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Boris bans booze on buses, trams and Tube in first attack on ASBO culture
Last updated at 12:52pm on 08.05.08Alcohol will be banned on London's buses and Tubes from next month in the first move by new mayor Boris Johnson to purge the capital's transport network of drunken louts.
Anyone caught drinking - or even carrying open cans or bottles - will face having them confiscated or being ejected from the system.
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The ban will be enforced by transport staff and police. Mr Johnson plans to have 440 extra police community officers on board rowdier buses and another 50 transport officers patrolling stations.
"I'm determined to improve the safety and security of public transport in London and create a better environment for the millions of Londoners who rely on it," he said yesterday.
"I firmly believe that if we drive out so-called minor crime then we will be able to get a firm grip on more serious crime."
During his successful campaign, Mr Johnson claimed many Londoners were afraid of taking the Underground at night because of aggressive drunks.
He insisted that the measure is backed by Underground staff and bus drivers.
But Bob Crow, leader of the RMT transport union, claimed the move appeared "not to have been thought through very well".
He said: "We are being told that it is our members who will have to approach people drinking and ask them to stop - but the mayor hasn't asked us what we think.
"Violence against our members is already a major problem, particularly from people who have been drinking."
The ban will also apply to trams and the Docklands Light Railway but not suburban rail services.
Thousands of revellers travel into central London by public transport in the evenings, particularly at weekends, and many use the journey as a chance to down some cheap alcohol before hitting the pricier bars and clubs in the West End.
The Tube is also a haven for tramps who sup from cans and bottles and often intimidate passengers.
A new bylaw would be needed to make drinking on public transport in London a criminal offence but Mr Johnson believes that a change to the "rules of carriage" will be enough.
"I think people will find it self-enforcing like the smoking ban after the King's Cross fire," he said.
"People respected that and the vast majority realised it was a sensible idea."
Reader views (5)
There's a lot of yammer about the drinking ban being unenforceable. So how come the 'no smoking' ban is rigidly policed and enforced?
How silly of me! The vast majority of smokers won't beat you up or spew all over you when their 'crime' is pointed out to them!
The smoking ban, which virtually every intolerant nutter welcomed, was just the precursor for ever more intolerant bans. You can't have it all ways people!
- Goggleman, Newcastle-upon-Tyne
Bob Crow said: "We are being told that it is our members who will have to approach people drinking and ask them to stop - but the mayor hasn't asked us what we think" Surely the staff are employed to do a job and it doesn't really matter what the staff think about it.
Nick, London - I take it you didn't vote for Boris, and I bet you would have applauded this idea if it came from Ken. I find it offensive when people drink on London transport and I only wish that they had gone further and banned food and drink altogether. I have never understood why people feel the need to eat and drink outside of home or a restaurant or on public transport. Why not have something before you leave home or work.
- Peter Sparkling, London, UK
I agree with Nick. What about the lager louts that journey up from the "burbs on Friday and Saturday night, get smashed and then wander around the stations, tubes and trains making a nuisance of themselves? Should the Mayor also lead by example and forgoe the bottle of Merlot when travelling 1st Class on the Eurostar? How is it different? It is bad behaviour when drunk that should be banned and stopping people having a drink on the tube is not going to do that. Wake up Mr Mayor and the rest of London!
- Tracy, London
Yes, more rules and regulations like these are exactly what we need to address the important issues- such as chronic overcrowding and quality of service. I would welcome more rules- perhaps telling me which books and magazines to read on public transport and which clothes to wear- what to say to other passengers, where to go and what to eat.
Unless someone tells me what to do, I don’t know how to think or behave.
- Simon Fiddler, Harrow
The new Mayor’s plans will not tackle the drinking culture problem. It’s just populist headline grabbing with no substance and little thought applied.
The act of drinking on a train or bus is not of itself a problem, it is the result of too much alcohol that is. We already have laws to deal with drunk and disorderly behaviour, so this one isn’t needed. These existing laws are barely enforced and do not prevent or seemingly discourage drunken behaviour, so will this new one?
Most of the threatening behaviour comes from people who are already drunk before they board public transport. Most bus and Tube journeys are not sufficiently long enough for anyone to actually get drunk solely whilst using public transport. Anyone who becomes aggressive/disorderly is covered by existing laws, however ineffectively. This new law does not tackle that problem, so is pointless.
How is this to be enforced? Staff do intervene already and get assaulted and the problem still continues, so no cigar there Bojo. Are Police going to act? On 'Footy special' National Rail services where alcohol is banned there is a huge Police deployment to ensure compliance, with all alcohol is handed over and deposited into huge metal bins at the station. That will not work at Tube stations. There aren’t adequate Police resources or sufficient space. Anyone travelling through a West End station on a Friday/Saturday evening will point out that this is unenforceable on a full time basis. Bojo IS a clown and he's ours.
- Nick, London
