The popular Metrolink Monsters marketing and social media campaign is be relaunched including some new “monsters” ahead of a warning that passengers displaying nuisance behaviour on the trams could be hit with fines of up to £1000. The previous campaign – which ran in March and April this year – concentrated on annoying behaviour but the aim this time will start to look at illegal behaviour.
The campaign will appear at tramstops, adverts inside the trams themselves, across social media and on the relaunched Metrolink Monsters website. New monsters will include Smoky Joe, Drunken Duncan and Vaping Vera. They will also appear on cards that TravelSafe Officers will hand out to those breaching the byelaws during November and December. A strict enforcement will then apply from 1st January.
Aline Frantzen, Managing Director at KeolisAmey Metrolink, commented: “Behind the light-hearted nature of the campaign is a serious message. There are some unacceptable behaviours which spoil the Metrolink experience for law-abiding passengers, and we want to make it clear that these actions have serious consequences. From January, those who engage in illegal activity will face fines and court action, so it’s better for everyone to avoid becoming a ‘Smokey Joe’ or a ‘Naughty Nelly’.”
This campaign will run in two phases, each one targeting some of the most common offences. Phase one will run until 2nd December and will focus on smoking, vaping and the misuse of the emergency handle with phase two starting on 3rd December until the New Year looking at drinking and swearing. A message about littering will also run throughout the campaign.
Between 15th July 2017 and 21st July 2018 there were 520 reported byelaw offences across the Metrolink network. The most reported offences were throwing objects, verbal abuse and improper use of the emergency door handle activation.