Passengers who play music or videos aloud on public transport could face fines under a new government-backed crackdown on antisocial behaviour, as ministers seek to make everyday journeys more tolerable for commuters.
The campaign, due to launch on Monday, will urge passengers to use headphones and respect fellow travellers. Alongside the public messaging, new Department for Transport guidance will encourage local authorities to use powers allowing them to impose penalties for nuisance behaviour on bus networks, including littering, vaping and playing music without headphones.
Fines could reach £100 for certain offences, while the wider penalty framework allows for sums of up to £1,000. The precise sanctions will depend on the rules adopted locally and the relevant offence.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer said passengers had all experienced journeys disrupted by people “blasting music or videos from their phone”.
“It gets on your nerves and can quickly spoil the journey,” he said, announcing a nationwide campaign reminding passengers to use headphones on trains.
The slogan, “share the journey, not the noise”, reflects a government effort to address the small but persistent irritations that can make public transport unpleasant. Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham said the measures formed part of wider efforts to “make journeys that little bit better for all of us”.
Local authorities received new powers earlier this year to establish and enforce rules on their bus networks. Under the latest guidance, proposed rules must be approved by Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander, while specialist transport safety officers — rather than bus drivers — will enforce them.
Alexander said inconsiderate behaviour, from vaping to littering and loud music, could undermine passengers’ experience even when individual incidents appeared minor.
Transport campaigners welcomed the prospect of clearer rules. Ben Plowden, chief executive of the Campaign for Better Transport, said antisocial behaviour could deter people from using public transport and argued that visible enforcement would help passengers feel safer and more comfortable.
But the proposals have exposed a divide over what constitutes meaningful action.
Sharon Graham, general secretary of Unite, described the measures as well-meaning but inadequate in the face of escalating abuse directed at transport workers. Penalties for noisy passengers, she argued, would not address the more serious threats faced by staff.
Liberal Democrat transport spokesman Olly Glover also questioned whether the government would provide enough officers to enforce the rules, arguing that tough language would achieve little without funding and a visible presence on the ground.
The political debate highlights a central difficulty for ministers: setting rules is easier than ensuring they are applied consistently across a fragmented transport network.
For commuters, the campaign may offer a clearer expectation of considerate behaviour. Whether it changes conduct will depend on how often offenders are identified, whether penalties are imposed and whether local authorities have the resources to enforce them.
The government’s challenge is to turn a promise of quieter journeys into a credible improvement in public transport — without allowing a crackdown on everyday nuisance to obscure the more serious concerns about safety and violence raised by transport workers.
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