The Government has announced new measures to tackle antisocial behaviour on public transport across England – including new £100 fines on buses and a new campaign aimed at discouraging ‘loudcasting’ on trains.
Updated guidance has now been issued for local authorities to support powers as part of a renewed crackdown on loud music, littering, vaping, and threatening behaviour on buses.
A new campaign unveiled by the Government aims to encourage rail passengers to ‘share the carriage, not the noise’ in order to improve journey experiences for all travelling on public transport.
The industry-led initiative also includes audio reminders of the rules in place across the rail network, with those refusing to stop when asked by authorised rail staff either being removed at the next station or issued a maximum fine of up to 1,000 GBP.
All new powers for authorities on bus enforcement were brought into effect by the Bus Services Act 2025, which allows all local transport authorities across England to set and enforce their own local rules. To this end, bus drivers themselves will not be responsible for enforcement, instead receiving support from authorised officers, including Transport Safety Officers and the Police, to deal with incidents.
Officers will employ a three-step approach for any potential offences: engaging with the person, explaining the rules and their impact on other passengers, and taking enforcement action if they refuse to comply.
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.
That’s why we’re empowering local leaders to shape bus services around the needs of their communities and taking advantage of publicly owned Train Operating Companies to encourage people to be considerate of others on public transport and reminding them of the potential consequences if they aren’t.
The new rail campaign aims to end a ‘patchwork’ of current campaigns across different rail operators and help to create a clear, consistent message across the network. Most operators will feature the messaging on websites, social media, in carriages and at stations, and will include posters and announcements.
In a wider sense, the campaign will also seek to demonstrate how public ownership may enable train operators to push for a more unified operation in order to effectively tackle antisocial behaviour.
