Ministers have urged the government to slap commuters who play music aloud with fines of up to £1,000.
The Liberal Democrats have called for stricter measures to be put into place when it comes to ‘headphone dodgers’, as they believe most passengers are too frightened to speak out.
The party has encouraged the Government to ban such behaviour by amending the Bus Services Bill, currently making its way through Parliament, claiming they are advocating for the ‘quiet majority’.
The legislation will see an overhaul of bus services across the nation, in a bid to improve living standards, as well as ameliorate safety for both passengers and staff against anti-social behaviour by introducing training for drivers.
However the Liberal Democrats want the Government to take the Bill one step further, by tweaking it to include passengers playing music out loud.
They also want to see adjustment to railway by-laws which would see the same rules banning loud volumes from devices implemented on trains.
The Liberal Democrats have urged the government to slap commuters who play music aloud with fines up to £1,000 (stock image)
‘Time and time again, I hear from people who say they feel too intimidated to speak up when someone is blasting music or other content from a phone or speaker,’ says party spokesperson Lisa Smart (pictured)
A poll commissioned by the Liberal Democrats found that nearly four in 10 people had their journey soured by videos or music played out loud by others on public transport.
The research also deduced that over half of Brits didn’t feel comfortable in asking a fellow commuter to turn down the volume.
Liberal Democrat spokeswoman Lisa Smart told The Mirror: ‘Far too many people dread their daily commute because of the blight of antisocial behaviour — and headphone dodgers playing loud music on buses and trains are some of the worst offenders.’
‘Time and time again, I hear from people who say they feel too intimidated to speak up when someone is blasting music or other content from a phone or speaker.’
‘It’s time to take a stand for the quiet majority who just want to get from A to B in peace.’
