If the railway banned mobile phones and laptops, would it be near enough empty?

[Bletchleyite]

It's not going to - but with lithium battery fires going on...

If the railway banned mobile phones and laptops, would it be near enough empty?

In addition to the points made about phone and laptop batteries generally conforming to set standards , they are also much smaller so can be slipped in pockets and bags/luggage . What do you propose searching everyones bags etc ?

While I know there are disproportionately many anti-tech people on here, if you banned mobile phones and laptops from trains, nobody would use trains.

It's the same reason why they aren't banned from planes despite posing a nonzero risk (far more of a risk than the chance of anyone putting anything dodgy in a bottle of Coke).

 

[Need2]

While I know there are disproportionately many anti-tech people on here, if you banned mobile phones and laptops from trains, nobody would use trains.

Really?
Slight exaggeration don’t you think?

 

[43066]

It's the same reason why they aren't banned from planes despite posing a nonzero risk (far more of a risk than the chance of anyone putting anything dodgy in a bottle of Coke).

Presumably also because a phone battery is much smaller than an escooter battery.

 

[Bletchleyite]

Really?
Slight exaggeration don’t you think?

No.

So you’re saying that mobiles aren’t banned from planes because no one would fly?

Yes.

Presumably also because a phone battery is much smaller than an escooter battery.

That too. But it is a known risk.

 

[Need2]

No.



Yes.



That too. But it is a known risk.

Oh! Come on

 

[Bletchleyite]

Oh! Come on

The vast majority of people are wedded to their mobile phones and would not use a transport service if taking their mobile phone with them was not permitted. They would drive instead, or not travel and have an online meeting.

 

[chris_in_salop]

The vast majority of people are wedded to their mobile phones and would not use a transport service if taking their mobile phone with them was not permitted. They would drive instead, or not travel and have an online meeting.

Suits me

 

[Bletchleyite]

Suits me

Not really, because the transport mode would then close because not enough people would use it.

 

[Bletchleyite]

May I ask where you get your information from regarding the above and your previous statement that if you banned mobile phones on trains and planes then no one would travel?

It only takes one look through a train to see how many people have their head in a phone. It's obvious to everyone except RUK's resident luddites.

 

[Kilopylae]

It is common sense that no one (or at least, far too few people to keep the railway open) would use trains if there was an enforced ban on mobile phone usage. I can't tell if you're trolling or just trying to make some obtuse point.

As for planes, perhaps it's more arguable, as there's no simple alternative for intercontinental travel (plus, I guess some people like to sleep, and there's often in-flight entertainment).

 

[Bletchleyite]

As for planes, perhaps it's more arguable, as there's no simple alternative for intercontinental travel (plus, I guess some people like to sleep, and there's often in-flight entertainment).

I still think for European destinations there'd be a big shift to taking a car on the ferry if such a ban was introduced.

 

[Kilopylae]

I still think for European destinations there'd be a big shift to taking a car on the ferry if such a ban was introduced.

Yes, although I think Europe is only 'intercontinental' in the most glibly pedantic sense of the word.

 

[Bletchleyite]

Yes, although I think Europe is only 'intercontinental' in the most glibly pedantic sense of the word.

Yes, you're probably right that if it happened on long haul then a market for hire phones at the destination would probably crop up. But domestic and short-haul aviation would essentially cease to be a thing, because car and ferry* is an option, which is why they haven't banned it despite the risk (and mitigate it in other ways, e.g. by providing fireproof bags to put a smoking phone in prior to an emergency landing being arranged, and banning things with lithium batteries from the hold where nobody would notice until too late).

* I can scarcely see an easier place to deal with a phone fire than a ferry - just lob it in the sea and enjoy the fireworks with a beer!

 

[muz379]

I actually think in reality it would be widely ignored as a ban .

But if in some sort of weird dystopian scenario it was enforced in isolation without any other massive changes to society i think the mobile phone element would mean people would travel by alternate means . Look at everyday life now the vast majority of people use mobile phones as part of their daily routines without even thinking about it .

 

[Baxenden Bank]

I assume the ban is on having one, rather than specifically using it on the train. That being the case then yes, trains and indeed all forms of mass/public transport would be virtually empty. Save for quick trips eg to the shop and straight back, who would want to be without their device nowadays?

If you banned phones you would of course have to re-open / not close lots of ticket offices.

 

[Bletchleyite]

Yes, on carrying one because of the risk of a battery fire.

I am firmly of the view that it would make the railway on 24th March 2020 look absolutely heaving (certainly I wouldn't use it at all with such a ban, just as I mostly didn't when masks were required) - but there was somebody on the thread about e-scooter bans who thought otherwise, hence this thread!

 

[haggishunter]

One of the reasons I choose to use the train particularly for longer journeys is because I can use the time productively (or unproductively depending on my mood ), improved connectivity by mobile network and onboard WiFi makes this even more the case than previously. So absolutely such a ban would have serious consequences for demand because it would remove a significant pull factor towards rail.

In fact I would go so far as to suggest even, that on medium distance routes, reducing journey times by a few minutes here or there matters less than it would have a few years ago. Better onboard connectivity and onboard facilities are probably more important to drive modal shift now than saving a few minutes.

If ScotGov wants to attain it’s 20% reduction in car miles by 2030, making trains more family friendly and work friendly, with world class onboard connectivity is going to be required to help pull people to rail and the capacity will have to be there to match the ambition too. Much more the promised revolution in rail from a few years ago than the post covid ‘fit for the future’ timetable and capacity cuts etc.

 

[PTR 444]

It's not going to - but with lithium battery fires going on...

If the railway banned mobile phones and laptops, would it be near enough empty?

Without a doubt, 99.9% empty.

The vast majority of people today cannot live without some sort of electronic device, whether that be a phone, tablet or laptop.

 

[edwin_m]

Agreed, it would either be ignored or the trains would be empty.

On a train there's plenty of fresh air available and people can move to the next coach or in the worst case evacuate to lineside. They also don't usually have reclining seat mechanisms that can trap a phone and damage a battery. None of the above applies to aircraft, where phone/laptop batteries are far more of a hazard.

 

[gmaguire]

Assuming the risk of fire was high enough. I think it would be like the mask requirement. Some people would ignore it completely, others would make it look like they’re complying while actually not, but most people would just do as instructed.

If I wasn’t allowed to take my phone on the train at all, I would let everyone know that I won’t be able to receive calls and texts on that number, and that I wouldn’t be able to read their emails quickly, and I would just leave the phone at home. I work more efficiently with a mobile phone, but it’s not strictly necessary.

I wouldn’t be able to just not take the train at all. I need to get to work and I don’t have a car. If the ban lasted for more than about a year I’d consider getting a car, but so would loads of other people.

 

[Hadders]

How are most passengers going to purchase and present tickets if you ban mobile phones?

 

[yoyothehobo]

People are going to be really upset with the clacking and ringing of my typewriter

-Posted by Royal Mail from my Erika Robotron Model 105 Portable Typewriter-

 

[geoffk]

People are going to be really upset with the clacking and ringing of my typewriter

-Posted by Royal Mail from my Erika Robotron Model 105 Portable Typewriter-

I suppose if you don't want to listen to phone conversations you go in the quiet coach, if there is one. I read that only 1 in 10 million lithium-ion battery cells catch fire so that's not a "significant" risk.

(When I was in Denmark, I was made aware by another passenger that the regime in the quiet coach is actually "no talking"!)

 

[Techniquest]

People are going to be really upset with the clacking and ringing of my typewriter

-Posted by Royal Mail from my Erika Robotron Model 105 Portable Typewriter-

By some way my favourite post of the week It made me smile quite a bit!

As for no phones etc on a train, I wouldn't be on the train either. As much as it frustrates me, I do rely on my phone for quite a lot of things!

 

[Gloster]

People are going to be really upset with the clacking and ringing of my typewriter

I have had something very like this on a Eurostar: a chap tapping away on his laptop, with a clicking sound for every letter. It was like Posy Simmonds’ wonderful description, originally of music just audible on a Walkman, ‘like mice tap dancing on the lid of a biscuit tin.’

 

[Baxenden Bank]

People are going to be really upset with the clacking and ringing of my typewriter

-Posted by Royal Mail from my Erika Robotron Model 105 Portable Typewriter-

I do hope that when you press carriage return you don't send someone's cup of tea off the table. Assuming we are talking proper typewriters here.

 

[Bletchleyite]

I do hope that when you press carriage return you don't send someone's cup of tea off the table. Assuming we are talking proper typewriters here.

There's a meme knocking around the Internet of a student using a classic portable typewriter in a lecture to take notes, allegedly because laptops had been banned.