You must sit in your reserved seat!

[Wolfie]

All TOCs that offer seat reservations allow you to name which seat you would like by number. In most cases this can be done through the telesales or booking office channels. If adjusting the online channel would cost a disproportionate sum, given that the other two channels are available, it would not be a reasonable adjustment to require that the train company also offer the feature online.

Telesales costs more than online (call charges) - as such a Court would likely have issues...

A station booking office? So a disabled person has to go to a station to book their ticket... right...

I am pretty sure that the Equality Commission would have a field day with your arguements....

 

[island]

Telesales costs more than online (call charges) - as such a Court would likely have issues...

A station booking office? So a disabled person has to go to a station to book their ticket... right...

I am pretty sure that the Equality Commission would have a field day with your arguements....

As I already said, reasonable adjustments do not mean that the TOC has to incur disproportionate costs. Plus, a number of TOCs have freephone numbers for disabled passengers to use, so they won't incur call charges anyway. (And before you start on about mobile phone companies charging for 0800 numbers, that was banned last month.)

 

[stevefreestone]

What a surprise - Cross Country and their "we don't give a s**t if someone is sitting in your reserved seat" policy - http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...f-hour-businessman-refused-seat-d-booked.html

 

[jon0844]

Is that story true? Nobody else stepped in and have their seat? Nobody (her or anyone else) filmed it?

 

[Bletchleyite]

There's a lot you could call printing out the reservations on Avantix, repetitive, paper-hungry, perhaps, but "laborious" and "ridiculous" really are pushing things a bit. It's standard practice when the reservation system doesn't work and the origin station doesn't have the facility to print reservation labels.

Seems a good idea. Might it be quicker, though, if they just had a set of "reserved for all or part of the journey" cards ready to go that could just be put in the seats to start with?
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All TOCs that offer seat reservations allow you to name which seat you would like by number. In most cases this can be done through the telesales or booking office channels. If adjusting the online channel would cost a disproportionate sum, given that the other two channels are available, it would not be a reasonable adjustment to require that the train company also offer the feature online.

Several TOCs now offer seat selection. Hopefully it will soon be universal. It does make slightly less efficient use of the seats in terms of combining reservations, but if someone has chosen their seat they are more likely to want to sit in it.

It may well, now VWC offer it, make me book my walk-ups a day or so in advance for selected seat reservations on likely trains. I might even shock horror use the odd Advance. To me it is truly a "killer app". (I also pay for seat selection on aircraft most of the time)

 

[pemma]

What a surprise - Cross Country and their "we don't give a s**t if someone is sitting in your reserved seat" policy - http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...f-hour-businessman-refused-seat-d-booked.html

That story is being discussed here: http://www.railforums.co.uk/showthread.php?t=120409

 

[Bletchleyite]

In those circumstances I'd expect people to make every effort to find out where the best place to stand is, and the displays I saw in Southampton recently showing the train formation were a great help to me, especially with a very heavy bag which I doubt I'd have been able to manoeuvre through a carriage!

We've only just got as far, at New St, as saying which way round the train is. Meanwhile in most European countries train formation diagrams are clearly shown, either electronically or on paper, on the relevant platforms.

We really need to catch up. VWC, notably, is trialling an improved system of 10 (I think) numbered zones on platforms.
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If those two meet on a train whose rights are trumped. I feel sorry for the Train Manager who has to sort that that one out and what if it is a driver only operated service?

Are there any driver-only operated services operating marked (rather than quota based) seat reservations at present (pre-fGW IEP)? I can't think of any.

 

[DelayRepay]

Only a few days ago I was travelling on EMT. I was reserved in a block of 4 seats, one of the other seats was also reserved but the person had not shown up and the other 2 seats were empty, so I had the table to myself.

A family of 4 got on and were looking for somewhere to sit. Three of them took the empty seats at my table and the fourth (mum I assume) said she would sit a couple of rows away. I offered her my seat and moved into the single seat where she was going to sit.

Should I have been fined for not sitting in my reserved seat? I thought I was doing a nice thing and didn't realise I could possibly upset anyone....

(Really my reason was slightly selfish - I didn't fancy sharing my table with 2 noisy kids!)

 

[gimmea50anyday]

No not at all. As i have stated in my earlier post. You are NOT required to occupy your reserved seat. The only requirements are that you are on your booked train in the case of an advance purchase ticket, or that you are sat in the appropriate class of accomodation for which you have paid (unless you have either paid to upgrade)

If however you choose not to occupy your seat the train companies will not subsequently honour that reservation.

 

[Jonfun]

Seems a good idea. Might it be quicker, though, if they just had a set of "reserved for all or part of the journey" cards ready to go that could just be put in the seats to start with?

You could just put the same message on the digital displays though, unless it's the display unit itself which has broken. Saying it's reserved at some point isn't really helpful to the passenger, whereas an actual reservation ticket is, and doesn't take an exceptional amount of time to do.

 

[me123]

What a surprise - Cross Country and their "we don't give a s**t if someone is sitting in your reserved seat" policy - http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...f-hour-businessman-refused-seat-d-booked.html

Or, to put it another way, no-one from CrossCountry found out that this had even happened until the passenger responsible had alighted from the train and the woman was sitting comfortably in her seat. By this point, there wasn't that much they could have done about it, but they have offered her compensation. This is about as much as they could be expected to do given they had no possibility of doing anything about it when it was actually happening!

 

[Bletchleyite]

You could just put the same message on the digital displays though, unless it's the display unit itself which has broken. Saying it's reserved at some point isn't really helpful to the passenger, whereas an actual reservation ticket is, and doesn't take an exceptional amount of time to do.

The Voyager ones often trip out completely, so can't show anything.

 

[Jonfun]

"Often" is overstating it a bit. Most sets they work fine, some sets have one or two dead, and a couple of sets have a significant number dead. I gather there's one or two sets of displays in each carriage which act a bit like kamikazes - if they die, they'll take a number of other ones out with them.

More often than not the display itself works fine, it's just the train can't dial in to download the reservations.

 

[Bletchleyite]

No not at all. As i have stated in my earlier post. You are NOT required to occupy your reserved seat.

Yes you are by the Advance T&C:

http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/times_fares/ticket_types/46546.aspx

Where applicable, you must travel in the Class and reserved seat(s) shown on the ticket(s).

Though TOCs can and often do waive this, either officially or informally.

 

[theshillito]

I feel you should be required to occupy your reserved seat unless directly offering it to someone else (e.g. the situations above) or if you can remove the reservation card and take it with you. If you wander off to find another seat because you don't like it, you're taking up two seats because people will see the reservation card or display and go to find an unreserved seat. It's the same idea that, if I go to the toilet or the shop, I expect my seat to remain unoccupied when I return, and not assume I've gone to find another seat. I appreciate that some people will just sit in a reserved seat and hope the person doesn't turn up or does what apparently all you lot do and sit in whatever seat you feel like.

 

[Bletchleyite]

I feel you should be required to occupy your reserved seat unless directly offering it to someone else (e.g. the situations above) or if you can remove the reservation card and take it with you. If you wander off to find another seat because you don't like it, you're taking up two seats because people will see the reservation card or display and go to find an unreserved seat.

Such people should learn that they can occupy reserved seats if they are not taken

It's the same idea that, if I go to the toilet or the shop, I expect my seat to remain unoccupied when I return, and not assume I've gone to find another seat.

That's easily achieved by leaving something (other than a freebie rag) on the seat, such as a low-value item of clothing. Someone did once move such an item off my seat, but were very apologetic when I took them to task for it.

I appreciate that some people will just sit in a reserved seat and hope the person doesn't turn up or does what apparently all you lot do and sit in whatever seat you feel like.

This is not a problem provided the "wrong" occupier moves without question when the reserver does turn up.

 

[HappyBasher]

bit late here I guess but the only time I have ever been told off for not sitting in my booked seat on an AP was probably this same open access operator, in my case from Sunderland. I had taken the "reserved" slip out of my actual booked seat so that it would appear free to others, and argued with the staff member that it doesn't make any difference where I sit, I'm still taking up just one seat; and eventually won because there was no ticket in the seat I was meant to be in (!) Normally my booked seat is backwards instead of forwards, or by a pillar, or otherwise undesireable, so it's rare I actually use it (but normally move the slip as a courtesy to pax who can't read the from/to and determine that the reservation has expired!