The Liberal Democrats have unveiled plans to ban passengers from playing music or videos aloud on phones and speakers across England’s public transport network, with offenders facing maximum fines of £1,000. The proposal, tabled as an amendment to the Bus Services Bill, targets what the party calls “the blight of antisocial behaviour” on buses, trains, and at stations.
New polling commissioned by the Lib Dems reveals 38% of Britons regularly encounter loud phone use on transport, while 54% feel unable to ask offenders to stop. “Everyone deserves to travel in peace,” said home affairs spokesperson Lisa Smart, branding offenders “headphone dodgers” who make commutes “a daily dread.”
The Conservatives have conditionally backed the idea, with shadow transport secretary Gareth Bacon warning that tolerance of such behaviour “chips away at public civility.” Current railway bylaws already prohibit antisocial acts like littering, and the amendment would explicitly classify loud audio disruption similarly.
While transport policy is devolved, the ban would apply only in England. Similar rules abroad have seen enforcement – including a €200 fine for a loudspeaker call in a French train station earlier this year. The Lib Dems plan a national awareness campaign if the law passes.
The move reignites debates about public space etiquette versus personal freedoms, with critics likely to question the proportionality of four-figure fines for noisy commuters.
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