Public Transport: Nuisance Behaviour
Thursday, 29 October 2026
Contributions
Tom Rutland (East Worthing and Shoreham) (Lab)Labour
2. What recent steps she has taken to help tackle nuisance behaviour on public transport.
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Transport (Simon Lightwood)Labour (Co-op)
Last week, the Government launched the “Share the carriage, not the noise” campaign with rail operators across the country, reminding rail passengers to use headphones or potentially face fines of up to £1,000. The Bus Services Act 2025 gives local authorities new powers to crack down on nuisance behaviour on buses, including listening to loud music, littering, vaping and antisocial behaviour. Our new guidance will help authorities put these powers into practice and make journeys safer and more comfortable for passengers.
There is nothing more irritating than being sat on a train or a bus and being subjected to someone scrolling through endless videos or blasting music out loud, so I welcome the Department’s action against these headphone dodgers. Can my hon. Friend set out how this policy will be enforced to ensure that we reclaim our public transport from nuisance passengers and restore some tranquillity to our journeys?
Absolutely. Our “Share the journey, not the noise” campaign has started a national conversation about the standards we should all expect on trains and reminded those few who fall short that there are fines in place. We expect that most passengers will comply with requests to watch videos on silent or use headphones, but there are clear routes for escalation if they do not, up to and including prosecution. Local authorities can now introduce bus byelaws covering excessive noise, with fixed on-the-spot penalties of up to £100.
Wera Hobhouse (Bath) (LD)Liberal Democrat
While we Liberal Democrats are very pleased that the Government have listened to our calls to tackle headphone dodgers, I did not really hear an answer to the previous question. How is this policy going to be visibly enforced, so that public transport users in Bath can be sure that something is happening?
Antisocial behaviour on buses is tackled through wider crime and policing laws, and transport safety officers—of which the Department has funded trials—will also be used. This is about giving local transport authorities the powers to enforce these byelaws, which obviously came about with Liberal Democrats working on the Bus Services Bill Committee. We have been tackling nuisance behaviour on public transport for a long time—it is an ongoing priority. We invested £2.5 million in the transport safety officer pilots, and have taken targeted action against nuisance behaviour and published guidance so that others can adopt best practice. Of course, the Bus Services Act gives every local authority the power to introduce those byelaws.
Source: UK Parliament Hansard API. Debate ID: 5428123.