Banning mobiles on Public Transport

connundrum

Taken from the Limerick Leader, so they've banned mobiles on trains in Tokyo. That's all grand and dandy, but I heard on the news on Monday that a Kerry TD is looking to get mobiles banned on public transport over here too. Only trains were mentioned but I'm sure that busses will be thrown into the equation soon enough.

Apparently we will be able to use mobiles on planes without affecting the electonics on board within the next year - won't that be fun?

Is the strange Kerryman right though? If your sitting on a 2 hour train journey, the last thing you want is to have Jecinta sitting across from you telling Marian how many lads she scored in the last 2 hours.. should people be made stand in between carriages when making or taking phonecalls?

I didn't think it bugged me until I was on the train down the country sitting across from the biggest tool ever who was telling his squeeze all about how much money he'd just made on his latest office furniture sales trip - and he insisted on absolutely shouting down the phone. IT'S A MOBILE PHONE, NOT A MEGAPHONE!!!

Howandever, discuss..

hullaballoo

Eh, what?

aidan_walsh

I heard on the news on Monday that a Kerry TD is looking to get mobiles banned on public transport over here too. Only trains were mentioned but I'm sure that busses will be thrown into the equation soon enough.

The proposal was for a set number of carriages, if even only one per train, where talking on a mobile phone would be prohibited. Not quite the same thing, and impossible to enfore on other forms or public transport.

oneweb

I CERTAINLY think that the use of mobiles for the purpose of playing ****ty "gansta-rap" on their tinny speakers by muppets should be punishable by removal of digits. Let's see how cool they think their tiny phones are when they can't use them, mwahahahahaha!

gracehopper

I totally understand why it's frustating but Its a free country. If people want to talk on their mobile thats (supposed to be) none of my business.

I do however get p*ssed off listening to:

A. Some knacker screaming down the phone giving instructions on how to inject yourself properly to their mate.

B. Some tool (As you mentioned) talking about how great a day they've had and that they've made "FOCK LODES OF DOSH TODAY"

C. Some aul one that talks on a phone as shes never used one in her life and has her kids ringing her every 5 minutes. She probably has one of the kids old phones with a 50 cent song as the ring tone

projectmayhem

connundrum wrote:

they've banned mobiles on trains in Tokyo

really? that's actually odd because they're such a technology-fueled economy, and they don't really have twats on public transport doing the dom joly shouting-in-your-phone type thing

Furry Burger

you dont shout into megaphones either thats the whole point of them...

they wont do it, different in tokyo wrere they are crammed into the trains.....
what you should of done is wait till he was finished and dialed someone and said
"Im on the train sitting beside this complete cvnt who insists on shouting down his phone bragging about some crappy achievemnet like selling furniture...ooops I hope he's not listening!!"

aidan_walsh

projectmayhem wrote:

really? that's actually odd because they're such a technology-fueled economy, and they don't really have twats on public transport doing the dom joly shouting-in-your-phone type thing

http://www.cyborlink.com/besite/japan.htm

The Geert Hofstede analysis for Japan is dramatically different from other Asian Countries such as Hong Kong, Korea or China. In Japan Masculinity is the highest characteristic. The lowest ranking factor is Individualism, which coincides with their high ranking in Uncertainty Avoidance. Japan is a more collectivist culture that avoids risks and shows little value for personal freedom.

R-KEANE

Furry Burger wrote:

you dont shout into megaphones either thats the whole point of them...

they wont do it, different in tokyo wrere they are crammed into the trains.....
what you should of done is wait till he was finished and dialed someone and said
"Im on the train sitting beside this complete cvnt who insists on shouting down his phone bragging about some crappy achievemnet like selling furniture...ooops I hope he's not listening!!"

oh dear

um7y1h83ge06nx

oneweb wrote:

I CERTAINLY think that the use of mobiles for the purpose of playing ****ty "gansta-rap" on their tinny speakers by muppets should be punishable by removal of digits. Let's see how cool they think their tiny phones are when they can't use them, mwahahahahaha!

Yeah, hate those twats! Usually I find they are some fat old skanger birds, playing absolutely f**king terrible commercial Trance, dance sh*t, thinking they're well f**king cool.

rubadub

bedlam wrote:

what they did last night and how sick they are.

2 people on a train having a conversation will talk about the same stuff. And some people do speak in a loud voice on the phone or not. So should all talking be banned, or just loud talking?

I think mobiles should not be used where normal talking is not acceptable either, like in a church or cinema

rubadub

bedlam wrote:

Alot of phone conversations tend to be louder. The noise from the train makes it harder to hear the person at the other end, which in turn results in voices being raised in some attempt to correct it.

Same could be said of normal conversations too on trains, louder to hear better. The people on trains on phones should speak lower than people having conversations. People are just ignorant using phones, "I cannot hear you properly, so you must be unable to hear me too".
I always tell people to speak quietly who roar down the phone at me, they are usually in busy pubs.

Linoge

I think that self regulation is best.

All the people here complaining about other people shouting on their phones, but who has ever asked them to tone it down? Have some balls ffs.

Fair enough, if its some big knackerish looking man leave him alone or you'll probably get a box, but anyone else I would have no problem telling them to pipe down.

xzanti

gracehopper wrote:

I totally understand why it's frustating but Its a free country. If people want to talk on their mobile thats (supposed to be) none of my business.

I do however get p*ssed off listening to:

A. Some knacker screaming down the phone giving instructions on how to inject yourself properly to their mate.

B. Some tool (As you mentioned) talking about how great a day they've had and that they've made "FOCK LODES OF DOSH TODAY"

C. Some aul one that talks on a phone as shes never used one in her life and has her kids ringing her every 5 minutes. She probably has one of the kids old phones with a 50 cent song as the ring tone

Thats a new one :eek:

Karl Hungus

I for one think it's idiotic. If you're on a bus or a train, it's hardly like being in a cinema and answering your phone.

Morrigan

The best form of defence is a good offence, children.
That's what noise-leaking earphones are for.
Carry your ipod/discman/poundshop miniradio around with you at all times.
When you find yourself being subject to the loud and inane conversations of others on public transport, slap on your pocket boom-box, turn up the treble, and treat the obnoxious dunderhead in question to a tinny but brain-peircing version of your tune of choice. Preferably something with a very repetitive drum beat.

Caveat: There will be some collateral damage and danger of you earning the detestation of all those around you, not just the victim. It's up to you to decide if the risk is worth it.

Dave!

Should we ban conversation too? Stupid idea

Peace

DaveMcG wrote:

Should we ban conversation too? Stupid idea

If this could be done on the Tallaght routes there would be no loss to society.

Dave!

Peace wrote:

If this could be done on the Tallaght routes there would be no loss to society.

While that is true (the less speech... or people... on the 77, the better), the point still stands!

Rockdolphin

So thats the answer to all the problems and everything we don't like, BAN IT ! The government since it came into power is devoid of any policies other than ban it or tax it. In the case of the smoking ban it has been ban it and tax it, nice one Michael ! Larger Euro trucks are to be banned from Irish roads because they screwed up the port tunnel designing it two inches too small. Solution, Ban the larger trucks (Have you noticed the height safety add about trucks now on TV) No doubt Dublin Airport won't be able to handle the new European Airbus jumbo, will we want to ban that from our skies !

Recently a hospital banned flowers from wards, schools have banned children in schoolyards from running and holding hands, tinted windows have been banned and other car modifications, skateboarding, hoddies, sunglasses, children from pubs and on and on, all banned for one dubious reason or other. Now some TD wants to ban mobile phones from public transport because they are an annoyance. Aren't we turning into an intollerent lot altogether ! I'm sure he engages in some disgusting habits like picking his nose and farting, can we ban those activities also. The little hitlers are on the march all over the place banning this and banning that. So much for fighting Hitler and the Nazis on the beaches all those years ago. It's about time we started to fight them in our bars, clubs restaurants, cars, buses, butcher shops and homes !!

Rb

Peace wrote:

If this could be done on the Tallaght routes there would be no loss to society.

Very true, when I do go to college I've to get the 75 up to Tallaght and there's some amount of muppets on it. Between the knackers sitting down the back playing crap music on their phones(or occasionally in the spring/summer months on their cd player things) and for some reason feeling the need to try and rap/sing along with it, and the school kids chatting so loud the whole bus can hear every single one of them, it makes for a very annoying trip.

Regarding a total ban of mobiles on public transport, I'd have to say no as a lot of people can use their phones quite discreetly on the bus/train and it wouldn't really be fair to punish those people.

The idea of having a dedicated carraige on trains is a good one though as it'd allow people to escape the almost dom-jolly wannabes that you sometimes come across on trains and have some peace and quiet.

If only there were some way to punish the muppets on public transport...

How about banning babies from public transport? They make a lot of noise too. The last thing you want on a two hour train trip is for Jacinta to sit down beside you with her crying baby. If a baby starts to cry its owner should have to stand between carraiges, because of course no-one else ever stands there, and even if they did they are less entitled to be annoyed than the seated customers.

And don't even get me started on ugly and/or fat people.............

It's good thing we have a government in this country. Legislating on such things is exactly the sort of that was envisaged back when we got our independence.

connundrum

Deleted User wrote:

How about banning babies from public transport?

TBH, the last time I tried to make a phonecall with a baby, it ended badly. I don't think the proposal was to ban noisy people, but to ban mobile phones.

Not that I'd suppost the ban btw

Gurgle

connundrum wrote:

Taken from the Limerick Leader, so they've banned mobiles on trains in Tokyo.

Em yeah.:rolleyes:
Since (at least) 2000, the trains had signs in all the carriages proclaiming the use of mobile phones to be banned.
The signs were ignored, they use their phones anyway. And this in a city where they wait for the green man before crossing a 1 lane road when there isn't a car in sight and hasn't been one in 3 hours.

Calina

TGVs in France has those signs too. Mostly it's very quiet in those carriages, at least going west. They pretty much take note of them.

I'd like them banned in IE carriages. I'm sick of conversations along the line of "Yeah, I'm on the 6.30. No, sure I got the 9 o'clock train up this morning. No, I'll be back in xxxx at around 9 or 10. We're just passing through [some station that's two stops up the line] No sure Dublin is an awful mess. The traffic is woeful. Sure the 6.30 is a grand train. Hardly stops anywhere. Yeah, and there were only 4 people on the train up this morning."

I don't mind "Hey there, the train is about 15 minutes late. See you shortly".

The problem with phones is it's a bit unnerving to only hear (loudly) one side of a conversation. I don't mind people talking. It's more....complete. People on phones drive me up the wall.

Fighting Irish

Stupid idea.......so the whole world should stop talking because certain people don't wanna hear them talking?

Gurgle

Calina wrote:

The problem with phones is it's a bit unnerving to only hear (loudly) one side of a conversation. I don't mind people talking. It's more....complete. People on phones drive me up the wall.

So your problem is that you can only eavesdrop on half a conversation.:p

Fajitas!

I would agree with banning them.

I've worked for CIE, a friend of mine is a driver, from Turkey. Over there phones are banned from buses. There's a phone on the bus which people can ring if they need to get in contact with a passenger, and apparently, mobile signals interfere with the ABS systems, but I don't know how true that is.

Calina

Gurgle wrote:

So your problem is that you can only eavesdrop on half a conversation.:p

No, my problem is people talking on phones are more annoying than people talking to people who are with them. I really couldn't give a toss what they are saying - mostly I'm plugged into headphones. But people on phones are loud. Much, much louder than people talking to other people in front of them.

rubadub

Calina wrote:

But people on phones are loud. Much, much louder than people talking to other people in front of them.

not all, mostly people ignorant to the fact that their voice is perfectly audible to the other person, even if the callers voice is drowned out by traffic.

It is like people shouting who are wearing earphones, insisting on hearing their own voice.

I do answer the phone on the bus, I never call people though. And I whisper far lower than I would talk to somebody sitting beside me, all you need is a whisper close to the phone. Any decent phone has a volume setting so people can turn it up at the other end.

Havent these shouters seen trigger happy TV, or do they just not get that sketch at all?

kurisu

Ban phones on public transport, what will they do next? ban protest posters on o connell street?! oh wait:eek: .........

Linoge

Rockdolphin wrote:

So thats the answer to all the problems and everything we don't like, BAN IT ! The government since it came into power is devoid of any policies other than ban it or tax it. In the case of the smoking ban it has been ban it and tax it, nice one Michael ! Larger Euro trucks are to be banned from Irish roads because they screwed up the port tunnel designing it two inches too small. Solution, Ban the larger trucks (Have you noticed the height safety add about trucks now on TV) No doubt Dublin Airport won't be able to handle the new European Airbus jumbo, will we want to ban that from our skies !

If the ban is for the greater good, or to protect people, places etc then there is no reason to complain.

There is a big difference between banning a known carcinogen and banning something that is annoying.

And as for banning a a super jumbo airplane from landing on a dangerously short runway... what is the world coming to?! Hitler would have allowed it.:rolleyes:

Zebra3

Some trains on the continent have the signal blocked on one or two of the carraiges on each train. This is highlighted (or simply always the ones at the front or back) and people are aware of this before they get on the train giving them the chance to choose if they want a peaceful journey or not.

Now, what's wrong with that?

Wertz

What about enforcement? Whilst I agree ythere's an annoyance problem, how the hell would any ban work, when legislation to stop people in cars chatting on handsets still goes largely unchecked (andis a lot more dangerous) and in hosptials where everyone and their ma has their phone turned on and are likely talking on it, regardless of the many No Phones signs.
Given the level of ownership in this country, it's going to be pretty hard to stop them being used ANYWHERE when people insist on being inconsiderate.

Rockdolphin

Linoge wrote:

If the ban is for the greater good, or to protect people, places etc then there is no reason to complain.

There is a big difference between banning a known carcinogen and banning something that is annoying.

And as for banning a a super jumbo airplane from landing on a dangerously short runway... what is the world coming to?! Hitler would have allowed it.:rolleyes:

The idea is that in a democratic free thinking society you win your case by the persuasion of your arguement not by tyranical laws !

There is no ban on known carcinogens in nicotine, the product is still legal and the government earns millions in revenue from it. Passive drinkers suffer more deaths and injuries at the hands of drinkers in one month than a million smokers could inflict in a lifetime. Should we ban alcohol ?

The solution to the Airbus problem is to build a bigger runway not ban it ! The solution to the port tunnel was to own up to the monumental mistake and not to ban the larger trucks !

Who decides in society what the greater good is ? The Nanny State ! Maybe you might like a meddler as a master but not I

lostexpectation

Gurgle wrote:

Em yeah.:rolleyes:
Since (at least) 2000, the trains had signs in all the carriages proclaiming the use of mobile phones to be banned.
The signs were ignored, they use their phones anyway. And this in a city where they wait for the green man before crossing a 1 lane road when there isn't a car in sight and hasn't been one in 3 hours.

Did it say why they were banned?

i like the idea of a quiet carraige or two but thats it.

**Timbuk2**

I hate when people are talking into there phones really loudly in a public place

for example, once I was in tesco (as you do)

i was just getting me things (;)) and then I heard a man talking really loudly to himself, walking around with a trolley I thought he was just very odd but then I discovered that he was actually talking on his phone through the earpiece (so the phone was in his pocket or wherever, and you could not see anything, so it looked like he was talking to himself). He was shouting very loud, and it seemed quite an important converssation (discussing whether buying new furniture for the office would be much loss over worth and so on)

wheres me jumpa

Whats really funny and its not just on PT, is the people who think when the person they are talking to is out of coverage, that the louder they shout the more likely they are to hear them...."Can you hear me?" "Hello?" "Are you there?" "I cant hear you" "Can you hear me?" and so on.

**Timbuk2**

Its sometimes funny when you are on a train and someone is chatting away happily to someone and then they hear some news that displeases them and then they just shout "Oh 5h1t" and everyone looks round. The embarassed look on their face

Aporia

That's the stupiest thing ever!

People talk everyday to each other on buses so how is talking to a phone any different??
As it was mentioned earlier sure ya might aswell ban speaking at all on buses in that case.

I hate when people are talking into there phones really loudly in a public place

Oh yeah like when your passing someone on the street and they're taking loudly in their phone oh gawwd it's so terrible.

Who cares! After all it is a public place people are aloud talk to each other loudly on the street what's the difference with someone talking on a phone!?

blu_sonic

To ban it would be an infringment on your rights, though with our "nanny state" they'll prob read this and implement it

Gurgle

lostexpectation wrote:

Did it say why they were banned?

Nope, just a sign with a red circle, picture of a mobile phone and a line through it.

btw - that article in the Limerick Leader is from 2001.

blu_sonic

why ban them for what reason?

John R

blu_sonic wrote:

To ban it would be an infringment on your rights

Quick somebody call Amnesty International, some fukwit is being denied their right to loudly spout crap in public.

Banning is a waste of time, smoking is banned that doesn't stop anyone either.

It's just a pity there isn't an electronic cigarette jammer 'cause my mobile phone jammer works great on public transport.

blu_sonic

Whats the point in flaming like that

John R wrote:

Quick somebody call Amnesty International, some fukwit is being denied their right to loudly spout crap in public.

i do feel to ban something that cause no harm to people is infringing on your rights, but you have nothing productive to add to that so you have to shoot off on a flame. well done i hope it made you feel big

ShayHT

Ban talking altogether, whats worse than hearing half a boring conversation, but both sides of it.

Ban mp3 players.

Ban those free papers, it really annoys me when people make so much noise when they have trouble turning the pages.

Ban the "The next station is xxxxx", thats annoying too.

Ban ticket inspectors "tickets please" sssshhhhhhh, I'm on the train, silence please....

Actually lets band the train altogether, the noise it makes really annoys me....

vector

No, even if someone presented a marvellous case for it, it would just be another step towards a nanny state