London’s public transport operator (“Transport for London”) is urging passengers, through a new campaign, to use mobile phones only with headphones while on public transport.
“The only thing worse than being a slave to your device and its endless chatter is being forced to listen to other people’s chatter”, wrote Hannah Ewens in the Guardian.
Meanwhile, the issue has also taken on a political dimension, as the Liberal Democrats have called for a ban on loud music on public transport and strict fines for those who do not use headphones.
70% of public transport passengers in the UK consider habits such as making calls on speakerphone or listening to music without headphones to be disruptive.
For now, “enforcement is the last resort”, says the operator. However, in the future, non-compliance could result in fines of up to £1,000 and offenders being asked to leave the train.
“(We want to) make passengers stop and think, and be a little more considerate”, said Emma Strain, TfL’s Director of Customer Service, in an interview.
Public transport authorities in Massachusetts and Toronto have already banned passengers from playing music without headphones, while in Montreal the practice is strongly discouraged. In cities such as Nantes, France, listening to music without headphones carries a €200 fine, while in Ireland the fine is €100.
What is fyi.news?
