UK Plans £100 Fine for Bus Passengers Playing Loud Music
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- Pemerintah Inggris mengusulkan sanksi finansial hingga £100 bagi penumpang bus yang memutar musik dengan volume tinggi, bagian dari strategi menekan perilaku antisosial.
- Kampanye nasional 'share the carriage, not the noise' akan digelar untuk mengingatkan pengguna transportasi umum, sementara penegakan aturan menjadi sorotan karena keterbatasan personel.
- Keberhasilan kebijakan ini bergantung pada alokasi anggaran petugas keamanan dan koordinasi dengan kepolisian setempat, menurut sejumlah pihak.
Bus passengers in the UK caught playing music at high volume could face fines of up to £100 (around Rp1.9 million) under government plans being drafted. The move is part of a broader effort to curb antisocial behavior on public transport, which also covers littering, vaping, and threatening behavior.
Prime Minister Andy Burnham stressed that disturbance from loud phone audio has become a common complaint. "We have all been on a train when someone starts playing music or videos from their phone. It is disruptive and quickly ruins the journey," he said, as quoted by the BBC. The government has also launched a national campaign titled "share the carriage, not the noise" to remind rail passengers, in line with rules that have existed since 2005.
Even so, the implementation of this rule raises questions. Some parties doubt the capacity for enforcement on the ground, especially since buses are generally supervised only by a single driver. The government stressed that bus drivers will not be burdened with enforcement responsibility; that authority will rest with official officers such as Transport Safety Officers and the police. The Minister for Science, Research and Innovation, Chris McDonald, added that passengers can report to staff or the British Transport Police if they feel unsafe.
Transport for London (TfL), which manages the London Underground, has already applied similar byelaws. Officers usually ask passengers to turn off the music first, and most comply. If they refuse, passengers can be asked to leave or reported for legal proceedings. However, the TSSA union highlighted the need for more serious handling of violence and threats faced by passengers and transport workers. TSSA General Secretary Maryam Eslamdoust considers increased funding for the British Transport Police to be key to protection.
"Without funding for transport safety officers on the ground, these new rules will be worth nothing," said Liberal Democrat transport spokesperson Olly Glover.
Criticism also came from the opposition. Shadow Transport Minister Richard Holden accused the Labour Party of failing to tackle violence, claiming attacks on rail staff rose 68% while prosecutions fell. He urged Burnham to seriously enforce the rules and protect workers. Meanwhile, Campaign for Better Transport welcomed the move as an effort to improve comfort, but questioned the enforcement mechanism on buses that are not always supervised by dedicated police.
In Indonesia, a similar polemic is actually nothing new. KRL Commuter Line and TransJakarta users often complain about passengers watching videos or listening to music without headphones. Although there are no financial sanctions yet, operators have urged passengers to respect one another. This UK policy could serve as a mirror for public transport managers in the country in designing stricter rules, of course taking into account officer readiness and outreach.
Going forward, the effectiveness of this policy will depend on how much budget is allocated for security officers and how far coordination with local police goes. Without that, the fine rule will only be a paper tiger. The question is, will the UK government follow up with additional personnel, or instead burden bus drivers who are already vulnerable?
