to make a scene on the train

[photographerlady]

I didn't but AIBU to just throw my hands up and really just make a scene next time. I commute over an hour to London on the train. In my third trimester of pregnancy I applied for upgrade for Mums to Be on southwest trains. Have the pass now to sit in first class if the train is full.

The past month I've sat in first class. I am slower now and especially after work when huffing my way to catch the train after quitting time I get on with only 5 minutes to spare. About five coaches down its first class (ten coach train) and its rammed so I get on and sit in FC as those first five coaches have no seats.

Today the ticket checker came to our carriage when we was moving she checked my pass and said that there were seats on this train I have to leave first class. I was more shocked but then she preceded to tell me that she could revoke my pass and I have to move now. So at 33 weeks I walked down two carriages on the moving train til I found a seat.

Now I am working til 35/36 weeks but after thinking about today AIBU to just say "No" next time that I am not moving and take it from there. I mean they can remove me from the train or say I am causing a scene but tbh I feel as though its not worth the strain and cramps in my stomach to hustle down the platform or weave through carriages to make sure all seats are taken before I go back to the pretty empty first class section.

''The first few carriages on a train are always more full than those a bit further away from the ticket gate. I suspect there were loads of empty seats a bit further down, and that's why the ticket inspector made the point.

Though I doubt the OP will admit this now!''

Jinsei

She's already said she had to walk through two carriages to find the elusive empty seat.

"So... Tethersend... By your logic, a pregnant woman should be allowed to go to my local odeon and sit in a 'premier deluxe ' seat (which is bigger, more comfortable , has a better screen view and is more expensive) even though she has only paid for a standard seat... Simply because she is pregnant... "

Whyever not?

As long as nobody else wanted the seats, why couldn't a pregnant woman sit in them without paying extra?

YABU.

It's a nice policy the train has, why heap abuse on it?

Allowing people to sit in unoccupied first class seats because they're empty doesn't stand up to any sort of logic.

Of course pregnant women should be accommodated and ensured they are not put at any risk but all the OP had to do was move to the next carriage and ask for a seat. She made a big deal out of moving to find an empty seat when she was more than entitled to one of the seats in the next carriage.

"Allowing people to sit in unoccupied first class seats because they're empty doesn't stand up to any sort of logic."

You're going to have to explain why to me, because I am just not getting why allowing a pregnant woman to sit in an empty, unused first class seat defies logic

Because she might have paid for it if it weren't given to her for free. Like any other traveller.

They've already prioritized pregnant women which is good.

So why not extend that to anyone tethers end? It makes no difference to the cinema if people who have bought standard tickets decide to sit in empty premier seats! I think you'd find pretty quickly though that the logical conclusion to that would be that the cinema would stop offering a price difference and just have all seats at the same price and not offer any different provision. Which is exactly what train companies Would do as well. Which I expect the OP would then moan about!!

Why would getting rid of first class and premier seats be a bad thing? It's a great solution!

It's ridiculous that first class still exists on suburban trains.

Exactly saski. I don't see what's so hard to understand about the principle, whether its trains or cinemas we're talking about. A better type of seat is offered at a higher price. If anybody was allowed to occupy the better seats even though they hadnt paid for them then what on earth would be point of a price difference be?!
My DH usually pays for a premier seat because he's got long legs. If he buys a standard seat, I guess he could take a chance and move to premier if the film is about to start and it's not filled. But if a staff member came and told him to move to the seat he'd paid for, he'd look bloody ridiculous trying to 'make a scene ' about it!

Tethersend, that's a separate issue entirely.

Why do you disagree with first class?

The cinema argument makes no sense. When buying a cinema ticket you are guaranteed a seat, few people (in my experience) actually move into better seats when they realise the premier seats are unoccupied and likely to remain so.

Not so on the train.

Tethers- I couldn't care less whether first class exists on trains or premier seats exist in cinemas. But some people do. My DH for example as I said above. And while these things do exist then the only way they can logically operate is if people pay more for them. Otherwise what's the point? Whether they exist or not is, like the whole issue of train fares, another argument entirely

" If anybody was allowed to occupy the better seats even though they hadnt paid for them then what on earth would be point of a price difference be?! "

Bingo!

Disagreeing with a practice does not mean you do not understand it, nor does the mere existence of such a practice make it synonymous with logic.

It's not another argument, as the very existence of first class seats is the cause of the OP's problem.

In nearly all commuter trains to and from London, first class stands virtually empty whilst passengers are packed like sardines into standard class. The companies even recognise the absurdity of this by offering 'upgrade passes' to obviously pregnant women, so they can sit in a section of a train they all know will be empty.

Rather than ditch the empty carriages and let everyone sit throughout the train, they introduce ridiculous passes and expect people to be grateful.

It's a disgrace.

Adverbial- but the op would NOT have had to move if there hadnt been a seat available on the train. That's the whole point. The pass entitles a pregnant woman to sit in first class (ie a better seat) IF no seat is available for the fare she's paid. A train ticket , unless you have a guaranteed seat booked , does not entitle you to a seat, it entitles you to make that journey. The fact that the mum to be concessions exists is an adjustment, a courtesy, which the company has implemented

Now- whether you believe a ticket should mean you get a seat, and whether tickets should be much cheaper is a entirely different argument. It's one many people , me included, agree with. But it's got absolutely nothing to do with pregnancy- it's an issue which applies to all travellers

So you seem to be agreeing tethers that this is an issue which applies to everyone. Therefore it's not about the OP being pregnant, or whether a company makes reasonable adjustments.

It is relevant, as the company issuing these passes is indicative of the fact that they know first class is likely to be empty- which begs the question, given that it is likely to be empty at any given time, why have first class at all?

And turfing a heavily pregnant woman out of a seat which they know is unlikely to be occupied is indefensible IMO.

Photographerlady, you have my sympathies, London commuter rush hour trains are not entertaining. I have not had to do it pg, but have done it with babe in arm +- a toddler too. When coming home from great ormond street with said toddler - more than once I have had the nightmare of no seat and its not at all easy esp once train is moving, so, I do sympathise and I guess in your situation I would be as conscientious as possible checking carriages, other than this yes I would sit in first.
Tbh I have to travel up again in 10 days and am considering driving to the outskirts as I do find it that hellish when packed.

And to the poster who said they drove up to the day they gave birth - wow - well done. Not in anyway the same your car won't leave the drive without out you in it, sat down and safe for one.

if i was heavily pregnant i wouldnt want to be going up and down the train looking for a seat , if the train looked packed then i would go straight to first class and sit down , no pregnancy isnt an illness but its bloody tiring in the late stages especially when you have been to work all day .

Technically, you were being unreasonable I think.

I'm 38 weeks now, and would not have a problem negotiating my way through 2 moving carriages. I think that maybe if negotiating 2 moving carriages is a problem for you at 33, you might want do some contingency planning re work and the latter stages of pregnancy. I'm not trying to be all 'I climbed Mount Everest at full term about it - just sharing my experience that, for me, the physical problems got exponentially worse in final weeks.

I agree with wider points on thinking whether trains need as many first class seats. It is annoying walking past empty carriages. In a cynical way, they need to keep some quality differential between classes to keep people paying for first. I have no idea how much first subsidises other fares, if at all?

Sorry, should have said that although technically U, I wouldn't have made you move unless you had an attitude about it.

It is relevant, as the company issuing these passes is indicative of the fact that they know first class is likely to be empty- which begs the question, given that it is likely to be empty at any given time, why have first class at all?

I don't agree that it's indicative - it may or may not be the case, we don't know.

What fraction of the train is actually allocated to first class? It's a pretty small percentage in my experience - like 8 out of a couple hundred. If the train is indeed really crowded, releasing the first class seats isn't really going to help the crowding - and then you have the business problem of having customers willing to pay for something (first class) that you can't offer.

Trains are really badly run in the UK and there's much to criticize, but I philosophically disagree with your view.

YABU - it is a nice policy for the train operators to have and seems well thought out and parent friendly. If it is abused by piss takers like the op who seemed to use it as a free upgrade regardless of whether there were seats in standard, then there is the risk the policy will be changed to the detriment of those who need to use it.