to enjoy winding up people who think their bag needs a seat

[motheroftwoboys]

I usually wimp out of asking people to move so I can sit down but yesterday and today have, with a smile, asked to sit down. You would think I was asking the earth. Young woman yesterday, sitting on the aisle seat on a busy bus with very small handbag on seat. She sighed dramatically and made a big play of making me sit at the window instead of moving across herself. I got off before her and she actually tutted when I politedly said excuse me. I said thank you in over loud and friendly way and I was still chuckling when I got off the bus. This morning there was a bloke who thought his paper needed a seat when he was reading it. Same tactic. Same response. Wonder what my journey home will bring. [wing]

YouTheCat: maybe we need a national ad campaign with Basically, just be a bit less crap&selfish (or similar) as the slogan...

(Amusingly, Stirring Incidental Music was just provided by the documentary on Nureyev I'm watching. Pleasing.)

Yes. That would do it.

Also, I think Suitable People ("Suitable" to be decided by me, obvs) should be allowed cattle prods to help ensure people behave properly. Won't take your feet of the seats? Sure? ZAP! Mwahahahaha...

I've been on planes with assigned seats where people have wanted to sit in my seat not the one they have a ticket for, even though I was traveling with dd. one person wanted an aisle seat so just sat in the seat, another time someone wanted to sit next to their sister and it wasn't until I started unpacking all dd's things from my bag and asking them to look after her that it even occurred to them that a parent should sit with a child. Dd was 5 at the time, I have no idea why they wanted to sit next to her for 3 hours.

Wow some crazy bus and train antics going on! The bus I get is almost entirely full of pensioners so it is really easy to know when to give up a seat. It's rarely completely full, I tend to sit in those folding seats in the buggy park next to dd in her buggy, but I stand up if its full and an elderly person needs a seat, and would always give up a seat if someone asked, I wouldn't question why! I find trains a lot more brutal though.

I love the post about South London bus bingo. Too true.

I got bonus points recently for "step gingerly down the sick covered stairs in overcrowded bus". At 8am. Required near superhuman levels of dexterity, and still wasn't the worst thing abut my commute that morning.

It's quite simple solution.
I had my earphones in listening to a book.
Saw the seat I wanted, someone must have been saving it for me as it had a bag on it
I took the bag off the seat and put it on the rack. Then sat down. I got a look but who cares.
I'm doing this from now on and if anyone says anything I'm just putting it on the shelf for them. They should thank me.

ZOMBIE!!!!

No excuse for taking an extra seat, whether it be with your bag, body, bit of your leg, elbow or whatever. It's one seat per person if you are lucky enough to get one.

Aisle sitting imo is ok as long as you make it clear you are happy to let a person past comfortably. I am very claustrophobic so really can't sit by the window.

However I think if someone has a big suitcase with them or small children to put on their lap it trumps other reasons to desire the aisle (I.e. not disabilities but reasons like just wanting it)

Ah blast Zombie! I'm on a train so was keen to join in!

If a person wants a seat, and some bag or shopping is occupying it, well then...………….just ask. The average person is unlikely to be refused. That is normal. We can all ignore the eye-rolling and sighs.
But there is an argument that selfish people should get "double-selfishness" in return-in other words a real tongue-lashing, and even abuse.
I do not think I would want to do that, but perhaps, just perhaps, it may make them modify their behaviour in future.
Not sure what to think about this.

The other week somebody had their bag on a seat on a packed bus so i sat on it! It crunched and they moved it.