Should people be fined for making too much noise on public transport?
In France, a man was recently fined €200 for making a call on loudspeaker while he was on a train.
The French Transport Code states that those who use "sound devices or instruments" or "disturb the peace of others by noise" on public transport can be fined.
Could such a system work in Ireland? Or should it simply be left to commuters to sort out among themselves?
On Lunchtime Live, communications expert Gina London described using speaker phone in a public place as the “number one faux pas of rude faux pas in a public place”.
“There’s an opportunity I think here for buses and trains to put in a well-marked protocol of low voices, reminding people about courtesy because you think that it’s common sense but, of course, that’s not very common,” she said.
“Another thing too, I wish that more trains or commuter situations would have quiet cars.
“When I used to take the train from Washington to New York, there was a quiet car and no conversations at all were taking place - and that’s lovely.”
The Luas. Picture by: PA Archive/PA ImagesMs London said when a child is listening to loud music or a video, it is perfectly acceptable to ask their parent to intervene.
“You lean over to that person and you smile and you say, ‘Excuse me, do you have headphones for your child,’” she said.
“Then you hold your gaze and 90% of the time, the parents went, ‘Oh, yes, yes’ and they give them [to the child].
“So, sometimes they’re unaware.”
Ms London said one time she did it on a train and the child’s mother clearly found it an “inconvenience” and afterwards she thanked her.
“The other people on the train, who looked at me and were so grateful that someone had spoken up,” she said.
“So, it’s not easy to do but I also think that the only way to have a civil society, we have to help other people remember that the outliers are outliers.”
Main image: A woman on a train. Picture by: Alamy.com
