Persuasion!
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I see that, as well as taking measures to combat the increasing violence on buses, London Transport is training crews in the art of gentle persuasion to cope with drunks and others who make a nuisance of themselves. Most bus companies give their crews practical instruction on how to deal with awkward customers, but LT's course seems to take a more psychological approach to the problem.
Things were much simpler in the old days, as an acquaintance of mine (who is now a director of a haulage company) is very fond of relating. His experience of the art of gentle persuasion stems from the days before the war when his father, who founded the haulage company, also ran a bus service in what was then a predominantly mining and cotton area in the North of England.
It has been said that the activities of many pre-war miners and cotton workers at play make today's football hooligans look like Salvation Army recruits. In a word, they were "rough" and the weekend activities more often than not included a punch-up with anyone for any reason.
One of the bus company's more lucrative ventures was running these men to the coastal resorts, and one of the less enviable jobs was gi them back home again. In thom my acquaintance was (and ii still is) known as a "big lad" ke boxing, wrestling and the like a usually ended up as conducti these trips.
His approach to trouble w thump his passengers aroun( head as they boarded the bus fi return journey. This form of therapy, plus a few well-aimed I with a very heavy old ticket ma as he walked up and down the way, kept his passengers tolc quiet — at least until they got c bus.
It seems that the recipients sc bore a grudge: the resulting 1 were accepted as part of life': pattern. Try it today, and the for actions for assault would s: from here to Timbuctoo.