A SPECIALIST police team will patrol buses in Hillingdon in a bid to crack down on crime on public transport.

The move comes as the London Assembly launched an investigation into crime and anti-social behaviour on the capital's bus network.

And residents say it is more than welcome.

Mary Cowell, 62, from Uxbridge, said she does not like travelling on the bus even in daylight. She said: "I am always nervous on the bus, but I don't drive, so I have to take it. To be honest I avoid the bus at the times the schools turn out, because I just feel too nervous."

The Safer Transport Team for Hillingdon will be made up of two sergeants, four PCs, and 18 PCSOs, and is expected to roll out in July.

Inspector Jeff Bannister told the Hillingdon Times that the team's primary role will be to provide high-visibility patrols on transport routes.

He said: "The team will be posted to work from two sites in order to improve coverage across the borough. One team will be based at Hayes police station, the other at Uxbridge police station.

"The hours they perform will generally reflect the periods of highest demand when their presence will provide the greatest reassurance to the travelling public - and provide a means of addressing transport-related crime and disorder."

London Assembly member for Hillingdon and Ealing, Richard Barnes, believes the rise in crime is linked to Mayor of London Ken Livingstone's free travel scheme for under-16s.

Mr Barnes, said: "I am concerned by the content of the emails and letters I received - virtually all recounting the same problems.

"Some of the incidents, which people have described to me, are genuinely shocking and confirm what Conservatives on the London Assembly suspected all along about this well-intentioned, but flawed, scheme.

"That is, that there is a link between the rise in anti-social behaviour and the introduction of free bus travel for the under-16s."

In the year before the free travel scheme was introduced, there were 3,666 reports of crime by under-16s on Londons buses, but in the year since the free travel scheme was introduced in September 2005, there were 5,701 reports - a 55 per cent increase.

But Transport for London says it is because more bus drivers are reporting crime.

Roger Evans AM, chairman of the assembly's transport committee, said: "Crime statistics do not tell the whole story.

"By focussing on perceptions of safety and understanding what makes people feel safe, using available data and through wider consultation, this committee hopes to make recommendations to Transport for London and the Metropolitan Police Service that will improve Londoners' bus journeys."

Do you feel safe on London's buses? Have you ever witnessed a crime or anti-social behaviour while travelling on a bus? Does the presence of CCTV make you feel safer? What do you think could be done to improve safety? Email rsharp@london.newsquest.co.uk and bussafety@london.gov.uk with your views.