Burnham campaign targets 'headphone dodgers' as UK commuters describe antisocial behaviour

Andy Burnham has announced a campaign against nuisance behaviour on public transport, singling out "headphone dodgers" who play loud music or videos from their phones.

"We've all been on the train when someone starts blasting music or videos from their phone," Burnham said in a statement. "It gets on your nerves and can quickly spoil the journey."

Six people shared their views on the campaign and their own experiences of antisocial behaviour on buses, trains and trams with The Guardian.

What commuters describe

Claire, 41, who lives in London and commutes daily on the tube, said a man was playing videos out loud next to her the previous day. She said the issue sits alongside behaviour such as leaning on poles so nobody else can hold them, leaving bags on seats and man-spreading. "It mostly saddens me that we have lost a basic sense of politeness," she said.

Margaret, 49, from Weston-super-Mare, said: "I get the train five nights a week to work and nine times out of 10, there is somebody taking phone calls on speakerphone, blasting videos or music, even in the so-called quiet carriage." She said passengers are too scared to ask offenders to stop, and argued the campaign should also cover phone calls on loudspeaker. "It doesn't go far enough," she said.

Ben Ellis, 38, from Edinburgh, called the move "a great step to protect public spaces as shared spaces". He said the last time he asked someone playing reels aloud to use headphones, he was called "a piece of shit" and decided not to ask again. Commuters "shouldn't have to put up with it", he said, but questioned how consistently it would be enforced.

John, 43, from Sheffield, said he asks people whether they have headphones and, if not, whether they can turn the sound off. He said that usually works, but that he has had repeated refusals, and that only once did a train guard intervene. He recalled a teenager watching TikTok asking him: "What do you mean? If you were watching Netflix on your phone, wouldn't you have the volume on?" John said: "I'm sick of being the bad guy who points it out."

Football fans and enforcement doubts

Mike Hughes, 63, from Tyldesley, Greater Manchester, said football fans are a bigger issue that "never gets addressed". He described fans on a two-carriage train drinking, singing loud offensive songs in front of children and banging on the carriage ceiling, with no police or staff present. "It's become almost like an accepted thing that if you go in on a train, this is what you have to put up with," he said. He doubted the campaign would change it, arguing only instant reporting and action would work.

Claire questioned who would enforce the rules. "You never really see police or 'safety officers', so who would enforce it?" she said, adding she was glad tube workers and bus drivers were not being asked to do so.

Linda, from Manchester, said the Metrolink has no regular conductors, so antisocial behaviour goes unchecked there — to the point that it deters her from using buses and trams. She said raising the issue might lead to gradual social change, but warned: "My main concern is that it's going to be nigh on useless having a fining policy unless transport is policed."

Source: The Guardian.