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Passengers could be banned from causing a “nuisance” by playing loud music on public transport under proposals to change the law set out by the Tories.
The Conservatives said there should be “swift justice for those who make people’s lives a misery” by playing music loudly on buses and trains, and that they would introduce on-the-spot fines to tackle this.
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Under the plans, byelaws that already protect passengers on trains would be more rigorously enforced, while the equivalent would be brought in for those on buses – where currently there is no ban on music being played out loud.
Currently, rules around train travel already make playing music out loud an offence – but like other issues, such as fare evasion, this is subject to being enforced by the British Transport Police or the train operators themselves.
Under the proposals, when the government brings its Railways Bill to the Commons, the Tories will add an amendment to ensure that all train operators and nationalised services have a legal duty to enforce these, and have to publicly publish measurements of how well this is happening. As well as this, the amendment would introduce on-the-spot fines.
The Conservatives say they would also introduce the same rules to buses through the government’s Buses Bill, and that this will be a condition for all new bus partnerships, franchises and terms of service.
Richard Holden, the shadow transport secretary, said: “Taking public transport shouldn’t mean having to endure somebody else’s choice of crap music blasted through a speaker at full blast.
“Rail passengers need to see enforcement and swift justice for those who make people’s lives a misery, and bus passengers need the same laws to protect them against this nuisance.
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