3% |
| Robbery | 114 | 114 | 0.0% |
| Steal from person | 151 | 137 | −9.3% |
| Five-category total | 2,192 | 2,208 | +0.7% |
These are direct annual count comparisons calculated from BOCSAR’s monthly mode dataset. They are not claims of a statistically significant trend and do not adjust for passenger numbers or service levels.
Transport settings
The NSW mode data shows where these categories were recorded.
This table sums the same five categories for 2025–26. It does not include every offence category in the full BOCSAR dataset.
| Premises type | Recorded incidents | Definition or note |
|---|---|---|
| Railway premises | 1,404 | Train, railway building, station, siding and terminal |
| Bus premises | 534 | Bus, bus depot, bus passenger terminal and bus stop |
| Other | 130 | BOCSAR transport premises category “Other” |
| Light rail | 65 | Light rail premises |
| Airport | 29 | Airport premises |
| Taxi | 19 | Taxi premises category |
| Taxi rank | 15 | Taxi rank |
| Ferry | 10 | Ferry and ferry wharf |
| Public passenger terminal | 1 | Public passenger terminal category |
| Freight depot | 1 | Freight depot |
| All listed transport settings | 2,208 | Five selected offence categories only |
534 is not a bus-stop-only count.
Bus stops are included within bus premises, but the published table does not separate them from incidents aboard buses, at depots or at passenger terminals.
What this means for bus-stop safety
The wider data matters, but it cannot answer every bus-stop question.
What it establishes
Assault, sexual offences, robbery and theft are recorded in public transport settings across Greater Sydney and Regional NSW.
What remains unknown
The published data does not provide a ten-year bus-stop-only series, a stop-by-stop risk rate or a complete count of unreported incidents.
What policy still needs
Risk-based decisions require stop-level evidence, passenger exposure, time and location detail, and evaluation of practical safety measures.
Why underreporting and women’s safety after dark also matter →
Sources and calculations
Official data, definitions and a reproducible summary.
Source links
- BOCSAR: Offences on Public Transport, July 2024–June 2026 (XLSX)
- BOCSAR: New South Wales local area tables (XLSX)
- BOCSAR: Greater Sydney local area tables (XLSX)
- BOCSAR: Regional NSW local area tables (XLSX)
- BOCSAR: Crime statistics by LGA and region
Acknowledgement: Source: NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research.
Calculation notes and definitions
“Sexual offences” combines sexual assault with sexual touching, sexual act and other sexual offences. The 2,071 headline subtotal adds domestic violence related assault, non-domestic violence related assault, sexual offences and robbery. It excludes steal from person. The five-category total adds steal from person and equals 2,208.
Greater Sydney plus Regional NSW reconciles to the NSW public transport count for every category shown. Percentages comparing public transport with all premises use the matching geography and offence category as the denominator.
Annual change equals the 2025–26 count divided by the 2024–25 count, less one. It is a raw comparison, not BOCSAR’s statistical trend test.
Source review completed 12 October 2026.
Keep the distinction clear
Explore the bus-stop evidence separately.
Public transport premises data provides wider context. The campaign’s bus-stop evidence focuses on individual waiting areas, reported incidents and the remaining data gaps.