More police support on the buses

The first officers in the transport safety teams started work covering Croydon as well as points further east in a move London Mayor Ken Livingstone and Met Police commissioner Sir Ian Blair said would make public transport safer and cut antisocial and threatening behaviour.

"The big investment we are now seeing to make our public spaces including our public transport safe is vital," Mr Livingstone said.

"Over the coming months, 378 police community support officers will be introduced onto the transport system in 21 outer London boroughs.

"They will form a highly visible policing presence on our transport network, provide reassurance and make public transport safer."

Croydon is in the first wave of areas to be covered by the teams.

The rest of the southwest - Hounslow, Kingston, Merton, Richmond and Sutton - will get the extra transport crime teams in June.

Mr Livingstone said each team consisted of 18 PCSOs, at least two sergeants and one police constable.

The teams will patrol key routes identified as local crime and disorder hotspots.

As well as buses, they will patrol some overland station platforms and will be able to join British Transport Police officers on the rail network where needed.

The new PCSOs will be part-funded by the Home Office as part of the National Reassurance programme along with £9.6million from Transport for London over the next two years.

It comes on top of CCTV being fitted to all of London's 8,000 buses and the same number again on the Underground network, rising to 12,000 by 2010.

Met Commissioner Sir Ian Blair said the new teams would raise public confidence.

"The introduction of Safer Neighbourhoods teams across London has already made a significant contribution to the reduction in crime and an increase in public confidence in the police," Sir Ian said.

"I'm confident the new Safer Transport teams will have the same positive impact on communities living close to and using major transport hubs."