Many of us will know the sinking feeling when the person in the train seat behind pulls out their phone and starts blasting some truly abysmal tunes.
Perhaps they’re watching a Youtube video. Or worse – watching a TikTok video. Or even worse – scrolling through endless TikTok videos, so you only hear the first attention-grabbing second or two before they move on. Gah!
It’s one of the classic, reliable moan topics of modern life. All you want is a relaxing journey home, and it’s spoiled by one selfish fellow passenger.
Now even politicians are getting involved. Earlier this year, the Lib Dems proposed legislation that would make playing loud music and videos on public transport a fineable offence.
And today, the Conservatives announced a similar effort to work the measures into the government’s Railways Bill and Buses Bill.
London Mayor Sadiq Khan is understood to be preparing his own moves to tackle the issue in the capital too.
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We asked you for your views on whether so-called ‘headphone-dodgers’ should face a fine – and in a great illustration of how worked-up we get over this, you responded in your hundreds.
The overwhelming majority of Metro readers liked the idea, with several suggesting how it could be extended.
Sandy Klein suggested there should also be a fine for ‘talking on the phone loudly as if they are alone’, while Karolina Ait-Abdelkader argued ‘loud chewing gum’ should fall into the same category.
Raonaid Uallas made the point: ‘If you can afford a phone you can afford headphones…’
Last week, Irish Rail announced it would be cracking down on obnoxious on-board music-playing and would be issuing penalties of €100 for passengers who fail to comply.
Railways in the UK also have a rarely enforced byelaw preventing people from using ‘any instrument, article or equipment for the production or reproduction of sound’ to the ‘annoyance’ of anyone else.
Technically, this byelaw can already be punished with a fine of up to £1,000 – which is why the Tories have only called for improved transparency in enforcement on trains.
However, there are no similar measures that apply to buses.
And some other people who responded to us wondered how likely it was anyone would act upon the laws if they were brought into effect.
Charlotte Megan said: ‘Supposedly you’re also fined for drinking alcohol on TFL services, and putting feet on seats on trains.
‘Never seen anyone even told off by staff, let alone fined, so I doubt this will be any different…’
Claudio Assuncao added: ‘They ain’t more of a problem compared to those averse to water and soap stinking the entire train, plane, bus or tube nor either drinking or with their dirty shoes on the seats… the list goes on…
‘Will you take action against it too?’
Meanwhile, Liliana Leverington had an idea for a fairly niche carve-out that could be introduced.
On whether fines were appropriate, she replied: ‘Yes unless they are playing Bob Marley music, then I think that I could tolerate it.’
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