A very quiet day, even the “passenger incident” at STR as I headed back EB on my last trip had been sorted by the time I reached WHC, probably just two drunks having a heated debate over who was Britain’s greatest Prime Minister (“Pitt the Elder!” “Lord Palmerston!!!” “PITT THE ELDER!!!!!!!”).

On the subject of drunks and drinking at the BMA’s annual conference there was a debate on whether drinking should be banned on all forms of public transport on the basis that “If a ban in London is working, why not extend it across the UK?”. Well I can testify that it isn’t working, when I changed ends at NOA yesterday around 5pm I counted two empty wine bottles and at least four beer cans. When it was first brought in we did get passengers approach the cab to inform us that someone was drinking on the train and we had to go back and sort it out but after a couple of month or so it was all forgotten.

The BMA rejected the motion, calling instead for a properly enforced ban on drunkenness on public transport. Actually under the Railway Byelaws 2009 you can be refused entry to or removed from a station or train if a member of staff considers you to be “unfit to be on the railway” as you may present a danger to other passengers, staff or even yourself. It isn’t used much and I doubt if many station staff know about it, half of London wouldn’t get home on a Friday night if they did but I did use it once to stop a drunk bloke who was pestering a woman one night when I was working the ticket barrier.

The power, the power!!!!