davidb

i think a licenced restaurant on a long distance train is a different kettle of ball games .id have been seriously bothered by the presence of otis ferry drunk or sober ! some people behave ok after a drink some people dont

CaptainWaggett

Also, bus passengers have to walk past a bus driver to get on. It's not a perfect system for the driver but it's much easier for them to identify an unwelcome passenger and refuse to take them on board than it is for tube staff. I chave visions of harmless sleeping tramps clutching cans becoming raging tigers when said can is removed from then. Not much fun for anyone (least of all the poor guard who has to handle the situation.

batman

Speaking as a person who doesn't drink alcohol I think a ban on drinking alcohol on the tube is a very good idea. Also, the sort of drunken antics described don't just happen in London .... I use public transport on occasion, and even in this 'rural backwater' bus or train journeys are often ruined by drunken louts slobbering all over the place and irritating those of us who don't find drunken behaviour particularly amusing. Smoking was banned in certain place because of the adverse effect it has on people's health. Drinking alcohol to excess is equally unhealthy and I think the same rules should apply. I would support any ban on drinking alcohol on trains, buses and aeroplanes .... if you're thirsty drink some fruit juice or water.

"Boom boom a baby .... Banham Zoo .... Banana pants! Hahahaha"

penfold

I think it's entirely the same kettle....a public train, with some people drinking alcohol, some not...but they have a choice for some reason...and some tube trips take far longer than mainline services...

Bit of a Bay Window, what??

christoph404

Yes, there seems to be a lot of discarded free newspapers but they are a lot easier to collect up and dispose of than it is to clean up beer, piss or vomit stained seats. Cab drivers will sensibly refuse fares who are drunk, stuffing their face with a kebab and holding a can of lager in one hand but it seems buses and tubes are supposed to endure a "healthy disrespect" by drunken beer swilling travelers. As I said its very anti social in my book.

davidb

well i remember one young man at lunchtime in muswell hill drinking on the bus and becoming hostile towards other passengers ,you have to ring the police via code red and wait for the police to arrive ,everyones delayed ! a nasty situation as i remember it .lets just cut the booze on the buses or tubes .there was a similar fuss when they wanted to stop people smoking ,who would dare light up on board now ?

CaptainWaggett

I confess that I have been very, very drunk on tubes before now (though I have never actually been sick ...in a carriage). But I've never drunk alcohol on a tube and don't really see the appeal. I just don't see how this rule is going to make any difference at all to the level of drunkenness on tube - it will just cause extra hassle for those staff unlucky enough to do the late shifts at weekends. But having to throw your can away before entering the train (not forgetting that tube stations tend to be fairly short on bins) isn't going to miraculously sober you up.

batman

It may not make any difference, but why not give it a try and find out.

"Boom boom a baby .... Banham Zoo .... Banana pants! Hahahaha"

davidb

i dont have any direct experience of those sort of trains ,not working on them anyway .wherever alcohol is someone is able to abuse it ,ive been drunk myself occasionally ! at least someone cant get into a worse state while a passenger on london transport from now on .

christoph404

Not so sure if its the same kettle because having a glass of red wine while lunching in the dining car on an afternoon trip from Edinburgh to London somehow seems worlds away from the London underground just after pub closing time on a friday night!! I think the issue of public drinking is very closely linked to public drunkenness in certain situations, and the situation in London is that on a Friday and Saturday night lots of drunk people head for the tube at chucking out time and some are clutching cans or bottles of wine or beer. I've never seen anyone drunk or drinking during the day on the tube or bus nor have I seen anyone drunk on the train from Edinburgh, though I have seen plenty people having a glass of beer or wine. I keep harping on about this but I really do believe that any display of public drunkenness is very anti social and in my mind unacceptable.

batman

I totally agree.

"Boom boom a baby .... Banham Zoo .... Banana pants! Hahahaha"

Steve Crook

You'd better not take that train to Edinburgh, or anywhere else, too often then. I quite often travel around the country by train and I often see people drunk on long distance trains. They start drinking as soon as it leaves London and they usually stay close to the bar until it closes.

But I've never seen anyone who's offensively drunk. Some drunks can be quite charming

Steve

christoph404

I take the train to Edinburgh all the time now, 2 or 3 times a month. I used to fly up but took an aversion to Heathrow airport after a few hold ups, plus by the time you get the tube to the airport and check in an hour or so before take off there is not much in it time wise. Its four hours fifteen minutes to Edinburgh, plenty time to have a G and T with your sandwich, all very civilised. Eurostar is pretty good too especially if you travel first class because they give you free champagne all the way along with your inclusive lunch!

Steve Crook

And you never see any drunks on that train?
Or is that because you stay in the first class dining car and never mix with the hoi poloi (even though saying "the hoi polloi" is grammatically incorrect and a repetition of the word "the")

Steve

Freddy

What I'm finding now is at large arenas or events those who like a drink think nothing of getting up mid way through a set, disrupting everyone and the performance, either to get more drink or go to the toilet. It is boorish and selfish.
One of my friends went to see Pink Floyd where alcohol was available throughout the evening, he said he had never seen so many people wasted in his life. It is very difficult to remonstrate with a group of people who are incapable of seeing another side to their behaviour.

Freddy

The world wags on.