To ask why people sit in reserved seats?

[Leftoverdessert]

I absolutely hate train travel for this reason. I get that if the seat is reserved from a particular station and you haven't reached it yet and are ready to get up, fair enough, but the route I go on fairly regularly it happens to me almost every time - I book a seat and someone's sitting in it. I triple check always that I have the right seat but it's always so awkward to ask them to move as often they seem to get huffy or try to dispute it! They often also seem to scatter their things everywhere which makes me think they're just hoping the person won't turn up or will feel bad when they see they're looking so settled in.

This morning, I honestly couldn't be bothered for the scene as the woman in my booked seat had stuff everywhere and seemed to be asleep to boot, so now I'm just stood up feeling all annoyed. I hate confrontation and just can't be bothered for it first thing in the morning.

If I see a seat is reserved, I don't sit on it - why oh why do people do this??

People often buy a flexible ticket but book a seat on the outbound train in case they need it... you have to select outbound train on some train booking websites even for flexible ticket.

Then they decide to go for a later train on the day or whatever.

Its never been a bother to tell someone to move if I have reservced a seat, on the times when I haven't and sit in a reserved seat (hoping it won't be taken) I therefore assume that it's no big deal if I'm asked to move.

And it isn't.
A big deal.

Because they're relying on the other person being too much of a mug to ask them politely but firmly to move.

Any huffing/eye-rolling needs to be ignored.

In my experience I sit in reserved seats because as a commuter with a season ticket I am not allocated a seat. On commuter trains you have no idea the amount of times we have to stand or sit in the walkways for 90% of our journey home. I pay around £8K a year to not be guaranteed somewhere to sit, so if the last seat in a carriage is reserved then you bet your ass I’ll be sitting in it. Like a lot of people have pointed out up thread there’s a huge amount of people who either a) miss their train or b) have an allocated seat but choose to sit elsewhere when they actually get on the train.

IMO seat allocation shouldn’t be allowed on the commuter trains, or peak travel trains in general. It should be a first come first served scenario.

Would you refuse to move, Hurty?

I quite often book a seat but have a flexible ticket and then miss my original timed train and get a later one (or turn up early enough to get an earlier one).
I'm not booking a seat and sitting elsewhere on the train nor am I deliberately not catching a train where I've booked a seat.

@chocolateandpinkgin

Absolutely with you on the bags on seats! On busy trains (and buses). Or sitting on the outer seat with an empty one beside you? I don't like to be ageist but I think this is particularly a young woman's trick - probably because they feel uncomfortable sitting next to a stranger. It's OK to claim a seat for your bag if the train is half empty but you should move it when the train fills up and before being asked. And sometimes the 'empty'. seats have reservations on them so probably not really available.

I don't like to be ageist but I think this is particularly a young woman's trick - probably because they feel uncomfortable sitting next to a stranger.

IME, it's mostly men carrying bags. A McDs once.

Wow. I’d offer to sit on their lap if they didn’t move. With the full intention of doing it.

A high risk strategy.

@Crabbyandproudofit

YES that's another one, where they sit on the outer seat and leave the window seat empty? Why do people do that? And then if I ask someone if I can have the empty seat, rather than just moving over and letting me sit down - they make a big show of getting up then I have to squeeze past them to sit in the window seat, then they sit back down in the aisle seat. EVERY. TIME. Whyyyyyy?

Absolutely. If there's loads of seats free I'll put my bag on the seat bit I'd always move it if there's people walking around who are obviously looking for a seat.

🤷🏻‍♀️ Just tell them it's your seat and ask them to move. Ignore the carry on. Amuse yourself with mumsnet on your phone while they are huffing with their bags or rolling their eyes. A cheery thank you, then take your seat.

It will get easier each time you do it.

You shouldn't have let someone stay in your seat while you stood.

You're being too polite OP.

"You are in the seat I have reserved".

And stare. No please or thank you, or excuse me.

Being assertive does not mean you have to be rude as per this suggestion.

YES that's another one, where they sit on the outer seat and leave the window seat empty? Why do people do that?

So no one sits next to them. Most people are happy to ask a stranger on a train to move their bag from an aisle seat, in my experience there is far less chance of anyone being asked about a window seat.

@Leftoverdessert this happens to me a lot! So now when I board a train I do so with the expectation that someone WILL be sat in my seat, so I am mentally prepared. I have my seat reservation ticket to hand and politely but firmly say - you're sat in my seat - and show them my ticket. If they huff and puff, then I'm prepared for it but I remain calm (although I'm seething inside). No one will refuse to move if you're firm and calm in asking them (and give them the death stare).

Even last few plane ✈️ journeys I've had, someone has been in my seat! Now that's even more awkward, but they move when I ask often muttering under their breath. Mostly because I always reserve (and pay extra) for bulkhead seats for the extra leg room and they think they have got something for free. So this is at the front of the plane with everyone staring, but they are in the wrong not me.

The bit I hate the most is having to sit on a warm seat 🤢

@CosyAsAToasty YABU, nothing is wrong with orange revels! HTH!

I always turf people out of my reserved seat, and yes they are often rude about it.

Because in my experience over 50% of the time the person who has reserved the seat doesn’t turn up. I often sit in one, rather than stand, or if it has a bigger table. I move should the person who booked it turn up. I am never able to reserve a seat for myself as I never pre-book.

The way I see it, if I haven't reserved a seat, I either sit in a free seat or stand.

But this leads to lots of people standing, blocking corridors and making it difficult for the conductor to pass (and impossible for the tea trolley). As others have said, a very large proportion of seats are reserved by people who actually end up getting a different train.

You are absolutely correct that people shouldn't be blocking free seats, and that they should get out of reserved seats as soon as someone else even looks like they think it's their seat.

Oh, and I don’t like being hemmed in so I would sit in the aisle seat and get up to allow someone to get to the window seat. I also wave at people who are standing to alert them if there are empty seats that they might not be able to see.

Re: aisle seats- I am guilty of this. I am a small female and when I've sat in a window seat I have too many times either found myself wedged in between the wall and a larger man who encroaches on my space or who is inappropriate in some way. It's then difficult to extract myself when I want to leave the train. I feel safer in the aisle seat because I can just jump up and move away without seeking the cooperation of the person next to me. But I will usually aim for an aisle seat next to a window seat occupied by a woman rather than two empty seats.

I do come prepared - I have my ticket open, mentally prepare myself. But seeing the person asleep, stuff everywhere...I just couldn't deal with the confrontation and unpleasantness this morning that I've come to expect. Sure, I do need to work on my assertiveness, but I do feel many times people deliberately act a certain way to make it difficult for others to challenge them and put the onus on you to have the skin of a rhino.

The system is terrible, I agree, but it doesn't help when people deliberately make it difficult for others and are rude/difficult.

It's usually fine to sit in one if it has gone past the destination where the person was meant to get on. One time the other day I didn't sit in my reserved seat as at an unfamiliar station I was at the wrong end of the train for my carriage, and ended up in a non-reserved carriage with tons of spare seats, so I figured as it wasn't busy it didn't matter.

What used to annoy me though was when I used to travel out of Stockport to London at the weekend, the trains used to be horribly busy and someone 9/10 times would be sat in my seat from Manchester Piccadilly ten minutes down the line and I always turfed them out as I had booked a seat specifically so I didn't have to stand up or st in the aisles for four hours plus (as it used to take then with all the engineering works).

It’s fine to chance your arm in a reserved seat. Being difficult or huffy about moving is the problem.

Or sitting on the outer seat with an empty one beside you

Yep I do this because I want the aisle seat. I got there first, I get to choose the aisle seat or the window seat. You'll just have to ask me to let you by to the window seat.

There have been countless threads on taking aisle seats.

If they asked me to and there were no other seats then yes I’d move

If you don't feel able to ask yourself, ask the conductor to move them, I hate confrontation too!
As a wheelchair user I frequently had to get people to move out of the accessible spaces, you would be shocked at peoples reactions, it's not like I have a choice to sit anywhere else & the seats on trains are always booked for me.