Have you ever been sitting on a train or a bus, and been forced to listen to someone else's conversation on speakerphone? Or been disturbed by the racket of another person’s music or videos playing out loud?
Most of us will have experienced this situation, often having to listen to these noisy culprits for the rest of the journey, or turning up our own headphones to drown out the sound.
In good news for passengers longing for quiet commutes and peaceful journeys, the UK government has announced that this type of behaviour could now result in a hefty £1,000 fine.
This practice was coined “bare beating” last year. The term is used to describe the act of letting any noise from your phone reverberate around the carriage, disturbing other passengers.
This is not the only term floating around. The Liberal Democrats campaigned last year to ban this type of conduct, dubbing culprits as “headphone dodgers”.
The Department for Transport (DfT) has termed this antisocial behaviour “loudcasting”.
Whatever it may be called, playing sounds out loud on public transport will now be punished, alongside vaping, littering and threatening behaviour, as part of a wider crackdown on antisocial behaviour.
Bear beaters on the bus can be fined by authorities up to £100 if the passenger refuses to comply with a request to stop playing music out loud.
Drivers are not expected to enforce these rules. Enforcement will be carried out by transport safety officers or police officers who are able to issue fines.
On trains, bear beating can result in a much larger fine of £1,000 or being removed from the train for antisocial behaviour.
The fines are part of a national campaign that aims to encourage passengers to “share the journey, not the noise”, which will include audio reminders of the rules on the rail network.
The chief executive of Campaign for Better Transport, Ben Plowden said that antisocial behaviour like noisy phone use can be a “real deterrent to people using public transport, especially people with different accessibility requirements”.
“If these new powers are properly and visibly enforced, they should help everyone feel safe and comfortable on public transport and enjoy the ride,” he added.
Prime Minister Andy Burnham said: “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.
“So we’re launching a nationwide campaign reminding passengers to use headphones on trains. On top of that, we’re giving local leaders new powers to tackle loud music, vaping and littering on buses.
“It’s a simple thing, but one that will make journeys that little bit better for all of us.”
Other politicians have campaigned in the past to tackle bare beaters before Andy Burnham’s government enforced this new crackdown.
London Mayor Sadiq Khan launched “Travel Kind” last year on Transport for London encouraging people to plug in their headphones.
Last month, Singapore announced fines of almost £300 for anyone playing music or videos loudly on a bus in a way that is annoying for other passengers.
Kraków in Poland also introduced rules banning passengers from using phones or other devices on speaker setting on buses and trams, with offenders facing a fine of up to 200 złoty (£40).
Phone speakers causing nuisance have caused anguish for airlines too. United Airlines has said it will remove passengers who fail to use headphones on a flight.
In India, passengers who play music out loud on aircraft may face penal action for “unruly behaviour” under the country’s aviation rules.
The issue goes beyond transport. Pub chain JD Wetherspoon banned customers from playing music or taking calls on loud speaker in August following complaints that noise was driving people "nuts".
Wetherspoon chairman and founder Sir Tim Martin said: “In a world dominated by other people’s music and amplified sound, Wetherspoon pubs are an oasis of tranquillity and contemplation.
“In order to avoid customers being driven chicken jalfrezi by a cacophony of sound, we are kindly asking phone users to pipe down.”
Read more: How will Burnham’s ban on ‘headphone dodgers’ on public transport work?
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