Students collaborate with Bath Safe Bus

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Media comms students create promotional video for Bath Safe Bus

Wednesday, 19 February, 2025

Located in the Bath city centre, the Bath Safe Bus is an incredible service (as part of the Bath BID) on hand to students and members of the public who may need help, support or even just a cuppa and a chat after a night out. It’s a safe and non-judgmental space coordinated by night marshals, paramedics, Avon and Somerset Police, Suicide Prevention UK (a Bristol based charity), street pastors and even the security services from both BSU and University of Bath. 

Being a proud sponsor, BSU has a strong relationship with the service. Something that Media Communications students Pippa and Daisy decided to showcase as part of their Participatory Media module.

Tasked with creating a video about a ‘community initiative that’s made a difference’ the girls approached Bath Safe Bus business manager Nick to find out more. Spotting the potential, Nick championed the idea to become a bigger project, and the final video now sits on the Bath Safe Bus website as the main visual tool to highlight the amazing work everyone puts into the service.

The process began at one of Bath Safe Bus’ ‘nighttime economy’ meetings where everyone involved in the service discusses initial ideas, a great opportunity for Pippa and Daisy to gain real-time feedback. The idea was to capture the bus in action, being shot during the Christmas market period, and interviewing key members of staff and managers of the surrounding local clubs during their pre-shift briefing. Hearing from the students, they said:

“The filming experience was thoroughly enjoyable and really rewarding. From the outset, everyone involved was enthusiastic and eager to contribute. It was clear that everyone was invested in making the project as impactful as possible.”

Speaking to manager Nick in hindsight of the project, he had nothing but positive feedback to share. The six minute informative video has been reshared by local police, been used by all the partners involved, and has even been used as inspiration for other cities like Bristol and Wakefield to begin their own similar initiatives. He shared:

“For something that started off just to be shared with their course, it’s gone so much bigger than that and it's so rewarding for them. It looks amazing and they got it bang on. We want to show future students that there are people who will keep you safe.”

You can find the full video and link to the Bath Safe Bus website here. They are located at Orange Grove by the Abbey, Friday and Saturday from 10.30pm to 4.30am. You can also find them on Instagram @bathsafebus and @thebathbid. 

If you wanted to start your own media journey, why not have a look at some of the film and media communications courses BSU has to offer!