Post by Deleted on Jan 7, 2008 10:25:22 GMT
Cut and pasted from the Financial Times
The playing of classical music at London’s Tube stations has been so successful that the trial scheme has been extended to 40 stations, with more to be included as facilities are updated, Transport for London has said.
Tube travellers greeted at station ticket halls with music such as Mozart’s ethereal Requiem or Parry’s rousingly patriotic Jerusalem have been singing the praises of the initiative. The scheme is designed to calm the “hoodie generation” and passengers frustrated at delays and overcrowding on the system, which is used by 3m travellers daily.
Music was first played over the public address system at stations on the eastern end of the District Line in late 2003, starting with Elm Park. The scheme had been piloted in 1997 on Tyne and Wear’s Metro system after its successful introduction in Montreal, Canada. It has since been adopted by supermarkets, shopping centres, bus stations and public parks with corresponding falls in the level of vandalism and personal crime.
“It was part of a number of measures at the time to deal with anti-social behaviour, which included extra CCTV cameras, additional policing and playing classical music,” said London Underground. “We had fairly anecdotal feedback from customers saying how much they liked it. People found the music relaxing and calming. The playing of classical music was part of a package to improve the ambience of stations.”
A survey by Transport for London of more than 700 travellers found they overwhelmingly agreed that hearing classical music made them “feel happy, less stressed and relaxed”.
Among popular composers on the playlist are Rachmaninov, Vivaldi and Beethoven. Stations were supplied by a contractor with 40 hours of programming using MP3 players.
Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2008
The playing of classical music at London’s Tube stations has been so successful that the trial scheme has been extended to 40 stations, with more to be included as facilities are updated, Transport for London has said.
Tube travellers greeted at station ticket halls with music such as Mozart’s ethereal Requiem or Parry’s rousingly patriotic Jerusalem have been singing the praises of the initiative. The scheme is designed to calm the “hoodie generation” and passengers frustrated at delays and overcrowding on the system, which is used by 3m travellers daily.
Music was first played over the public address system at stations on the eastern end of the District Line in late 2003, starting with Elm Park. The scheme had been piloted in 1997 on Tyne and Wear’s Metro system after its successful introduction in Montreal, Canada. It has since been adopted by supermarkets, shopping centres, bus stations and public parks with corresponding falls in the level of vandalism and personal crime.
“It was part of a number of measures at the time to deal with anti-social behaviour, which included extra CCTV cameras, additional policing and playing classical music,” said London Underground. “We had fairly anecdotal feedback from customers saying how much they liked it. People found the music relaxing and calming. The playing of classical music was part of a package to improve the ambience of stations.”
A survey by Transport for London of more than 700 travellers found they overwhelmingly agreed that hearing classical music made them “feel happy, less stressed and relaxed”.
Among popular composers on the playlist are Rachmaninov, Vivaldi and Beethoven. Stations were supplied by a contractor with 40 hours of programming using MP3 players.
Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2008
