Waiting for a train - who gets priority

[PhoebeGeebee]

Travelling back from a meeting yesterday and waiting for the train (which, for some reason, you can never get reserved seating for)

I stood on the platform for a good 15 minutes, didn't sit down as I knew the train would be busy and wanted to get a seat. Train came and I made a move toward the door, the same time as another woman. She gave me a look and said "excuse me, but I've been waiting for half an hour for this train".

I'm not a fan of confrontation so I let her on. However, whilst she had been waiting longer, she'd been sitting in the waiting room on a nice comfy seat. I had been standing in the heat on the platform.

So who should get first dibs on the seat? The one who's been waiting longest, or the one who's put themselves out more?

The fact that she had been waiting longer is totally irrelevant. She presumably knew when the train was due, no-one forced her to get there early, and it doesn't give her first choice.

As there are no hard and fast rules, I tend to be assertive not aggressive. So not barging ahead of people, but not getting shoved to the back. Purposeful boarding, I call it. And try to show courtesy to others, if poss. Also ignore rude people, I just can't be arsed to argue with them.

Some people are totally chilled and tend to wait for the next train esp if a tube. I often do that, if I'm not in a hurry.