Commuters’ biggest peeve is people not using headphones or having the volume too loud when listening to music or videos (59%)
While 1 in 10 (11%) have asked someone to turn the volume down, more than a third (34%) have been annoyed but done nothing
Over a quarter (27%) think phone calls on the train should be kept short, but almost one in ten (6%) think they should be banned completely
Almost 300,000 commuters have missed their stop because they were distracted by their phone or tablet but a further 1 in 10 (10%) know someone else who has
New research from Uswitch.com, the independent price comparison and switching service shows that the extreme summer weather and delayed trains aren’t the only things get commuters hot under the collar. While those keen to escape the boredom of their journey may turn to loud music, it is the biggest peeve for fellow commuters, leaving six in ten (59%) worked up before they arrive at the office. However, while one in the (11%) have asked noisy passengers to turn the volume down, more than a third (34%) have suffered in silence.
And it’s not just people listening to their own music too loudly that winds commuters up – four in ten (39%) are annoyed by people sharing music and videos with their friends via speakers. A third (33%) think gamers should turn their sound off and 15% are annoyed by people watching violent or explicit programmes on their commute. Even using the commute to catch up on phone calls is a no-no for some – more than a quarter (27%) think phone calls on the train should be kept short and sweet, while 6% think they should be banned completely.
But annoying fellow passengers isn’t the only problem with using smartphones on the journey to work. Over a quarter of a million commuters (5%) have missed their stop because they were distracted by their phone or tablet, and a further 594,000 (10%) know someone who has done so. In fact, 6% of commuters think that it’s not safe to use devices when commuting as people are not aware of what’s going on around them.
Ernest Doku, telecoms expert at Uswitch.com, says: “Smartphones and tablets are both a blessing and a curse. Streaming music and TV may be a great way to pass the time, but they can be the bane of some commuters’ lives. Turning up the volume may be the only way for some to escape the daily grind of the commute, but maxing out the volume so that everyone else can ‘enjoy’ it too isn’t going to make you many friends.
“Keeping the volume down, turning off key sounds and investing in good headphones can help make everyone’s more commute a bit better. And make sure you’re not so engrossed in your phone that you miss your stop – no-one needs a longer commute that they have too.”
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Be annoyed by people listening to loud music
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East Midlands (65%)
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North East (52%)
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Be annoyed by people watching violent or explicit programmes
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East Midlands (20%)
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South East (12%)
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Be asked to turn their volume down
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East Anglia (9%)
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Yorkshire and the Humber (3%)
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Ask someone to turn their music down
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North East (13%)
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Wales (4%)
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Be annoyed by loud music but do nothing
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East Midlands (45%)
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Wales (24%)
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Want calls on trains to be banned
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North West (10%)
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East Anglia (3%)
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Source: Uswitch.com
Katherine Moss
Phone: 020 3021 5893
Email: katherine.moss@uswitch.com
Twitter: @uswitchPR
Uswitch.com surveyed 2,000 commuters who travelled by bus, train or as a car passenger. Responses were collected online in June 2013 via One Poll. ONS figures show the number of people in work is 29.7 million. Of those people, 20% take the bus or train to and from work (9% bus and 11% train). 20% of 29.7million is 5,940,000. According to Uswitch research, 70% use smartphone or tablets. Therefore 4.158 million commuters use their smartphone on their commute (70% of 5,940,000 = 4,157,999).
When asked ‘Thinking about people using their phones/ tablets while commuting, which of the following do you agree with?’ 58.6% said ‘It annoys me when people don’t use headphones/ have their volume too loud if watching a video or listening to music’; 39.3% said ‘It annoys me when people share music and videos with friends using the speakers’; 15% said ‘It annoys me when people watch programmes which are violent/ explicit’; 11.2% said ‘I’ve asked someone to turn down the sound on their device’; 5.5% said ‘I’ve been asked to turn down the sound on my phone/ tablet’; 34.2% said ‘I’ve been annoyed by someone’s device being too loud (even if they had headphones) but done nothing’; 32.9% said ‘People should turn the sound off if gaming‘; 6.2% said ‘All calls should be banned on trains; 26.6% said ‘Calls are acceptable, but only when they’re short and quiet’; 4.8% said ‘I’ve missed my stop because I was distracted by my phone/ tablet’; 10.0% said ‘I’ve seen/ know someone who has missed their stop because they were distracted by their phone/ tablet’; 6.3% said ‘It’s not safe to use devices when commuting - people are not aware of what’s going on around them’
Based on there being 5.94 million commuters in the UK, 4.8% of 5.94 million is 285,120.
Based on there being 5.94 million commuters in the UK, 10% of 5.94 million is 594,000.
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