A campaign by Transport for London (TfL) to target people playing music or videos out loud on public transport is launching this week, with posters targeting “headphone dodgers” appearing on the Elizabeth line and other services from autumn.
TfL bylaws already ban passengers from singing or playing music out loud anywhere on the network unless they have a licence such as the ones granted to approved buskers.
For some, the campaign is overdue, while for others, questions on how it will be enforced have been raised.
‘Since the pandemic, people have forgotten common courtesy’
I think this is long overdue. Particularly since the pandemic, lots of people seem to have forgotten how to behave with common courtesy in public. I’ve started pulling people up on this kind of behaviour and it’s really satisfying, to be honest. However, I think the other issue is a structural one: our public services, particularly transport (outside London, anyway) are massively degraded. Asking people to respect public spaces, if it’s going to work, needs to be a two-way street: you show everyone around your respect by keeping your devices quiet, but we (the state) show you, the public, respect in return, by investing in public transport that people feel comfortable on and proud of as a national asset. That’s the only way to solve this problem permanently. Tom, 33, lecturer, Leeds
‘I’m autistic and even noise-cancelling headphones are not perfect’
It absolutely needs to happen. I’m autistic and the constant bombardment of noise really upsets me. I’ve bought expensive noise-cancelling headphones that cost £299 and they’re still not perfect. One person on a tram was blasting out music so loudly behind me that it overpowered my headphones. When I politely asked him to turn it down, he said I should just put my headphones back on. Only when he became threatening did the tram conductor get involved. I don’t know what “asking people to be considerate” is going to do. The people that are doing it know they’re being inconsiderate and don’t care. Michael, 35, trade union official, Sheffield
‘No one seems willing to pay for trained people’
It would be a good thing, but it seems odd that TfL did not predict that the provision of internet access on the underground would inevitably lead to what people are complaining about now. It was common on buses long ago. Of course there is far too much unnecessary noise, but it has been tolerated and even encouraged for so long that I doubt it can be dealt with effectively now. No one seems willing to pay for the number of trained people (police and others) it would take to civilise the UK. Chris, 61, paralegal, London
‘Suck it up and get over it’
Has the country really come to the stage where everything is so perfect that we don’t have anything else to be worried about? There’s often antisocial behaviour on public transport, but are we going to police everyone’s behaviour? I can’t stand the smell of people eating or those who smell of tobacco. What are you going to do? You suck it up and get over it. When the tube has all its escalators working, every station is step-free, the air con is working when you need to and there are safe, clean toilets at every station, then get back to me. Stephanie, 58, career coach, London
‘TfL should look to itself before it preaches about noise pollution’
I agree that the use of headphones should be encouraged, but that isn’t the only source of noise pollution on London transport. TfL plays far too many unnecessary announcements: “Hold the handrail”, “Don’t run when the floor is wet”, “Stand behind the yellow lines”, and the list goes on. Each announcement taken individually is not unreasonable, but collectively is an incessant barrage of noise pollution. I’ve bought noise-cancelling headphones just to wear on the underground, and that isn’t because of the people who play music or have phone conversations. TfL should look to itself before it starts preaching to others about noise pollution. John, 68, retired, London
‘For those with hearing issues, loud sounds create a stressful environment’
I live with one-sided hearing loss, so all sounds I hear are via my one working ear. For people like me, multiple voices overlap and combine into a meaningless jumbled cacophony. A person in a confined area speaking loudly on their phone, or playing media without headphones, is not just distracting and irritating for everyone affected. For those with hearing issues, they create an extremely unpleasant and stressful environment. When those of us who struggle are trying to get somewhere, we feel trapped, and that really is horrible. Shell, 48, singer, Cardiff
‘Feels like a pointless waste of resources’
As much as I hate music being played out loud on public transport, it’s usually just an individual on their own, so I find it incredibly annoying and selfish. How could this possibly be clamped down on? Feels like a pointless waste of resources to put these posters up when there will never be staff members to enforce the rule. Jane, 33, research scientist, London
‘It’s encouraging but needs to be firmer’
I think addressing sound pollution on TfL is long overdue. I enjoy taking public transport because it’s an “in-between” space, of sorts. We’re constantly stimulated by sounds and images, so the train feels like one of the only quiet spaces left.
While it’s encouraging to see this campaign, it is too soft and needs to be firmer. Signs suggesting that we would rather audio isn’t played out loud won’t work, because people are so absorbed in their phones to look up and actually see the sign. Paradoxically, I don’t mind when people get on the night tube with a boom box or play music on the way to the Notting Hill carnival. That’s a whole vibe and a bit of London flair. It’s somehow different, because it encourages a sense of participation. Remy, 30, humanitarian worker, London
