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Party time on the Tube before drink ban begins
Valentine Low, Evening Standard30.05.08
Boris Johnson's public transport alcohol ban starts in less than 48 hours - but not before thousands of determined drinkers make a last stand - if it can be described as such - on the Tube.
From Sunday, it will be illegal to drink on the Tube and Docklands Light Railway, or any buses or trams operated by Transport for London. The Mayor hopes to reduce antisocial behaviour and violence, and make journeys more pleasant for passengers.
But the move is not going through without a fight, with several groups opposed to the ban vowing to converge on the Underground tomorrow. With the prospect of the Circle line becoming a day-long party, extra police will be on patrol. Several thousand people have signed up to groups on Facebook. On "Circle Line Party - Last Day of Drinking on the Tube" they vow to celebrate "our freedom to drink", adding: "We need to make this big, so spread the word and we'll 'flash-mob' the Tube."
Another group, "One Final Tube Booze Party", plans to set off from Liverpool Street at noon. The site states: "I believe we should take over a Circle line train and go around getting drunk all day just to say, 'Up yours Boris, you party animal!'" At last count the group had 2,700 members - enough, they say, to take over three trains.
Superintendent Ellie Bird of British Transport Police said: "We will have an increased number of officers deployed for a number of events on Saturday. Officers will engage with people who drink alcohol on the Tube and let them know that it is no longer permitted."
Under the ban - one of Mr Johnson's key manifesto pledges - anyone with an open bottle or can of alcohol can be asked to leave by a member of Transport for London staff or a police officer. Next year a new by-law will be passed making it a criminal offence.
Mainline services are not affected - although London Overground services are due to be included in the new regime within a few weeks.
A number of cities have already banned drinking on public transport. Alcohol is prohibited on Newcastle's Metro. A ban has long been enforced on the New York subway - but when an attempt was made to extend it to trains heading to Long Island, passengers rebelled, keen to protect their "cocktail hour". The authorities climbed down.
Reader views (22)
Here's a sample of the latest views published.
Wow, one more step to becoming as controlled as us Yanks.. Welcome to our nightmare.. where an open container outside your house puts you in jail for the night. That's right, you can't even drink on your porch!
- John Drefahl, New York, New York
Richard: "Pressure from fellow passengers may be enough to get people to leave"
Good luck with that one. As much as I like to think as myself as a good Samaritan, I think I'll leave the citizen's arrests to you.
".. the driver has full authority to ask anyone flouting the law to remove themselves"
Other people may disagree, but I'd much rather be sitting next to someone with an open beer than being stuck at a tube station for half an hour every night while the driver asks everyone with open drinks to vacate the train.
- Kieran, London, UK
Oppose bans on public drinking
The new London major's first act was to ban drinking on the Tube. As spiked's Brendan O'Neill points out, one's attitude towards public drinking has long been a test of libertarian spirit. The Manifesto Club supports all those – and there have not been many – who have raised a protest against public drinking bans. These include the organisers of this Circle Line Party against the Tube drinking ban, and David Shariatmadari on Comment is Free; and this petition from the publicans and patrons of Soho, who call on the PM to ‘resist a ban on drinking outside and maintain the liberal culture of Soho’. See also Dolan Cummings' comment against the booze ban in the Manifesto Club Members' Room.
The above appeared on a Libertarian Website, 'The Manifesto Club' Founder member of the Manifesto Club, Munira Mirza' appointed by Boris on a salary of £80,000 per annum as his, 'Art and Culture' supremo.
I wonder if Mirza will now stick to her libertarian principles and resign her post, in protest at Boris's authoritarian behaviour: bet not!
- David, exeter uk
Interesting to see that the English only go out to protest when their drinking habits are in danger. Other nations fight for better better working hours etc. What is happening in the UK?
- Tracy, Frankfurt
It is already illegal to board an Underground train whilst intoxicated, so the Mayor didn't need to address that aspect of the law, simply the drinking of it whilst on board. The ban is enforceable- the driver has full authority to ask anyone flouting the law to remove themselves, and their alcohol, from the Tube. If they refuse the driver need not get involved- he simply has to radio through to notify the British Transport Police to attend and have the people concerned removed, whilst announcing to the train the reason for the delay. Pressure from fellow passengers may be enough to get people to leave, otherwise the police will arrive and simply remove them. So it's a very workable ban. The next thing thing they should do is enforce the existing law that prohibits you from being intoxicated with alcohol while travelling on the Tube, and alcohol-fuelled problems on the Tube should decrease.
- Richard, London, UK
Wow, Terence Ford is a bit of a strange one, isn't he! Sounds like he's been drinking!
Now, more importantly, what sort of chavvy alcoholic can't last more than 45 mins without a drink? The ban is an excellent idea and we should be grateful that in the post-Red Ken era, the London majority is being listened to.
- St, London
Oooh, great idea, ban food. I hate the smell of samosas in the morning, really turns my stomach. And they should certainly ban amplified music. And yes those people with huge back packs taking up the space of a small family. And putting on make up, that is just wrong! Ahh.. or if people just remembered there are others than them in the world we'd be ok. But they don't.
So I agree. It shouldn't be necessary to ban alcohol, but it is.
- Stephen, London
Such a coincidence as were all going to a 1920's Prohibition Party in spirit of the recent drinking ban on July 7th at a secret location!
- Anna, London
Sheer lunacy. Every major transport system on the planet bans all foodstuffs. And we are just now banning alcohol?
Why wasn't a total ban done years ago?
No ones on a train to eat their lunch!
- Olden Atwoody, Leeds, UK
I think they should just ban the Tube. Only poor people need to use it, and who cares what they think!
- Rah, London
A couple of weeks ago I sat opposite a young (probably around 19 or 20) Afro-Caribbean man on the tube. He was reading a book (Barack Obama's autobiography, in case anyone is interested in such details) and sipping beer from a bottle. He was not causing any trouble, offence, distress or discomfort to his fellow travellers: he was simply reading and enjoying his beer.
Two days later, finding myself on the tube again at around the same sort of time in the evening, a group of white, middle-class thirty-somethings boarded the train and proceeded to drunkenly harass me repeatedly throughout my journey (when I applied some lipbalm, one particularly charming male amongst the group asked me to kiss him as he was himself in urgent need of lipbalm). Some passengers were visibly distressed by this scene; but as nobody in the group was carrying alcohol, they were obviously not a threat or a disturbance. At all.
- Katy, London
It will probably end up as a replacement line bus service party. Especially at the weekend.
- Mickmack, London
Re:Terence Ford
Someone else looking for racism at every corner.
PC idiots like yourself are one of the reasons that we now need to ban things like this. A whole generation have now been raised knowing there rights but not there responsibilities.
- Matthew, South Stifford, UK
Here's yet another example of political correctness gone mad. Just what you'd expect under a anti-libertarian new labour government. Oh yeah, wasn't this a conservative initiative... I'm finding all just a little bit too confusing.
- Aidan Reid, london, uk
Banning alcohol on the Tube might help a bit, but what about people who are already drunk when they get on the Tube? They could also get aggressive...
- Susie Sweet, London, England
Danny, nice touch mentioning they were Poles. Was there any need? No! Three drunk guys would have been enough you narrow minded fool.
What is the common trend of the above comments? Everyone got on the tube drunk. They did not get on the tube and drink alcohol and, in turn, get drunk!
Banning food?! How about banning taking more than one bag on the tube? Or not being able to wear hats on the tube? What about talking on the tube, I hate it when people talk on the tube? Where does it end? George Orwell anyone?
Enter expletive here!
- Terence Ford, London
Like many bans, this should not be necessary but it is necessary. We live in an age of no responsibility - basically if it is legal, do it. There is little consideration for others.
In an ideal world, (which I think Britain was once as close to as is possible), there would be no need for bans as everyone would consider each other and the consequences of their actions. But the liberal experiment of the 'sixties onwards has now come home to roost. When people will not behave they have to be controlled, for the sake of the majority and to prevent anarchy.
For this reason the ban on drinking on the tube is not good; but it is necessary in modern Britain.
- Gerard Saunders, Robertsbridge, East Sussex
I arrived back from holiday last week and took the tube home. Three very drunk young Poles got on my tube, sat in a circle so that they surrounded me and began to gesticulate towards me, commenting and laughing in Polish. They stank, they were threatening and I felt so tired at the chaos that abounds in this country.
I am all for the ban. Well done Boris!
- Danny, London
My brother made his way home with his girlfriend from watching my band's gig last night and had to endure a couple of drunken kids actually urinating inside a Jubilee Line carriage. Sensibly he decided not to front them out and instead moved carriage, to inevitable abuse. Neither of them were drinking on the tube, yet they were both clearly drunk.
Banning the actual drinking of alcohol on the tube smacks to me of completely missing the point.
(Jay from Putney - I look forward to your well-thought out defence of these idiots and the general age group...)
- Stuart Dean, Beckton, London
About time too. I also hope that Boris will be banning the intake of food in the not too distant future as the smell of someone eating a samosa at 8.30 in the morning on a packed train/tube is not a pleasant experience I wish to share any longer!!
- Julie, London
Someone sent me an invite to this via facebook and I declined as the sort of people who will attend will be a mixture of good natured people doing it for the right reasons and a load of drunken yobs who'll ruin it for everyone, I'd rather not be involved when it all kicks off.
- Gert Cheransoff, Wimbledon
I am all for this ban. Not all of us granted, but some of us drink ourselves senseless on the tube and cause havoc for other people on the train. Why is it such a big deal to ban consumption of alcohol on tubes? Just start drinking when you get off!! If it means we are decreasing the amount of rowdy behaviour on public transport then its a good plan.
- Anon, London
