You would think certain things would be blindingly obvious, among them “if you are listening to music or a video on your phone on public transit, wear headphones.”
But anyone who regularly uses transit services can tell you that this is definitely not the case. London has now decided to take executive action with a PR campaign …
I’m not sure exactly what caused it, but at some point a number of years ago, people seemed to switch from holding phones to their ear to make calls, to holding them flat out in front of them and using the speakerphone. Even more bizarrely, some seem to feel that it’s perfectly acceptable to make speakerphone calls when sitting next to people on a transit system.
It’s probably the same people who listen to music or videos on their phone on speakerphone instead of wearing headphones, an issue that’s become more prevalent since 4G and 5G coverage was extended across more of the underground transport network in the city.
Top comment by Em
I live in NYC and I can confirm: note using the speaker on a train is not "blindingly obvious" to some folks. 😔
Transport for London says the problem is now so endemic that 70% of London travellers have been annoyed by it, and the public body is attempting to address the issue with a new PR campaign.
Transport for London (TfL) has launched a new poster campaign encouraging people who play content using their device’s speakers on services to be considerate towards others and use headphones. It comes as new TfL research shows that 70 per cent of 1,000 customers surveyed said they find loud music and phone calls without headphones a nuisance.
TFL customer director Emma Strain 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, with the majority of customers we asked agreeing that this is disruptive behaviour. 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.
This is a phenomenon which has irritated me in a number of cities around the world. Can we please make this a global campaign?
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