Train ettiquette

[Persephonegoddess]

When a train arrives and there are murmurous people more than seat available getting on, why don't people move the bags off the seats, why wait to be asked...
The British temperament is to say sorry for the seat we have paid for and the inconvenience of the person being a cf in the first place with bags on seats.
It's really annoying that we apologise when I want to say in a pa voice" oh did you pay for two seats?"

Eh? Sorry for the seat? What does that mean?

If someone has a bag on a seat I ask them to move it and sit down.

Yes, that if the seat the bag is on is by the window they have to get up.!

Because they are hoping their is a free seat elsewhere and you'll sit there. It's the bystander effect. I just say, sorry, can I sit here? And stand there til they move it.

It's really annoying that we apologise when I want to say in a pa voice" oh did you pay for two seats?"

Well you might say that. What I say is 'can you move your bag from the seat, please?'

On most trains, no one pays for any seats. You pay for transport and also occasionally reserve a seat.

They're CFs. Don't say sorry, say "Hi! Scuse me" with a bright smile and gesture to the bag, they'll move it.

I do judge people doing it, but at the same time I used to get a train to see now-DH on a Friday night when I was at college and noticed I was always the first person someone sat beside as the train filled up - small, female, doesn't look like she'll be smelly etc. I understood it, probably would've picked me too. But I did then sometimes try to rebalance the scales by having a sneezing fit and blowing my nose a lot.

I had this the other night. The cf with his bag on the seat growled "Is the train really that crowded?" and refused to move his bag.
I'm sorry to say that I apologised and moved further down the carriage to stand between two seats.
When I went back to get off, I was pleased to see a big, beefy guy crammed in next to him!