Someone in your reserved seat

[Flamingo]

Keep a copy of "The watch Tower" for rail journeys, put it prominently on the seat beside you...

 

[Bungle73]

I think that's a good point that Deerfold made about how disrepectful is it for people to reserve seats and then not catch that train.

Not really. I'm quite sure there isn't anyone reserving seats just for the hell of it and not bothering to turn up. People's plans change, maybe at the last minute.

This may be a bad idea, but say for instance there were reservations on a coach from say Cardiff to London. Within 5/10 minutes of leaving Cardiff, so allowing for those people who genuinely have claimed their seat and for those who are finding their seats or have gone to the toilet, maybe the conductor could (if they had time) walk through the train removing seat reservations that have NOT been claimed from Cardiff.

So how is the conductor supposed to know which seats haven't been occupied? What if I sit it my seat, then 8 minutes later decide I need to go the loo? The conductor comes through on your time-scale to find an empty seat, but it's not "empty" at all.

 

[Tibbs]

Not really. I'm quite sure there isn't anyone reserving seats just for the hell of it and not bothering to turn up. People's plans change, maybe at the last minute.

Is it possible to cancel a reservation?

 

[edwin_m]

You moreorless get a reservation by default if you book a ticket, and as it costs nothing most people will get one even if unsure which train they will be using. I should think a lot of people do what I do, which is to book on the train that's likely to be busiest, as I'm otherwise most likely to have to stand if I end up on it.

The flipside is that I see nothing wrong with sitting in a reserved seat but I'll happily move if the genuine occupant turns up.

 

[rower40]

Warning: Urban Myth Story Alert...
Westerner has a long journey to make in India. Books seat in First Class many weeks in advance. Train arrives, he boards, only to find an elderly Sikh gentleman in his reserved seat.
Westerner: "Excuse me, I've reserved that seat"
Local: "Yes Sir, but this is yesterday's train"

 

[ValleyLines142]

Not really. I'm quite sure there isn't anyone reserving seats just for the hell of it and not bothering to turn up. People's plans change, maybe at the last minute.

Admittedly so, but it's still annoying for other passengers, particularly if it's a busy service.

So how is the conductor supposed to know which seats haven't been occupied? What if I sit it my seat, then 8 minutes later decide I need to go the loo? The conductor comes through on your time-scale to find an empty seat, but it's not "empty" at all.

People will occupy their seats with belongings; admittedly that defeats my previous point about security issues but no one listens to security announcements anyway! Although that point in fairness is probably irrelevant anyway as I doubt the conductor/train manager would have the time to walk through the train and check for unclaimed seat reservations.

I wish something could be done about it, but unfortunately, I can't think of any other option.

 

[DeeGee]

Is it possible to cancel a reservation?

Tried to cancel a cycle reservation once many days in advance to be told it wasn't possible. If I can't cancel something as space critical as a bike, then I don't imagine you could cancel a seat.

Could be wrong, though.

 

[Tibbs]

Tried to cancel a cycle reservation once many days in advance to be told it wasn't possible. If I can't cancel something as space critical as a bike, then I don't imagine you could cancel a seat.

Could be wrong, though.

If that's the case it makes not sitting an ostensibly booked (but unoccupied) seat even more silly.

 

[Eagle]

Tried to cancel a cycle reservation once many days in advance to be told it wasn't possible.

It is possible. I've cancelled both seat and bike reservations before (the latter due to a cockup where I had a journey that crossed midnight and somehow ended up with a bike reservation for the day after I was travelling).

 

[tiptoptaff]

So how is the conductor supposed to know which seats haven't been occupied? What if I sit it my seat, then 8 minutes later decide I need to go the loo? The conductor comes through on your time-scale to find an empty seat, but it's not "empty" at all.

The conductors for ATW heading north from Cardiff do this fairly regularly, usually after Newport. They come through the train, check the tickets on the seat backs if the reservations are unoccupied, and, providing the origin station has been passed, they take them and bin them. I see no problem with this, as it means that it removes that "mental barrier" between you and that seat created by the presance of a seat reservation. Yes, if you checked it you'd see the station had passed, but, on busy trains and many people trying to get on, you don't have time to read it, so move on and leave the seat empty, in case of the reservee boarding the train behind you.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

Not really. I'm quite sure there isn't anyone reserving seats just for the hell of it and not bothering to turn up. People's plans change, maybe at the last minute.


So how is the conductor supposed to know which seats haven't been occupied? What if I sit it my seat, then 8 minutes later decide I need to go the loo? The conductor comes through on your time-scale to find an empty seat, but it's not "empty" at all.

Model Rail seems to do just as good job :-P also seems to stop people sitting next to you as well.

.....and stand anywhere near you on the platform while waiting for said train :-P

 

[sheff1]

Warning: Urban Myth Story Alert...
Westerner has a long journey to make in India. Books seat in First Class many weeks in advance. Train arrives, he boards, only to find an elderly Sikh gentleman in his reserved seat.
Westerner: "Excuse me, I've reserved that seat"
Local: "Yes Sir, but this is yesterday's train"

Not an urban myth at all. Almost that exact thing happened to my party in India many moons ago - the only difference was that the people in the seats were not Sikhs. We were quite impressed the train was only 30 odd mins late - it turned out to be 1470 mins down. The train we were booked on was about another hour behind.

Anyway, back closer to home -

I usually try and leave something like a magazine or newspaper on the seat (if I am travelling solo) and mention to someone sitting next to me or opposite that I'll be back soon!

Last week I was on a packed train from Manchester with a reserved window seat. As soon as we left Stockport, I asked the lady next to me to let me past (to go to the toilet). After I had got up she sat down ...... in my reserved seat ! .... She seemed most surprised when I told her I would be returning shortly

 

[DaveNewcastle]

Tried to cancel a cycle reservation once many days in advance to be told it wasn't possible. If I can't cancel something as space critical as a bike, then I don't imagine you could cancel a seat.

Could be wrong, though.

It is possible.
However, it is not immediately obvious on the reservation system, because (on East Coast and maybe other operators' trains) it appears as 'a seat' but a seat in a coach letter which isn't otherwise used for seats (i.e. Coach A).
If cancelling a bike reservation at a station where a significant proportion of trains have a coach A (as on most units), then it can appear that only the seat reservation is being presented for cancellation.

 

[STEVIEBOY1]

When I have had a reserved seat and there has been someone in it , which has happened sometimes, when I politely tell them, they have moved with no hassle apart from one time when travelling from Bath to Paddington, there were some teenage youths in our seats, the seat labels where not showing and they said there were none when they got on at Bristol, odd as the rest of the coach was labelled, I suspected they had removed them, anyway as there were more of them than was of us and they were bigger, I moved along the coach and found some spare seats, they then got off at the next stop grinning at us and giving a hand sign. Then a bloke near me said he saw them take the reservation labels off when they got, which is what I suspected had happned.

Another annoying thing happened when I was travelling in October a few years ago from Leeds to Blackpool. I got on the train which was very busy and found a table window seat with no reservation label and sat down. Then at the next stop an old lady got on with her grandchildren and said these seats in that coach B were hers as she reservations. I thought the TOC had not labeled the seats so moved and I think the guy next to me did too. I found another table window seat further along and the rest of the journey was fine. It was not until I got off and saw the coach I was in was A, that I realised she was infact wrong, she just saw the seat numbers and not the coach number and neither of us bothered to check, so I am always very careful now. Although I did wonder why the train only had 2 coaches on a long distance busy route in October Half term, many were going to see the Blackpool Illuminations.

 

[Flamingo]

When I have had a reserved seat and there has been someone in it , which has happened sometimes, when I politely tell them, they have moved with no hassle apart from one time when travelling from Bath to Paddington, there were some teenage youths in our seats, the seat labels where not showing and they said there were none when they got on at Bristol, odd as the rest of the coach was labelled, I suspected they had removed them, anyway as there were more of them than was of us and they were bigger, I moved along the coach and found some spare seats, they then got off at the next stop grinning at us and giving a hand sign. Then a bloke near me said he saw them take the reservation labels off when they got, which is what I suspected had happened.

Of course, the bloke could have told you before they got off!
I'm presuming it was a table seat.
If similar happens again, go find the TM. They should kick them out, I have in similar circumstances - once the group sitting down refused to move, so I turned around to the people who were supposed to be there, and said to them "Oh well, as these people are refusing to move, I was going to find them a seat in First Class but you'd better move there instead!", the look on the face of the chav family who had pinched the seats was priceless!

 

[STEVIEBOY1]

Of course, the bloke could have told you before they got off!
I'm presuming it was a table seat.
If similar happens again, go find the TM. They should kick them out, I have in similar circumstances - once the group sitting down refused to move, so I turned around to the people who were supposed to be there, and said to them "Oh well, as these people are refusing to move, I was going to find them a seat in First Class but you'd better move there instead!", the look on the face of the chav family who had pinched the seats was priceless!

Yes it was a table seat and I wondered why the bloke did not tell me before they got off and if there had not been any spare seats left I would have gone to find the TM. I really like the anecdote that you mentioned here too, very good indeed.

 

[SS4]

Yes it was a table seat and I wondered why the bloke did not tell me before they got off and if there had not been any spare seats left I would have gone to find the TM. I really like the anecdote that you mentioned here too, very good indeed.

Perhaps the bloke was equally intimidated?

 

[HowardGWR]

In case these stories give a poor impression of some of our countrymen and perhaps young people as a group, I can relate that we had the same trouble with an elderly middle class looking couple in Italy. We had reserved 1st class from Salerno to Napoli and they were sat in our reserved seats. They made it very clear (we don't speak Italian) that they considered us stupid foreigners and refused to move. Nearby, there were two untaken seats, and we had a good idea that these were the ones they should have been in as the train was rammed (1st class in Italy is much cheaper extra so well worth considering). So we just caved in and sat in them.

The TTI came along and queried our tickets. We gesticulated to him about what we thought had happened, whereupon he turfed out the elderly couple, much to their annoyance. They appeared to be saying to him that he was disloyal to Italians (!) but he was having none of it. I think they had just preferred the particular window location.

Anyway, good for FS!

 

[mr williams]

I travelled back from Exeter St David's to Bristol last week on FGW and despite the carriage being virtually empty a young girl getting on in front of me sat down in the only seat that had a reserved label - ie mine!

It was clear there was no malicious intent, she was chatting away on her mobile and simply hadn't noticed. As I said, the train was lightly loaded so I just went and sat elsewhere, no problem and no need to make an issue out of nothing.

Having said that, though, there are a minority of people who, no matter what the notice (be it "reserved", "no parking", "no smoking","do not use mobile phones in this area", "maximum five items" "cash only at this till" etc etc) think that it doesn't apply to them and they can put two metaphorical fingers up to it.

Now those people are always worth taking to task!

 

[jon0844]

A lack of enforcement has made all of that 'acceptable' sadly.

 

[Bald Rick]

Having said that, though, there are a minority of people who, no matter what the notice (be it "reserved", "no parking", "no smoking","do not use mobile phones in this area", "maximum five items" "cash only at this till" etc etc) think that it doesn't apply to them and they can put two metaphorical fingers up to it.

Now those people are always worth taking to task!

I think a good portion of this minority are simply not observant, its just how they are. They are the sort of people who can't follow road signs.