What Would You Do, Get Off For Me...

[trt]

I wouldn't feel comfortable on a bus, with a passenger playing Koran prayer music on speaker, I would get off, considering what's happened in the past, on public transport.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4057630/London-bus-driver-caught-racism-row-passenger.html#newcomment

[RandyMarsh]

I would have headphones.

[jno]

you think playing the Koran is going to make the bus explode?

[Mamyalynne]

He turned it off when asked, what need was there for the driver to then get nasty?

[Jackdaw33]

I'd be off at the next stop. Wouldn't take any chances.

[jno]

RandyMarsh, that was my initial thought; but why? People routinely talk to people on the bus without being thrown off. Why should a recording that is no louder be objectionable?

[bhg481]

If he's having a last-minute listen before he pulls the rip-cord - yes.

[Mamyalynne]

Good grief, here we go.

[mushroom25]

this is partly the fault of the transport company - whether TfL or their bus subcontractor - for providing no clear guidelines to staff, or passengers. is loud music (of any description) permitted or not, or are the company hiding behind that old excuse "discretion of the driver"? expecting staff on the ground to decide can either lead to confrontation or anarchy - the latter I see all to frequently on trains when it comes to the carriage of bikes, which is supposed to be controlled (especially at peak times) but isn't.

[sunny-dave]

I'd rather hear the Koran than put up with some slack-jawed yoof sodcasting his appalling grimecore ...

[mikey4444]

The bus driver was clearly in the wrong. The chap turned off the loudspeaker on the phone when asked.

Maybe I have this wrong but even after he turned it off, the driver still insisted that the chap get off.....why ?

It will interesting to see what TFL says about this.

[mikey4444]

As you say Mamy....here we go !

[Kathyan]

The guy accused the driver of racism ermmm?

[andy-hughes]

I think the situation escalated in a way that the bus driver did not expect, and he didn't think through his approach in advance.

If you are going to ask a passenger to stop a disturbance, and they comply, then that should be the end of the matter.

Clearly the bus driver then changed tack, and made the issue not about the volume of the sound, but the content - and that opens an entire nest of vipers, as the scene shows clearly.

Can the driver put a passenger off his bus? Yes, but he would need to be very sure of his ground before doing so, to avoid an upheld complaint.

The evidence is there - the driver asked the passenger to stop his music, and the passenger complied. Things only escalated when the driver made it clear that he had an issue with the religious content of the music, and that is unacceptable because the driver does not get to choose the music his passengers wish to enjoy.

I would have stayed on the bus, and offered my contact details to the Muslim passenger and advised him of my available support and corroboration if he chose to take the matter further.

[Baldric]

//Good grief, here we go.//

//As you say Mamy....here we go//

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-33253598

I mean it couldn't happen again, . . . . . . could it?

[Mamyalynne]

I didn't need the link but thank you anyway - if you and/or anyone else are suggesting that someone listening to the Koran (in this instance) is a guaranteed terrorist....then yes 'Here we go'.

It's a wonder I'm alive the amount of cab journeys I had taken that included the driver praying en route.

The handling of the case in the link was poor.

[Mamyalynne]

^ have taken

[andy-hughes]

Baldric - odd as it may seem, Muslims ride on buses every day, and have done as long as buses have been around.

It doesn't mean they are all bomb-carrying terrorists.

Making a link like that plays precisely into the hands of terrorists who would like nothing more than for you, and trt to be frightened to use public transport.

I am sure you would not wish to silently support the aims of terrorists by being terrorised - so don't.

[Baldric]

I very very rarely use Public Transport so would have very little or no impact on my life.

[Sqad]

On a personal note......I would feel uncomfortable that a co -passenger was listening to the Koran...music or just chanting.......very uncomfortable.

\\\A-H
Baldric - odd as it may seem, Muslims ride on buses every day, and have done as long as buses have been around.

It doesn't mean they are all bomb-carrying terrorists. \\\

That wouldn't reassure me..........

Now if the bus driver was distracted by the music, the "religious ambiance" and he felt that for the safety of his passengers that he needed our friend to be quiet....then he had every right to intervene and if necessary order him off the bus.

That is if we are being told the whole story and remembering that as internet surfers we cannot appreciate the atmosphere on that bus at that particular moment.

No.....I would feel very uncomfortable.

[bhg481]

I regularly travel on public transport and I have no problem travelling with anybody BUT, if someone started playing bits from the Koran out loud (if I recognised it) I would be concerned.