Push to improve bus, train manners

Transperth is looking to bring politeness back into train and bus travel.

Rude and annoying behaviour - including those who talk too loudly or sneeze without putting their hand over their mouth - is the target of a new comic book-style campaign known as Two Hoots.

"This behaviour is not illegal or something where we can issue an infringement," Transperth event services co-ordinator Clare Sciorilli said. "But it is behaviour that prompts a lot of complaints from commuters.

"We don't want passengers to feel uncomfortable so, hopefully, the Two Hoots campaign can make a difference."

The comic book features strips that target specific inconsiderate and impolite behaviour.

For example, it includes stories about Susie Hawker the noisy talker, Brendan Bevan's Badly Behaving Backpack and Selfish Sam who refuses to give up his seat to a pregnant woman.

The book will be distributed through Transperth offices and staff at bus and train stations.

It will also be put on Transperth's website.

"We wanted the campaign to be light-hearted and not just a series of instructional signs," Mrs Sciorilli said. "We believe a light and humorous approach will have more cut-through and make for a more successful campaign."

Mrs Sciorilli said assessments done on similar campaigns in 2010 and 2011, where messages were conveyed through nursery rhymes, showed there was an appetite for a focus on rude behaviour.

"In some cases, people don't even know they're doing anything wrong," she said.

"For example, a commuter wearing a backpack may not aware how much it intrudes on other passengers.

"Or that a bike left alone in a train can impact on passengers."

Mrs Sciorilli said despite the use of the cartoon strips, the campaign was not just aimed at young people.

"The complaints we receive deal with behaviours of people of all ages," she said.

"This campaign aimed at everyone from the most senior to the youngest commuter."

Curtin University cultural studies professor Jon Stratton said politeness had changed in Perth.

Giving up your seat for an older person was not as common as it used to be, he said.

But Professor Stratton said that overcrowding on buses and trains meant an individual's personal space was being consistently invaded, perhaps by a backpack or a loud iPod.

"There was a time when you could just turn your back or walk away from behaviour you disapproved of," he said.

"But, these days, it is often not an option and you are forced to put up with the impolite behaviour.

"As the city grows, we are losing our physical space. And not just on public transport. Also in our homes, in the suburbs.

"Perth is becoming a big city. These are exactly the issues that have faced cities like London and New York, as people's personal space disappears."