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Maybe LIRR cell phone vigilante John Clifford should consider relocating to NJ, say somewhere along the utopian Lakeland Bus Lines route. The company is aggressively enforcing a cell phone ban, with drivers willing to pull the bus over to shame anyone who dares chat on the phone. On one occasion a driver even called for police backup when a passenger angrily refused to get off the phone. Now the Times reports New Jersey Transit and even the chatty LIRR are following Lakeland's lead with ad campaigns urging riders to use their cell phones sparingly. But not everyone's happy with Lakeland's cellular militancy; one disgruntled customer complains, “I pay almost $300 a month for tickets to ride on these buses...and I don’t want to be ridiculed when I have to use my phone. Sometimes, I think people are being treated like we’re in kindergarten."
Zero Tolerance for Cell Phones on Jersey Bus Line
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yeah, and sometimes you are treating the bus like your own toilet bowl. old people really need to learn how to text. and if these are business calls, once you leave your office shouldn't you call it a day? and if there's a conference call or something, do you really think you should be joining while on a bus or train?
People need to realize that when they are in a public forum that it is no longer just about them but about everyone around them too. If you need everything about you then maybe you should not get on the bus.
It's a public forum. Just as I might talk to a friend sitting in the seat next to me for the duration of a bus-ride, I could just as easily talk to a friend on the other side of the phone.
The people who want it to be "all about them" are the ones who are insisting that - in a public place - you curtail your right to free speech.
If you don't like hearing other people talk, perhaps you need to find yourself a private, quiet, means of commuting. Like your car.
Now, I don't use the phone on the train when I commute in each day, as a rule. But if there was a need to do so, I wouldn't feel any compunction about doing it.
I think one reason for Lakeland to take a hardline stance is that it's disruptive to drivers--like sometimes cell phone users feel the need to shout into their phones but their in-person conversations are generally quieter.
I think the other question is whether a bus is a public place--since it's the bus's property, they might be able to reserve the right to make certain rules for a safe experience. If someone wants to talk loudly on the phone, then maybe they should drive into work and not take the bus.
Mankind managed to survive for millions of years without cell phone technology, but now people can't survive an hour without it?
@Jen Chung: shouting vs. talking -- absolutely. But then the rule should be about "talking at a normal tone of voice" and not "cell phone usage"
Re: bus as a public place -- it depends a lot on the bus. Is it publicly funded? If so, it's a public place. Is it Trailways or Short Line or some line like that? It's private and they can make whatever crazy rules they want, but they're also a "common carrier", so they may not be able to enforce some types of rules (like the one in question)
If it wasn't for the schmucks who think the phone is a megaphone, this type of shit wouldn't be happening, but there are some people who talk loud and are so insecure, they feel everyone around them should hear about their lame-ass life.
What bothers me most, isn't so much the talking (don't get me wrong, loud obnoxious people still bother me and others, but the stupid cell phone rings that people have are the most annoying—when the phone is buried in a non accessible place like the bottom of a disorganized bag and it keeps ringing and ringing, UGH! VIBRATE!!! V-I-B-R-A-T-E!!!
Also, to add, A movie theater is a public forum too, does that give you the right to talk on the phone while a movie is playing?
dballing: unless it's night time and people are drunk, personal conversations on trains and buses between people are usually barely audible to people a row or two away. i would say that at least 50% of cell phone users talk louder than they would if the other person was sitting right next to them. this results in increased noise and annoyance.
furthermore, most buses and trains have seats in pairs so if two people are talking in person they are sitting next to each other and it can be expected. they are also in somewhat of their own private sphere and noise to other rows is mitigrated. however, if you are sitting next to a stranger who is talking on a cell phone then you are right next to them and at their mercy. i think the more compelling argument in this case is that you are in a public forum- show some respect and don't force your neighbor to listen to your conversation, or crowd into their space with your bags or your legs in a wide stance, or force them to smell your dirty body. common courtesy
The talking isn't even usually the problem. The real problem is the teenagers/people who act like teenagers who think that everybody wants to hear their stupid goddamn ringtone blaring out of their phone so they hold it and listen to it for the duration of the song.
Also I would be VERY supportive of an all out national ban on those annoying "walkie-talkie" functions on phones. Nobody wants to hear your inane conversation blasting on speaker phone with annoying loud beeps in between each effing sentence.
I recommend investing in one of these:
http://store.shure.com/store/shure/en_US/DisplayProductDetailsPage/productID.105432000
My problems with loud ass cell phone talkers ceased after I purchased these babies.
@edEx
"A movie theater is a public forum too, does that give you the right to talk on the phone while a movie is playing?"
The alternative is even worse. Have you ever sat next to a guy who felt really compelled to text message with the his screen at the brightest setting while you're watching the movie?
Sounds like a good policy to me. If the customers don't like it, they are free to use another bus line. If enough people jump ship then Lakeland will have to change their policy or go out of business. If not, then they can rightly continue doing their thing.
dballing I'm not sure your legal analysis is correct.. public transit systems around the country ban things that could be considered free speech: solicitation, radios, yelling like an asshole, etc. And while this isn't free speech, it is technically illegal to drink a bottle of water on the DC metro.
Neither movie theaters nor the buses mentioned here are public forums, they are private establishments that, generally, have the right to refuse service.
http://www.methodshop.com/gadgets/reviews/celljammers/index.shtml
Problem Solved.
@Kojak
I wouldn't mind getting one if not for the fact that it's illegal but hey who's going to know. They'll just think they have craptastic service. YEAH!
the reason people usually shout is cause they themselves can't hear the other person on the line because of ambient noise, even though the other person on the line might hear them perfectly. Funny how that works.
it's a bus, it's filled with people, people are stupid & loud. they are going to talk on their phones.
if you want silence & privacy, drive your car or stay home.
So why not just ban all conversation? Or, just enforce a reasonable level regardless of the other person's location.
Mankind managed to survive for millions of years without cell phone technology, but now people can't survive an hour without it?
The same can be said for electricity, indoor plumbing, and automobiles.
“I pay almost $300 a month for tickets to ride on these buses...and I don’t want to be ridiculed when I have to use my phone. Sometimes, I think people are being treated like we’re in kindergarten."
Everybody else on the bus also pays $300 a month for their tickets. What makes your ticket more important than theirs, you self-centered cretin? If you insist on acting like you're in kindergarten, then that's how you should be treated.
Mankind managed to survive for millions of years without cell phone technology, but now people can't survive an hour without it
The same can be said for electricity, indoor plumbing, and automobiles.
Does using electricity or indoor plumbing disturb others? And actually an awful lot of us do very well without personal automobiles, thank you very much.
Bravo to Lakeland, BRAVO. As a one-time driver of NJ Transit, I got sick-and-tired of hearing overbearing conversations by people using cell phones, ESPECIALLY those with that damned walkie-talkie feature. Like I really wanna hear other people's business. When I would leave Port Authority, I always told my commuters "if I can clearly hear your conversation regardless of where you are sitting, you, are, speaking, TOO loud." I never told commuters you couldn't use your phones, but if they got too loud (enough to potential distract me from safely navigating a highway bus on the Turnpike or Parkway), I had (and still have) no problem getting on my mic telling a passenger to LOWER YOUR VOICE. I think speaking loud on your cellphone without any consideration of others, especially in an enlosed enviroment like a commuter bus shows a complete lack of respect toward others on board, ESPECIALLY the driver. BOTTOM LINE: People who pay $300 a month (or whatever mothly fare they have to pay) to take a bus to go to work deserve a litle peace and quiet. Besides, there's always texting.
@njt44317 -
"People who pay $300 a month (or whatever mothly fare they have to pay) to take a bus to go to work deserve a litle peace and quiet."
No, they deserve a bus ride. That's what they pay for. Not a private quiet little womb they can hide in. It's a public bus ride, with people who talk and all sorts of other stuff.
Perfect example of a reason why people usually prefer driving their own private vehicle to their destination.
Bastards will just tax us into compliance... Liberty be damned.
Perfect example of a reason why people usually prefer driving their own private vehicle to their destination.
Bastards will just tax us into compliance... Liberty be damned.