£1,000 FINE FOR
BEING TOO DRUNK, VAPING, SWEARING OR LITTERING ON TRAMS
METROLINK passengers who swear, vape, get too drunk or litter on trams and at stations now stand to be fined £1,000.
Transport bosses are taking a tougher stance than ever before on nuisance behaviour in a bid to stamp out troublemakers.
They are focusing on key byelaws that already exist on the network.
But, while flouting them in the past would likely only result in a dressing down, passengers will now be prosecuted and forced by a court to dig deep.
Transport for Greater Manchester has said such a fine has yet to be given this year – but staff have been handed the powers to issue the penalties.
In the year to last July, there were 520 reported byelaw offences across the Metrolink network. The most reported offences were throwing objects, verbal abuse and improper use of emergency door handle activation.
Transport for Greater Manchester’s (TfGM) Metrolink Monsters campaign first appeared in March.
At the time, it focused on annoying behaviours like sneezing without covering your face or talking loudly on your mobile phone.
This time, it’s been ramped up to cover illegal behaviours, represented by new monsters such as Smoky Joe, Drunken Duncan and Vaping Vera.
Managing director at KeolisAmey Metrolink, Aline Frantzen, said: “There are some unacceptable behaviours which spoil the Metrolink experience for law-abiding passengers, and we want to make it clear that these actions have serious consequences.”
TfGM’s head of Metrolink, Danny Vaughan, added: “The byelaws exist to prevent this from happening, so our message is clear – from January, you are far more likely to be prosecuted and fined up to £1,000 if you choose to ignore or flaunt them.”