1st June - The End to the Circle Line Parties

[JamieLei]

As you probably know, today marks the first of June and the beginning of an alcohol ban on London's public transport (except Overground). To mark the event, the largest and most chaotic Circle Line Party was held last night. Although normally in a good nature with revellers having fun, last night's gathering escalated into a chaotic riot, far from what previous Circle Line parties were known to be like.

To quote BBC: "Four tube drivers, three other staff members, and two police officers were assaulted, and there were 17 arrests. Several trains were damaged and withdrawn from service, which led to suspended services."

Many support the drinking ban, but the RMT union is very reluctant to enforce it, citing that staff are very likely to be assaulted in the process by intoxicated passengers.

BBC News: Booze on the Tube ends with a Bang (Positive Light)
BBC News: Tube drinks party sparks mayhem (Negative Light)
BBC News Video: Commuter describes aftermath of party (Negative Light)

[Griff]

Absolutely pathetic.

I feel sorry for the passengers just trying to get home. It is things like this that fully justifies banning alcohol, it might have started off harmless enough but then BTP, LU staff and trains are damaged then it is going too far. Why did not the party goers stop? because they were off their faces drunk or on drugs. Alcohol on public transport is nothing but trouble regardless of whether it is only a few people or many.

What motivates people to drink alcohol outside of the pub or the own home defeats me.

I really do look foward to the day when I join the BTP.

[beeb375]

If you look at the pictures of the huge amount of people partying, that's a very small number of problems, a huge majority were just having a laugh I'd say.

[JamieLei]

Absolutely pathetic. .... What motivates people to drink alcohol outside of the pub or the own home defeats me.

You need to think outside your own perceptions of fun - personally I would have loved to be on that last Circle Line party but I was at a friends 18th getting completely hammered (not my own home - does that mean I've defeated you?). It's fun (at least for me and many others)! However, seeing each set of a London Midland 150 is not my idea of fun (they all seem uniform to me), although it is for many others, and I accept and respect that!

However, it's the small minority who cannot control themselves that wreck it for the majority. The official circle line ethos was to spread the joy to the commuters, and invite them to have a bit of fun and join in, which was what happened at previous parties. There was never any broken bottles on the floor, graffiti or assault before last night's incident, so it's a shame that that's how Circle Line Parties are going to be remembered...

[Griff]

Well inside your home or inside one of your mates it is all the same to me, it is when drinking alcohol leaves the confines of the home/garden/pub and is among the general public that I object to it. Especially on public transportation.

[orudge]

I'm not generally a fan of people drinking on public transport, mainly because the kind of people I tend to see drinking on public transport are making a lot of noise. However, on the continent, people are allowed to drink on the street, and for the most part, seem to be quite civilised - as usual, it seems to me that the British "mentality" when it comes to alcohol is probably partially responsible for the fact we seem to have a problem with drinking, at least amongst certain sections of society. But anyway - I think banning of alcohol on the Tube is probably a good thing, and it's a shame that this party got out of hand.

[Melfice]

In the Netherlands you are not allowed to drink on the streets.
Only in pubs and cafés and on the terraces outside said drinking establishments.

In the trains you are allowed to drink. Not sure on stations or on other forms of public transport.

[orudge]

Ah well, in both Paris and Rome drinking on the streets seemed to be permitted (although you weren't allowed glass containers for alcohol in Rome at least.)

[michael blunck]

[...] it seems to me that the British "mentality" when it comes to alcohol is probably partially responsible for the fact we seem to have a problem with drinking, [...]

Yeah. Every time I´m in Britain I wonder about that phenomenon. Never seen this in any other European country, except when the British are involved. It´s quite unique.

regards
Michael

[doktorhonig]

Actually I see not much difference between drinking in a pub and going home drunk, and drinking in the underground. There are also drunk people in Vienna's subway, and I don't really like their presence, but public transport is always the answer for drunk people to get home.
We ban drunk people from the road, so we have to allow them in public transport. They won't be less drunk, if they drink outside.

[JamieLei]

Here's a article in today's BBC Magazine about public drinking around the world: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/7427304.stm

The general view from other countries is "why would anyone want to drink on public transport?" - it would be nice if it became socially frowned upon but I doubt it would go that way... - I'm thinking rangers fans on the subway here...

[beeb375]

Ah yes, the old Subcrawl

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glasgow_Su ... ubcrawl.22

[Ploes]

TfL missed a trick with this.

They should have been PRO this last party. Used it as a publicity stunt to mark the occasion saying we know this is the last one, go for it, have fun. The stance they tried to take it, they may as well have gone HA we've changed our mind and were brining the ban in a day earlier!

Down on the SPT Subway I overhead a conversation about this "what if you go shopping and you buy a bottle of wine, you'll have to walk home"........ Shows how miss directed the press coverage has been if the idea that its only open containers of alcohol that have been banned. Cant find any info if its banned down there, but apparently bus drivers will refuse travel on the "NightRider" buses if you've had to much to drink. Perhaps thats why they are cancelling the service because of low rider-ship. Not that people didn't want to ride the bus, but they wouldn't let them!!

Ah yes, the old Subcrawl

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glasgow_Su ... ubcrawl.22

I think the challenge would be you'd have to do that on a Sunday (taking the Monday off work to be responsible of course")

That would limit you down to 6 and a half hours drinking, since you could only start at 12:30 and finish at 6 when the subway shuts down.... fail to finish and you'd have to walk the rest off.... start the sobering up

Not that the TfL ban will stop the Circle Line pub crawls. Always a bit more challenging than the SPT one since its 27 stations not 15... but since the idea is not to drink on the train, but a pub at each station, I fail to see what this ban will stop... apart from preventing MORE drinking between stations!

[Kevo00]

As far as I'm aware drinking in public places is generally illegal in Scotland, although this ban doesn't appear to stretch to mainline trains! Tends to be frowned upon on buses, but as long as you look hard enough and can shout loud enough to intimidate the driver and other passengers its ok. Also some bus drivers are more fundamental about this sort of thing than others - ask the prat in Edinburgh who wouldn't let me on the bus with a coke from Subway!

[beeb375]

I think the challenge would be you'd have to do that on a Sunday (taking the Monday off work to be responsible of course")

That would limit you down to 6 and a half hours drinking, since you could only start at 12:30 and finish at 6 when the subway shuts down.... fail to finish and you'd have to walk the rest off.... start the sobering up

Haha, I've walked home through the West End before at about 3:30am and it's been fine, but walking home from the east of Glasgow wouldn't exactly be my idea of fun...

[Washu]

Might be time to stop the sale of beverages of that nature on public transport, i.e. beer, whiskey etc on trains. I get a bit tired of sharing a train with the drunken spawn-child who's gone and got himself wasted on a train to Cardiff at 6pm on a Friday.

[Kevo00]

Might be time to stop the sale of beverages of that nature on public transport, i.e. beer, whiskey etc on trains. I get a bit tired of sharing a train with the drunken spawn-child who's gone and got himself wasted on a train to Cardiff at 6pm on a Friday.

That'll never happen, because MPs would miss their Friday drinks on the way home to the constituency!

[orudge]

Might be time to stop the sale of beverages of that nature on public transport, i.e. beer, whiskey etc on trains. I get a bit tired of sharing a train with the drunken spawn-child who's gone and got himself wasted on a train to Cardiff at 6pm on a Friday.

At the same time, though, there should be nothing wrong with having a responsible drink or two on a train, particularly if it's a long journey or something. Presumably, if the person selling the drinks think the customer has had too much, they can refuse service, and I would have thought there was some rule that would allow overly drunk people to be ejected from trains?

[Washu]

Might be time to stop the sale of beverages of that nature on public transport, i.e. beer, whiskey etc on trains. I get a bit tired of sharing a train with the drunken spawn-child who's gone and got himself wasted on a train to Cardiff at 6pm on a Friday.

At the same time, though, there should be nothing wrong with having a responsible drink or two on a train, particularly if it's a long journey or something. Presumably, if the person selling the drinks think the customer has had too much, they can refuse service, and I would have thought there was some rule that would allow overly drunk people to be ejected from trains?

I agree, however it seems that the majority of those who do do it and in turn make a mess/assault persons etc have ruined it for the rest of us, who can actually drink and be human still. I believe there is a policy preventing staff from selling more to those already of a high intoxication level, however this doesn't stop friends of theirs getting more.

They can eject heavily drunk persons from the train if they can get a BTP officer to the station next on the list of stops for that train (though I have been on one train that did make an unscheduled stop at a station to eject a drunk onto it, only to find out that they'd have to let him back on as no services were running from that station until the next day..let him sober up over night I say..) in time. Sadly it seems that rarely happens now :/

[JamieLei]

I believe that although many of us are quite capable of drinking without ending up trashing trains, there are the small minority that will do it. And removing access to alcohol on trains would cut down on vandalism. I was unfortunate enough to be sitting across from a group of men who had downed several beers from the shop on a Voyager, and the coach stank of beer. It's just a more pleasant environment for all. Alcohol still smells if it's drunk responsibly and most other people would wish not to be exposed to the smell.