Two poems by passengers about travel etiquette have been chosen to feature on posters in Tube stations across the capital as part of Transport for London’s (TfL) latest campaign.
‘Travel Better London’ aims to highlight the travel behaviours than can cause delay to our journeys including dropping litter, pulling the passenger alarm, holding the doors open and not letting passengers off before they get on. The new posters are the result of a competition asking passengers to submit their poems about helping to improve the environment for fellow travellers by making small changes to their travel habits. Alex Bishop, winner in the over-18 category wrote about the effects that playing loud music has on fellow passengers. The entries and winning poems can be found at www.tfl.gov.uk/travelbetterlondon
Rock ‘n’ roll may stir the soul
And drum ‘n’ bass may have its place
But down that urban rabbit hole
It leaves a more divisive taste
That tinny blare, we’re forced to bear it
Please turn it down, no need to share it
Under-18 category winner Toni Omitogun wrote about travelling in crowded areas.
You should try not to push or squeeze,
For sometimes all you have to do is say please.
Although your delays might be slight,
You may stop people getting to their families that night.
Even if you are trying to be polite,
Try not to make spaces too tight.
Other behaviours targeted include wearing rucksacks on crowded vehicles and eating smelly food.
Mike Brown MVO, Managing Director, London Underground, said: `We’ve been working hard to meet the Mayor’s commitment of reducing delays by a further 30 per cent by 2015 but there is still work to do. While we are making improvements across the network, passengers can also play a key role in helping us to deliver an even more efficient service.
`Some 400 hours of delays last year could have been avoided with just a few small changes to customer travelling habits. `The winners of the Travel Better London competition show that Londoners have got behind the campaign.`Littering, pulling the passenger alarm, holding the doors open and not letting passengers off the train are small actions that cause larger effects on the transport network. The campaign uses poetry as a way to advise our customers on simple steps they can take to help reduce incidents that delay services and impact upon everyone.’
