New guidance, due to be published by the British government, could include recommendations for “stop anywhere” night buses as part of a wider initiative to make streets safer for women.

Local councils will receive the recommendations later this year, alongside training sessions, to outline the safety considerations.

The guidance is being drafted by the government agency Active Travel England (ATE) and will refer to initiatives that are used worldwide.

In Vigo, Spain, ATE says there has been success introducing night bus request stops, allowing women and girls to disembark at any point.

The measure can reduce the distance women walk alone from a bus stop to their home.

Vigo City Council and Vitrasa (the city's bus company) jointly launched this measure to combat gender-based violence.

The service is available every night between 10.30pm and 6.30am. To use it, women need to inform the driver of their desired stop as they board the bus.

The new guidance comes as a YouGov poll, released on Wednesday, 25 March, found that almost nine in 10 (88 per cent) women have felt unsafe while walking at night.

Seven in 10 said they have changed their route to avoid walking in the dark during winter or darker months.

Inadequate lighting, poorly maintained routes, personal safety fears and antisocial behaviour were identified as key reasons behind these results, with the majority of respondents saying they would feel safer walking in their neighbourhoods if these issues were addressed.

Local authorities will be able to draw on their allocation of Active Travel England’s £626 million funding pot to address street safety issues, including improvements that make walking safer and more appealing for women and girls.

Local Transport Minister, Lilian Greenwood, said: “No one should worry about getting to their destination safely after dark and these stats show just how much work there is to be done.

“This programme is turning conversations into real change by working directly with the councils who design our streets to ensure women and girls in our communities feel safe to walk, wheel and cycle whenever they want to.”

After the release of the nationwide plans to design safer streets, industry body Rail Delivery Group said the British Transport Police (BTP) and operators such as Transport for London, Network Rail, Transport for Wales and Transport Scotland will implement new measures to tackle violence and intimidation against women and girls.

The rail industry and BTP said it would enhance its CCVT, introduce a specialised police unit to investigate the highest harm sexual offences, increase the use of body-worn cameras and better vetting on customer-facing roles.

Read more: A third of girls avoid taking public transport alone over safety fears – survey