Passengers on Lothian Buses in Edinburgh and West Lothian could be asked to leave the bus for playing loud audio from their devices, after the company updated its Conditions of Carriage.
The bus operator has added "excessive noise" from technology devices to its list of actions classed as anti-social behaviour. This includes playing any form of audio, such as music or using loudspeaker, that can be heard by other passengers and causes a disturbance.
Driver discretion on what counts as anti-social
Other actions that can be classed as anti-social include damaging company property, shouting, drinking alcohol, putting feet on seats, and abusive behaviour towards a company official. The company added that the list is not exhaustive and "it remains the driver’s decision as to what behaviour is ultimately classed as antisocial".
If passengers are found not to be complying with the rules, the Conditions of Carriage states that they must give their name and address to the driver when requested. They may also be obliged to leave the bus by a Company Official, Police Officer, or a Special Constable.
Stricter measures on concession card misuse
Lothian Buses has also cracked down on concession card misuse. If there is fraudulent presentation of any Scottish National Entitlement Cards, passengers will be refused travel and the card will be withdrawn and returned to the administering authority.
These stricter measures come as figures obtained by Conservative MSP Miles Briggs via a Freedom of Information request show that 1,111 incidents of anti-social behaviour have taken place in the first half of 2026 on Edinburgh's bus network. From these incidents, 443 maintenance requests were made, including 412 for broken or vandalised seats and 31 for shattered windows, reports The Sun.
Secretary of the Edinburgh Bus User Group Chris Day said: "It’s regrettable that any bus operator has to tighten its rules on anti-social behaviour. Clearly there’s a small minority that ignores some basic norms of behaviour, though our experience is that the overwhelming majority of bus journeys are untroubled."
He added: "It remains to be seen how much this affects the worst examples, but we hope the new rules help."
