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 today and across other services from the autumn. It will be accompanied by Instagram posts.
Customers will also be asked to look up from their screens on public transport in case someone else needs their seat more.
‘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 was 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.
