§ Mr. KaufmanTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will introduce legislation to make it a criminal offence to put feet on seats in public transport. [91550]
§ Ms Glenda JacksonThe regulation of passengers' behaviour on trains is already provided for in legislation which gives railway companies the right to make byelaws. The existing railway byelaws and London Transport byelaws make it a criminal offence for any person to wilfully soil or deface any furniture on a train, and this 483W would normally catch behaviour such as placing feet on a seat. The train operating companies and London Transport are also in the process of making new byelaws, and have submitted them to the Secretary of State for approval. These include a provision that no person shall soil any part of the railway.
With regard to buses or coaches, the Public Service Vehicle (Conduct of Drivers, Inspectors, Conductors and Passengers) Regulations 1990 give drivers the power to remove passengers from their vehicle if they are causing a nuisance or intentionally interfering with any equipment fitted to the vehicle. These powers would be sufficient to deal with the problem of passengers putting their feet on bus or coach seats.