No Smoking

We trust smokers enjoyed their last day of smoking freedom in the nation’s bus shelters, yesterday. No one can have escaped the publicity for the smoking ban in force from today. This includes selected bus shelters.

When it comes to bus shelters, we suspect that smokers may flout the law. They're virtually unenforceable and although errant smokers may risk a penalty, the chances must be slim. More worrying for the local authority owner is the large fine they may have to pay. How can councils reasonably enforce the ban? Probably best to set up here and now a direct debit instead of a fine and not worry about it further.

It does seem odd that cantilever shelters are exempt from the rules while cantilevers with full or half (or even quarter) end panels fall within the definition of “enclosed”. Here, it’s like smoking under an umbrella and it’s surely better to smoke under a shelter such as this, where smoke can disperse in the wind, than on the bus itself.