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??

Agree ditto ‘quiet’ carriages.

I always book a seat if possible and I used to feel annoy me to invariably find someone sitting in it. I don't like confrontation either.

However, I recently went on a train in Germany. There was a woman sitting next to me. Just before departure a man told her that she was sitting in his seat. She very calmly asked if she could see his ticket. He showed her the ticket. She said "Yes, this is your seat" and she just packed up and left. Somehow I totally loved this exchange. No one was huffy or annoyed ir embarrassed. It was all very friendly and matter of fact. I thought the guy might get annoyed at being asked to show his ticket when it obviously wasn't her seat but he didn't seem to mind. He just did it. It was just super civil and drama free.

So, now, I just do the same. I tell the person thst it's my seat but I don't blame them or silently stew about them having the audacity to have taken my seat. Most people do move without a fuss. It actually makes sense when so many reserved seats go empty. It would be a waste of a good seat if no one sat in it.

So anyway. Just ask her. If she gets huffy it's not your problem and not your fault.

But are they? Or are they regularly commutors who pay maybe £10k a year to not have a reserved seat as you don’t get one with a season pass ….but you do with an advanced single at a MINOR % of the season ticket price??? make it make sense.
If be doing away with reserve seating altogether and it it would all be first come first served (and revert to common decency on that elderly/pregnant women would be offered seats).
Reserved seating it a crap system and causes way to much aggro.

When you book a train online you are forced to choose a train for your outward and inward journey even if you book a flexible ticket (because you aren’t quite sure which train you will get), then it reserves you a seat on your selected trains. This is what is behind the many empty reserved seats imho.

For this reason it is fine to sit in a seat marked reserved, also obviously fine to ask someone to move if they are in your seat.

We sat in reserved seat when travelling from Devon to Kent, it was a hellosh journey. My husband had to move when the woman whos seat he was sat in got on the train, as he should have

Oh don’t start being all sensible 😂

I have epilepsy & once had a seizure on a high speed train (whilst standing ) which resulted in a head injury & Injury to another person. The whole train was stationary & line completely blocked for several hours & delays for the next 24hrs.

I now can't travel on high speed trains without a seat. I book a priority seat (on the train company advice). Every time there is someone in the seat with headphones on & engrossed in their phone or with their eyes closed. I've had people be extremely rude & refuse to move.

I now speak to station staff before the train arrives & ask them to find my seat seat. They can then speak to the guard & hold the train if needed. Once BTP had to get on to persuade someone to move & a couple of times been given a seat on first class because people won't move.

I can understand people can't always book in advance & want flexibility & also trains are overcrowded but people can also be really nasty. A polite 'i think you have the wrong seat' really doesn't work.