Getty ImagesTransport for London (TfL) is targeting the “disruptive behaviour” of passengers who play music and make calls using mobile phone loudspeakers.
TfL said most bus and Tube travellers considered such behaviour “a nuisance” and that some even found the additional noise very stressful.
Posters urging passengers to use headphones or hands-free kits with their device will appear on the Elizabeth line from Tuesday and across other services from the autumn. This will be accompanied by Instagram posts.
Passengers will also be asked to look up from their screens in case someone else needs their seat more.
Radio London spoke to commuters, who backed the move.
One said: “It should be banned, definitely. It is not polite to anyone else when you are sat on the Tube in the morning and someone is playing music. That’s horrendous. It is not comfortable.”
Another said: “Maybe someone might be working or they might be tired so yes I think it should be banned. I personally don’t mind but I know that other people are a bit more mindful about that. I guess you have to respect what other people think.”
A third commuter said: “Recently on a train there was a woman she was playing quite loud [music] and I was smiling to her trying to give the idea that not everyone could like that music. She didn’t care.”
‘Unpleasant and stressful’
The campaign follows TfL research that found 70% of 1,000 passengers surveyed said they found films, music and calls being played on loudspeakers to be a nuisance.
Loudspeaker noise can be especially acute for those with heightened sensitivity, such as people with autism.
Emma Strain, TfL’s customer director, urged passengers to be more considerate to others.
“Most people use headphones, but even just a small number of people not doing so can create an unpleasant or even stressful environment for others, with the majority of customers we asked agreeing that this is disruptive behaviour,” she said.
“That’s why we’re reminding people to put their headphones on if they don’t already, to give others the stress-free journey they’d expect for themselves.”
It is believed the use of mobiles and other devices has increased on the Tube, as large sections of the network across central London now have 4G or 5G coverage.
Work is under way to expand coverage to major interchange stations such as Green Park and King’s Cross St Pancras, and further sections of the Northern, Piccadilly, Jubilee and Victoria lines by the end of the year, TfL said.
