People playing loud music on buses could face £100 fine

Image source, Getty ImagesByMarc Ashdown, Business correspondent and Nick Edser, Business reporterPublished3 hours agoPassengers who play loud music on buses in England could be fined up to £100 under an attempt by the government to crack down on antisocial behaviour.

The measures also seek to tackle littering, vaping and threatening behaviour to help improve journeys on all forms of public transport.

Offenders on buses could be issued with the fines under new powers for local authorities.

A national campaign asking rail passengers "share the carriage, not the noise" is also being launched. The proposed crackdown has been welcomed by campaigners, but some have questioned how it can be enforced.

"We've all been on the train when someone starts blasting music or videos from their phone. It gets on your nerves and can quickly spoil the journey," said Prime Minister Andy Burnham.

Under existing powers, those who are asked to stop and refuse could be removed from a train or fined up to £1,000.

The phenomenon has been given many terms - including loudcasting or sodcasting - and in recent years, Ofcom, YouGov and Transport for London (TfL) have all published polls showing the vast majority of people dislike it.

Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander said small changes in behaviour "can make a massive difference to people's experience on public transport".

The government said it had issued new guidance to local authorities on powers - which were introduced earlier this year - to help them crackdown on loud music and other antisocial behaviour on buses in England.

The government says bus drivers will not be responsible for enforcing the new rules. It says authorised officers, including Transport Safety Officers and the Police, will deal with the incidents.

The campaign will be launched across operator websites, social media, and in carriages. The government said this would end the current "patchwork" of approaches across different rail operators, and help create "a clear, consistent message across the network".

The general secretary of the TSSA transport union, Maryam Eslamdoust, said tackling antisocial behaviour on public transport was "a step in the right direction".