TfL asks 'nuisance' mobile users to wear headphones

Watching films and making calls using loudspeakers is "disruptive" to others, TfL says

Transport 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.

The new 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.

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.

During the Monday rush hour BBC 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'

Loudspeaker noise can be especially acute for those with heightened sensitivity, such as people with autism.

Emma Strain, TfL's customer director, told BBC Radio London that TfL by-laws prohibit playing music and streaming content out loud without permission.

She added: "When our enforcement officers encounter someone doing this they usually ask the person to stop.

"Most people comply at that stage, but if someone refuses then further enforcement action can be taken, which might include them being asked to leave the service or the station, or being reported for possible prosecution."

The new posters 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, said TfL.

Posters will appear on the Elizabeth line first and other parts of the network from the autumn

In February, a man was fined €200 (£172) for making a call on loudspeaker in a designated quiet area of a French train station.

The man, named only as David, told French broadcaster BFM TV he was on a call with his sister at Nantes station when an employee from SNCF, the French railway company, approached him. He planned to appeal against the fine.

The French Transport Code says those who use "sound devices or instruments" or "disturb the peace of others by noise" in areas used for public transport could face a fine.

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.