Department for Transport guidance published on 19 October 2026 moves the government's transport anti-social behaviour plans into implementation. The announcement combines two distinct measures: an England bus byelaw framework that can support fixed penalties of up to £100, and a rail campaign urging passengers to stop playing music and videos aloud on trains. (gov.uk) On the rail side, the policy change is mainly about visibility and consistency rather than a new offence. The Department for Transport says most operators will carry the same message across websites, stations, carriages and audio announcements, replacing the current patchwork of operator-level campaigns. (gov.uk)
On buses, the legal base comes from sections 28 and 29 of the Bus Services Act 2025, with the new powers in force from 5 August 2026, and they add byelaw powers for local transport authorities plus associated enforcement powers including fixed penalty notices capped at £100. The Department for Transport guidance published on 19 October 2026 applies to England and is intended to help authorities make and enforce those byelaws. (legislation.gov.uk) The guidance makes clear that authorities can target behaviour both on buses and at 'bus premises', a term each authority must define for its own network. The examples set out by the Department include vaping, littering, threatening or abusive conduct, alcohol-related nuisance and excessive noise such as music or video played without headphones. (gov.uk)
This does not create an automatic nationwide fine from 19 October. Before any local rule can be enforced, the relevant transport authority must draft its byelaws, consider representations, submit them to the Secretary of State for approval and then take reasonable steps to publicise the rules locally. In practice, that means implementation is likely to depend on how quickly individual authorities move from guidance to signed-off schemes. (gov.uk) The Department for Transport also states that bus drivers will not be expected to police these offences. Enforcement is instead meant to sit with authorised officers such as transport safety teams, alongside police constables and, where locally approved, PCSOs. (gov.uk)
The statutory guidance pushes a staged enforcement model: engage, educate, then enforce. Officers are expected to start by seeking voluntary compliance and explaining the effect on other passengers before moving to a fixed penalty notice or, where necessary, removal from a bus or bus station using reasonable force. (gov.uk) The financial headline is a maximum £100 fixed penalty notice, and the Act allows authorities to offer a lower amount for early payment within a period shorter than 14 days. An FPN is an alternative to prosecution, and the guidance says authorities should be ready to prosecute the original offence if it is not paid. Refusal to give a name and address or to leave when required is more serious: under section 144D of the Transport Act 2000, as inserted by the Bus Services Act 2025, that can lead to prosecution and a level 3 fine, which the Sentencing Act 2020 sets at £1,000. Revenue from bus fixed penalties is supposed to be spent on local transport measures, including enforcement and public education, rather than treated as a general income stream. (legislation.gov.uk)
The bus guidance is notably not written as a blanket zero-tolerance code. The Department for Transport says enforcement should be targeted and proportionate, not used to raise revenue, and balanced with local communications aimed at changing behaviour before it escalates. (gov.uk) Safeguards are built into the document. Authorities are told to consider vulnerability, disability and medical conditions, to apply the Public Sector Equality Duty, and to train officers so that apparent intoxication or disorder is not misread where there may be a safeguarding issue. (gov.uk)
On trains, the legal position already exists. Railway Byelaw 7 bars passengers from singing or using sound-producing equipment 'to the annoyance of any person' without permission, and Byelaw 24 allows an authorised person to require a passenger to leave the railway immediately and remove them with reasonable force if they fail to desist or leave. (assets.publishing.service.gov.uk) That is why the rail measure announced on 19 October 2026 is better understood as a network-wide communications drive rather than a new power. The Department for Transport is using the term 'loudcasting' for phone audio played through speakers, and says passengers who refuse to comply when challenged can face prosecution, with breaches of the byelaws carrying up to a level 3 fine, currently £1,000. (gov.uk)
The policy case is broader than irritation on the morning commute. In the Bus Services Act evidence base, the Department for Transport said 34% of surveyed non-bus users reported purposely avoiding buses, and one third of that group cited the behaviour of other passengers as a reason they felt unsafe. The same document argues that perceived safety affects access to work, education, healthcare and other day-to-day activity, especially for people with fewer transport alternatives. (legislation.gov.uk) For passengers, the immediate result is clearer messaging and the prospect of more visible intervention. For transport authorities, the next task is to draft locally workable byelaws, collect evidence to a prosecutable standard, publish enforcement policies and apply the new regime consistently with proportionality and equality duties. The effect of the package will therefore depend less on the announcement than on whether local implementation is consistent, proportionate and visible. (gov.uk)