Posters will appear on the Elizabeth line from today, asking passengers to wear headphones when listening to music, watching videos or having phone conversations during journeys.
Backed by Sir Sadiq Khan, the Transport for London initiative, which will be extended to the Underground, Overground, Docklands Light Railway, London Tram services and buses from October, follows TfL research conducted in June suggesting that 70 per cent of public transport users in the capital dislike being exposed to other peoples’ phone speaker noise while travelling.
The issue has become more prominent as the availability of 4G and 5G has increased across the rail networks and since April, when the Liberal Democrats proposed an amendment to the Bus Services Bill to ban people playing music and video out loud on public transport or in stations or while waiting for buses.
A YouGov poll at the time found that 65 per cent of Londoners “strongly” or “somewhat” supported the Lib Dem idea, which included fines of up to £1,000 for transgressors. The Conservatives have now suggested a similar measure in relation to Labour’s forthcoming railway reforms.
It is already a breach of national railway by-laws to create such noise or play musical instruments in a way that can annoy people, and TfL has adopted these, but the rules are infrequently enforced. The rail service posters will appear on trains themselves, not at stations.
The poster campaign is described as an addition to TfL’s long-running Travel Kind campaign, which encourages considerate behaviour on public transport.
Emma Strain, TfL’s Customer Director, said, “Most people use headphones, but even just a small number of people not doing so can create an unpleasant or even stressful environment for others. That’s why we’re reminding people to put their headphones on if they don’t already, to give others the stress-free journey they’d expect for themselves.”
Seb Dance, Deputy Mayor for Transport, said, “The vast majority of Londoners use headphones when travelling on public transport in the capital, but the small majority who play music or videos out loud can be a real nuisance to other passengers and directly disturb their journeys. TfL’s new campaign will remind and encourage Londoners to always be considerate of other passengers.”
Updated at 07:51 on 26/8/2025.
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