Passengers 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.
There have been laws against playing loud music, as well as singing, on trains since 2005 but the government will remind rail passengers of this with the launch of a national campaign asking people to “share the carriage, not the noise”.
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.
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.
These new powers allow them to impose new rules on buses, but still need to be signed off by the Transport Secretary
Those who commit offences could face fixed penalties of up to £100.
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.
Commenting on how fines will be enforced, Chris McDonald, Minister for Science, Research and Innovation, told BBC Breakfast that passengers can complain to staff “or the British Transport Police if they wish”.
“They don’t have to tackle the individual themselves if they don’t feel confident to do that,” he said, adding that people can text the British Transport Police.
Transport for London, which operates London Underground, already has byelaws in place to prohibit people playing music or content aloud.
It said that in the first instance enforcement officers will ask the passenger to stop.
“Most people comply at this stage,” it said, but added that if someone refuses, they may be asked to leave the train or they could be reported for possible prosecution.
Meanwhile a new national campaign aims to remind rail passengers to “share the carriage, not the noise”, to improve journeys for everyone
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”.
However, she added that the government must also “urgently confront the violence, threats and abuse faced by passengers and transport workers”.
“Increasing the budget for British Transport Police is vital to protect people, respond to incidents and bring violent offenders to justice,” she said.
