While the network prohibits playing music or streaming out loud on transport without written permission, is this true in practice?
In a recent TfL survey – aimed at identifying annoying behaviours on public transport – 70% of Londoners agreed that “listening to loud music without headphones or having calls on speaker phone” was annoying.
In fact, it’s such a standout annoyance, the mayor has launched a campaign to encourage headphone wearing, and to curb Londoners from committing what’s fast becoming one of the capital’s cardinal sins.
Its slang term is ‘bare-beating’. You’ll see the online Collins dictionary is monitoring the word’s use across internet channels before formalising it – Reddit will be your best bet.
But Londoners can’t wait for online dictionaries. ‘Bare-beating’ is clearly an issue – Sadiq Khan wouldn’t have spent taxpayers’ money on a campaign to thwart it – and public opinion is strong. Enforcement, however, tells a different story.
Recent FOI Findings
A recent FOI request found that TfL brought just four prosecutions against noisy passengers since 2020, only three of which resulted in fines totalling £705. That’s nowhere near the Liberal Democrats’ suggestion of £1,000 per prosecution.
Reform have waded in on the FOI request’s findings, calling it a “dire record of enforcement” that reflects a “pattern of lawlessness” across the London transport network. The Mayor of London has been asked for a comment, with no reply yet.
But TfL have been open about their approach, saying in a statement to City News that enforcement is their “last resort” when it comes to tackling noisy passengers, as “most comply at the stage of verbal warning.”
TfL even confirmed to the Local Democracy Reporting Service that no extra enforcement officers would be deployed as part of the campaign.
What do the public think?
So, is it all ‘Too F***ing Loud’? And have TfL been too lousy so far? Or do the low enforcement rats and pretty tube campaigns match the tone of what is really just a good old fashioned British gripe?
Well, it’s certainly true: the gripe’s there. City News’ roving reporter spent an afternoon outside Angel station, where an overwhelming majority of those interviewed matched TfL’s findings.
“It’s just so annoying – why do I want to know what you’re saying to your Mum?” was one response. Another commuter rolled his eyes, “so inconsiderate, you’d think it’s just common decency?”
And while almost everyone agreed the noisy behaviour grates, few, if any, backed the idea of hefty fines, “£1,000?! No, that’s way too much”. “Strike one should be £20…strike three – I’d say £100 tops”.
When asked who’s responsible for enforcing, the buck often stopped with TfL. Although one commuter pointed out, “it’s us, the passengers, we can simply talk to each other and work things out”. Perhaps they’ve got a point?
But then came one outlier: a self-proclaimed “bare-beater” who, unfazed, admitted to playing her music out loud “not too high, but at a medium level”. She felt “too many people stay plugged in”, and that headphones were bad for her ear health.
And the idea of a fine? To her, ridiculous “when there are drunk and disorderly people late at night on the tube” and “fair dodgers” doing it in plain sight. “Why is my music playing a crime?”
It speaks to a wider point raised by all interviewees, bare-beaters or not. There are many other problems on our travel network that feel more pressing, and genuinely illegal: “men staring”, “overcrowding”, “barrier jumping”, to name a few.
Passion vs. Punishment
So, when it comes to putting a price on prosecution for noisy phone users, the public’s idea of punishment doesn’t quite match their passion.
There’ll be some that find it more annoying than others – the 55 – 64-year-olds scored 89% in TfL’s survey, 25 – 34-year-olds just 61%. And with expanding 4G and 5G coverage across the network, it doesn’t feel like it’ll be stopping any time soon.
TfL’s statement in full: “The vast majority of our customers are considerate towards their fellow passengers and use headphones when streaming content or making calls on our services. Where this does not happen, enforcement is a last resort. Our enforcement officers would normally engage with the passenger first, explaining the rules and encouraging compliance. Usually the customer complies – but if this fails, enforcement officers can deny travel, remove them from the network and/or refer them for prosecution.”
Submitted Article
Headline
Short Headline
Standfirst
Published Article
HeadlineToo Loud? Or Too Lousy?
Short HeadlineIs TfL's crackdown on noisy phone users working?
StandfirstLondoners hate 'bare-beating' - but with just four prosecutions since 2020, is anyone really listening?
“TfL, it’s Too F***ing Loud”.
While the network prohibits playing music or streaming out loud on transport without written permission, is this true in practice?
In a recent TfL survey – aimed at identifying annoying behaviours on public transport – 70% of Londoners agreed that “listening to loud music without headphones or having calls on speaker phone” was annoying.
In fact, it’s such a standout annoyance, the mayor has launched a campaign to encourage headphone wearing, and to curb Londoners from committing what’s fast becoming one of the capital’s cardinal sins.
Its slang term is ‘bare-beating’. You’ll see the online Collins dictionary is monitoring the word’s use across internet channels before formalising it – Reddit will be your best bet.
But Londoners can’t wait for online dictionaries. ‘Bare-beating’ is clearly an issue – Sadiq Khan wouldn’t have spent taxpayers’ money on a campaign to thwart it – and public opinion is strong. Enforcement, however, tells a different story.
Recent FOI Findings
A recent FOI request found that TfL brought just four prosecutions against noisy passengers since 2020, only three of which resulted in fines totalling £705. That’s nowhere near the Liberal Democrats’ suggestion of £1,000 per prosecution.
Reform have waded in on the FOI request’s findings, calling it a “dire record of enforcement” that reflects a “pattern of lawlessness” across the London transport network. The Mayor of London has been asked for a comment, with no reply yet.
But TfL have been open about their approach, saying in a statement to City News that enforcement is their “last resort” when it comes to tackling noisy passengers, as “most comply at the stage of verbal warning.”
TfL even confirmed to the Local Democracy Reporting Service that no extra enforcement officers would be deployed as part of the campaign.
What do the public think?
So, is it all ‘Too F***ing Loud’? And have TfL been too lousy so far? Or do the low enforcement rats and pretty tube campaigns match the tone of what is really just a good old fashioned British gripe?
Well, it’s certainly true: the gripe’s there. City News’ roving reporter spent an afternoon outside Angel station, where an overwhelming majority of those interviewed matched TfL’s findings.
“It’s just so annoying – why do I want to know what you’re saying to your Mum?” was one response. Another commuter rolled his eyes, “so inconsiderate, you’d think it’s just common decency?”
And while almost everyone agreed the noisy behaviour grates, few, if any, backed the idea of hefty fines, “£1,000?! No, that’s way too much”. “Strike one should be £20…strike three – I’d say £100 tops”.
When asked who’s responsible for enforcing, the buck often stopped with TfL. Although one commuter pointed out, “it’s us, the passengers, we can simply talk to each other and work things out”. Perhaps they’ve got a point?
But then came one outlier: a self-proclaimed “bare-beater” who, unfazed, admitted to playing her music out loud “not too high, but at a medium level”. She felt “too many people stay plugged in”, and that headphones were bad for her ear health.
And the idea of a fine? To her, ridiculous “when there are drunk and disorderly people late at night on the tube” and “fair dodgers” doing it in plain sight. “Why is my music playing a crime?”
It speaks to a wider point raised by all interviewees, bare-beaters or not. There are many other problems on our travel network that feel more pressing, and genuinely illegal: “men staring”, “overcrowding”, “barrier jumping”, to name a few.
Passion vs. Punishment
So, when it comes to putting a price on prosecution for noisy phone users, the public’s idea of punishment doesn’t quite match their passion.
There’ll be some that find it more annoying than others – the 55 – 64-year-olds scored 89% in TfL’s survey, 25 – 34-year-olds just 61%. And with expanding 4G and 5G coverage across the network, it doesn’t feel like it’ll be stopping any time soon.
TfL’s statement in full: “The vast majority of our customers are considerate towards their fellow passengers and use headphones when streaming content or making calls on our services. Where this does not happen, enforcement is a last resort. Our enforcement officers would normally engage with the passenger first, explaining the rules and encouraging compliance. Usually the customer complies – but if this fails, enforcement officers can deny travel, remove them from the network and/or refer them for prosecution.”
