Another year and sadly my first posting is a rant showing that I am truly becoming even grumpier as I get older.
I travel mostly by public transport now I work in the centre of Huddersfield and also we have gone down from 2 to 1 car. One phenomenon of public transport that does drive me to distraction however is audible mp3 players/ipods. They used to be called 'personal' stereos but oft times there is nothing very personal about them. The tinny bass beat can frequently be heard and it winds me up. I have nothig against people listening to their music its just that I don't want to hear it. I like a good bit of thrash punk myself but I do understand that not everyone wants to hear 'The Exploited' screaming out 'Dead Cities' while they're travelling to work in the morning. I often ask people politely to turn them down. The reactions vary. Some people turn them down a bit or even off but others react rudely and even aggressively. Sometimes the response is "No one else is complaining" as if that was an excuse. Other people do speak up and add their support which usually (but not always) has the desired effect. Earphone leakage is not a rare occurence and I believe it can't just be me who gets irritated by having other peoples music inflicted on me. So what is to be done. Bus and train companies haven't really caught onto this problem. Sometimes there is a small notice as part of an array of rules but most times there is nothing about keeping music 'personal'. People who just want peace on public transport need backing up with a high profile campaign by West Yorkshire PTA and the relevant companies. It needs to be explicit 'Your music should only be heard by you' ' Keep your music to yourself'' etc etc. There also needs to be advice for people on the action they should take when reasonable requests to turn music down are ignored such as informing the bus driver or the guard. If we are to encourage more people to use public transport we need to ensure that respect for others is part of the culture of bus and train travel.
Or there is Spock's solution from "Star Trek IV - The Voyage Home"!
Rant over now to act!
Give people an application for a Public Performance License!
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