Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Chen Ching-hui (陳菁徽) urged the Ministry of Health and Welfare to work with the Ministry of Transportation and Communications to allow more flexibility in Taiwan High Speed Rail Corp’s (THSRC) new “quiet carriage” policy.
The policy — which was implemented on Sept. 22 and is undergoing a three-month grace period — requires passengers to put their mobile phones on silent, use headphones when watching videos or listening to music and move to the vestibules when taking phone calls.
Inspired by regulations on Japan’s Shinkansen bullet trains, the rules are meant to guarantee all high-speed rail passengers can experience quiet, restful journeys.
As is the case with any new policy, it attracted criticism within a matter of weeks — in this case for seeming to single out families with children.
Critics say that the rules are hostile to families, after online anecdotes surfaced from parents of crying children saying they had been approached by staff holding up signs. A social media post by a passenger using derogatory language against children and parents further inflamed the controversy.
Advocates of the system say that the rules are meant to target disturbances caused by noisy adults, not unavoidable sounds from young children or those with special circumstances.
There are two extremes to this debate. One insists that passengers must accept all noise from children as a natural characteristic of public transportation, while the other asserts that the rules must be applied strictly and to everyone, with no exceptions. Both sides miss the point — the policy aims for balance.
THSRC data show that most noise disturbances on trains are not caused by children. Between Sept. 22 and last week, staff issued a total of 13,000 reminders to noisy passengers — more than 70 percent of which involved adults talking on phones or playing media without headphones.
This indicates that the new rules already address the bulk of preventable disruptions. Adults can reasonably control their own noise, while infants and toddlers cannot. That being said, reasonable expectations matter. Infants cannot be expected to remain absolutely silent, but parents of older children should ensure they do not scream or invade others’ personal space. While this might be difficult, it is one of the responsibilities that comes with parenthood.
One potential solution would be to establish designated family-friendly carriages. Families traveling with children under certain ages, or those traveling in large groups, could be given priority for tickets in these carriages with the understanding that some leeway would be given for soft conversation and occasional unavoidable noise from children.
At the same time, strict enforcement of “quiet carriage” rules could be reserved for specific carriages, providing passengers who prefer to ride in silence a guaranteed quiet environment.
On the rest of the train, pragmatic regulations — such as switching phones to silent, requiring the use of headphones and taking calls in vestibules — could still be implemented to guarantee all passengers a base level of comfort.
Adults should be held to consistent standards, while passengers traveling with very young children should be expected to exercise discretion about whether they can realistically comply with strict rules. Other countries have made similar policies work effectively.
Ultimately, the goal is mutual respect. Passengers deserve a peaceful journey, while parents of very young children deserve practical accommodations.
With reasonable expectations, designated spaces and understanding from all sides, the policy could achieve its purpose without punishing families or disregarding the comfort of other travelers.
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