Cardboard steering wheels may be added to some trains in London to improve the experience of passengers who sometimes pretend to drive the vehicles, London Mayor Sadiq Khan said, as quoted by DPA and Agerpres.

Sadiq Khan said the measure was being considered for Docklands Light Railway (DLR) trains. This month, stickers with the inscription “Drive the train” will be tested.

DLR trains are fully automated and operate without a driver, but there is a member of staff on board who can take over in an emergency. This leads to the fact that the seats in the locomotive are often occupied by transport enthusiasts, young and old, who pretend to be the ones driving the train.

Caroline Pigeon, a Lib Dem member of the London Assembly, asked Sadiq Khan whether the introduction of new DLR trains from this year would help the hobby. In a written response dated December 28, the Mayor of London stated:

“Transport for London (TfL) will trial Drive the Train vinyl decals on 10 trains in January 2024 and is exploring a number of other customer and community engagement activities to support the roll-out of new DLR trains.”

“As part of this effort, TfL will look at how it will introduce train driving experiences for children. It can be cardboard frills. TfL will consider the lessons learned from the Train Driving stickers on the front of trains in early 2024 before finalizing its plans,” added the Mayor of London.

“The launch of the new trains will also be supported by an integrated marketing and communications campaign to demonstrate that TfL is investing in improving customer journeys,” added Sadiq Khan.