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XC "Ten minute" seat reservation by text
- Thread starter dvboy
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R
RailUK Forums
At least since July
http://www.railforums.co.uk/showthread.php?t=48445
http://www.railforums.co.uk/showthread.php?t=48445
And I think they can turn it off as I once trued it out and after I reserved the 3rd seat it wouldn't reserve any more and all the ones that could be reserved including the 3 I had already reserved changed back to "this seat is available ..." instead off "this seat may be reserved ...".
But of course that was when the displays actually worked, texting when they don't gets you a confirmation back by text with the seat details but obviously no seat label.
But of course that was when the displays actually worked, texting when they don't gets you a confirmation back by text with the seat details but obviously no seat label.
Hang on, so I'm on a train from Plymouth to Brum (let's say the HST that leaves Temple Meads around 17:30). I have an unreserved seat, then at temple meads some oik with an i-phone tries to boot me out because he's reserved it on the platform? Don't blummin think so!
Granted, it could work in my favour aswell, but recall that the older generation often do not have mobiles, let alone the ability to SMS. I can see backfire potential....
rmt-driver
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AFAIK a certain selection of seats are "held" on every service, in case someone wants to reserve one. These display something like "This seat MAY be reserved" , so by sitting in it, you do so on the understanding that someone might reserve it and you are turfed out. If you are that fussed, reserve it yourself by text. When someone reserves it by text the display changes to "Seat reserved from xx to xx"
Oh and also it doesn't have to be an iPhone, could be a crappy old one from the 90's, as it is just sending a text message (no app or internet service needed)
Exactly
Apparently this is an innovative use of technology.
AFAIK a certain selection of seats are "held" on every service, in case someone wants to reserve one. These display something like "This seat MAY be reserved" , so by sitting in it, you do so on the understanding that someone might reserve it and you are turfed out. If you are that fussed, reserve it yourself by text. When someone reserves it by text the display changes to "Seat reserved from xx to xx"
Oh and also it doesn't have to be an iPhone, could be a crappy old one from the 90's, as it is just sending a text message (no app or internet service needed)
Which can of-course be easily be seen when sitting down on a voyager. :roll:
Robinson
Member
Just one more way of gradually eradicating feasible walk-on travel from our railway...
I sincerely hope no other TOC thinks this is a good idea.
I sincerely hope no other TOC thinks this is a good idea.
Eradicating?! Surely if anything it encourages it!
It is a small number of seats, and the display above the seat clearly says that it may become reserved during the journey. It is not as if you would be sitting in a ''this seat is unreserved'' seat for it to suddenly become booked part way through.
Quite - it's making a facility available to walk-up travellers that was previously only available to people booking in advance!
swt_passenger
Veteran Member
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You cannot specify a particular seat - there is no option to do that in the text message format.
As was discussed in one of the previous threads on this, if you send in a text from a train you are already on, the seat number you get back will be any one of the small number (4 per train wasn't it?) that are available - so you'd have a 3 to 1 chance of being allocated a different seat that someone is already sitting in - which is the very problem people are complaining about...
You'd look a right plonker asking the bloke across the aisle to move because you've just reserved the one he's sitting in...
The seats are allocated in coach C as thus no. 52, 56, 60 on Voyagers anyway.
I don't know about a limited number but all the displays for no reserved seats seem to say "This seat may be reserved etc..."
table38
Established Member
I can see the Daily Mail article already:
Disabled grandmother forced out of her seat by mobile phone wielding hoodie.
Mrs Trellis (86) from North Wales was on her way to visit her sick daugher in hospital, a journey she has made many times since her daughter was diagnosed with {whatever, insert something devastatingly terminal - Ed} last year.
After boarding the train and carefully selecting an unreserved seat, she settled in for the long journey. Suddenly she was accosted by another passenger waving a mobile phone in her face and yelling "look this is my seat innit".
"I was so shocked I didn't know what to do" said Mrs Trellis (86). "The young man was agressive and there were plenty of other seats free where he could have sat, but he insisted he wanted my seat. It ruined my whole journey. I tried not to look upset when I met my daughter in hospital but she could tell there was something wrong so it upset her too."
A spokesman for Cross Country apologised and said that it was caused by teething problems in a new seat reservation system they are trialling.
Disabled grandmother forced out of her seat by mobile phone wielding hoodie.
Mrs Trellis (86) from North Wales was on her way to visit her sick daugher in hospital, a journey she has made many times since her daughter was diagnosed with {whatever, insert something devastatingly terminal - Ed} last year.
After boarding the train and carefully selecting an unreserved seat, she settled in for the long journey. Suddenly she was accosted by another passenger waving a mobile phone in her face and yelling "look this is my seat innit".
"I was so shocked I didn't know what to do" said Mrs Trellis (86). "The young man was agressive and there were plenty of other seats free where he could have sat, but he insisted he wanted my seat. It ruined my whole journey. I tried not to look upset when I met my daughter in hospital but she could tell there was something wrong so it upset her too."
A spokesman for Cross Country apologised and said that it was caused by teething problems in a new seat reservation system they are trialling.
The spokesman continued to say "All our seats are able to be reserved by anyone either at the time of purchase or up to 10 mins before departure.
We do advise passengers that if they have particular needs to contact our dedicated helpline 24hrs before their journey so additional assistance can be provided if necessary.
In all cases crosscountry advise passengers to reserve a seat before travel as our trains can get busy during peak periods, however we understand that whether it be for personal or business reasons last minute travel can be unavoidable and as we are dedicated to investing in the latest technology we introduced this new system to help make life that little bit easier."
We do advise passengers that if they have particular needs to contact our dedicated helpline 24hrs before their journey so additional assistance can be provided if necessary.
In all cases crosscountry advise passengers to reserve a seat before travel as our trains can get busy during peak periods, however we understand that whether it be for personal or business reasons last minute travel can be unavoidable and as we are dedicated to investing in the latest technology we introduced this new system to help make life that little bit easier."
table38
Established Member
Sorry we ran out of space to print all of that but we probably wouldn't have anyway - DM Ed
12CSVT
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As long as they provide enough capacity on each train for everybody who wants to travel on it. Having to stand for three hours is a small price to pay for being able to travel on a train where every seat is already occupied or reserved.
Which intercity routes in Germany are reservation only ? I travel there frequently and have never encountered this.
The ICE Sprinter between Frankfurt Hbf and Berlin Ostbf and v/v, Hamburg Altona and Köln and v/v, and Hamburg Altona to Frankfurt.
Thanks for that. If I ever need one of those (unlikely) I assume I could reserve a seat just before departure as with the TGVs in France ?
Absolute class!
I will be on an X2000 train from Copenhagen to Stockholm in a few weeks and the entire train is reservation only.
What was a rather huge problem is that seats could only be reserved in Sweden up until a certain date - and by then the seats would all be full with people going home/to family for Christmas (we're going on the train in the morning of the 24th - the day they celebrate Christmas).
We had to get someone in Sweden to sort the seats out for us. Even a travel agent in the UK couldn't do it, nor could it be done on the website when it detected a foreign visitor.
Compulsory reservations may be great to get you a seat, but given the circumstances of busy periods, I think it would be nice to have the option to stand (or fight for an unreserved carriage).
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