Ban snacking on public transport - is it a good idea?

One of the big pieces of news last week was Dame Sally Davies' outgoing report as chief medical officer recommending prohibiting eating and drinking on public transport. Her recommendation has been controversial. Davies calls for government to ban snacking on public transport as a method of dealing with childhood obesity. Whilst I am in favour of improving public health in the UK, I am skeptical of discouraging people from using public transport. Is banning food and drink on public transport a good idea?

One of my biggest bugbears is travelling on a busy train and sitting next to a stranger whilst they noisily eat their food. I have lost count on how many times I have been on a carriage that reeks of McDonald wrappers or raw fish from Wasabi. I am however, aware that not many people share that view, and that is not the reason the former chief medical officer suggests a clamp down on snacking on public transport. In fact, over 85% of my Twitter followers who took part in my poll on Friday say that the proposed ban of snacking on public transport is a bad idea. 

The UK is in an obesity crisis. Around a third of children are obese or overweight by the age of 11 in England, one of the highest figures in the world. In the report it is suggested that Davies wishes to discourage excessive snacking for children whilst using public transport for local travel to and from school. The ban, if approved, will apply to adults and children, and will not apply to Inter-city trains with buffet cars or people who need to eat or drink because they have a medical condition. The ban will not apply to people drinking water. 

I believe we need to be encouraging as many people as possible to think about using alternative methods of transport to private motor vehicles, such as public transport. Banning consuming food and drink on public transport could discourage public transport as an option. Whilst the report states the ban would exclude Inter-city trains, not all 'long' journeys are using Inter-city trains. For example Grantham to London is roughly 70 minutes using Inter-city trains where eating or drinking would be allowed, but what about Grantham to Liverpool Lime Street using a service that would be classed as 'local services' that takes 3 and a half hours? 

The UK is in a climate emergency and too many peoples default mode of transport is public transport. If only there was a transport solution that improves public health and does not add to the climate emergency that the chief medical officer could promote in her outgoing report? 

There is and she did - active travel. Walking and cycling are great ways to travel, especially in urban areas. It is cost effective, healthy, great for air quality and also fun. Recommendation 4.2 of the report states "increase dedicated funding for active travel infrastructure by rebalancing investment in vehicle travel infrastructure towards walking and cycling", not that any media reporting Davies' report acknowledges this. 

Overall, I believe banning snacking on public transport is not the correct way to deal with childhood obesity and overall improvements in public health. My post has focused predominantly on railways and has not even touched the debate on other forms of public transport from the London Underground, to the DLR, or buses. There are many positives in Dame Sally Davies' out going report, however, the media has not published these positives and has instead focused on her suggestion to ban snacking on public transport as ultimately it is not a good idea.