To expect to sit on an empty train seat?

[NellieTheElephant1]

Travelling on a busy train to London, lady wearing a mask sitting on a window seat with her bags next to her on the aisle seat. No other seats available nearby. Asked her politely 'excuse me please' indicating that I wanted to sit there. She mumbled 'sorry no I need to distance'. Surely if you're that worried about Covid don't travel on public transport at busy times?

Awesome!

This should really be a standard announcement.

You should have paid for two seats

And if there was another disabled person unable to stand for long periods of time prevented from sitting down because you used your case to prevent them from doing so?

If someone had asked me to remove my bag then I would happily have done so but warned them I have covid. I booked my train weeks ago before I had covid, how would I have guaranteed that booking 3 weeks later I'd get the seat next to my existing one?

What's the alternative? I just let anyone sit down without warning them and risk giving them covid? I figured that by putting my bag there, it would give me an opportunity to work someone before they just sat down.

She would try to find somewhere to stand that is quieter. Or not travel in peak times if unable to stand.

I assume you were wearing a mask. I would have said thank you for letting me know, now can you please move your bag before I squash it.

Giving disability as a possible reason is ridiculous. Her bags are not disabled.

I would have sat on the bags (or her lap).

And I would have said yes of course

Because every disabled person has a disabled railcard?

Try to get hold of the person who checks the tickets (if there is one) and get the staff who are in charge of the train to get her to remove her bags.

The trouble with that is you're then discriminating against people who aren't as bullish as me about being denied access to seating in favour of non sentient luggage.

Whilst I might be perfectly able to ask somebody when told 'Somebody's sitting there' as I was about to sit down 'Who? The Invisible Man?' (usually after several hours of being subjected to people I see as selfish bastards and the frankly shit accessibility of half the transport network - I don't start the day being a dick, it normally takes a little while) or struggle my way over to be told - possibly untruthfully by somebody who wants their case to have a nice little rest - 'I have Covid' - not everybody is like me probably a good thing.

Some people equally in need of a seat are frightened or unable to consider the possibility of confrontation. Your barrier is exactly that - a deliberate barrier to them even standing there hopefully, never mind asking if you could move it.

It's possible for a disabled person to discriminate against other disabled people. Unfortunately, what you did falls under that category. We all know that Covid is everywhere now, if we're on a train it's because we need to be and there is absolutely nothing we can do about it. By all means, say 'I have Covid', but don't discriminate against other disabled people by visibly and physically telling them they can't sit there unless they come up and negotiate with you.

You do realise some people are at serious risk of severe illness or death due to covid and yet still need to travel to say a hospital app.
Find a seat that’s not nearby and feel thankful covid is not such a big deal to you.

Find the guard, if she's not comfortable sitting next to someone she needs to be the one moving to the space between the carriages

YANU. Utter rudeness to keep your bags there when the train is full and if she's uncomfortable on public transport just now she needs to stay off it. Too many people are using it as an excuse to be pricks.

She really is. The OP has paid to travel on a train and sit on a seat. There was a seat available. You have no idea if the OP is vulnerable ie able to stand either.

Are you seriously suggesting we should play by the rules of 'the rest of Europe' and ignore our own government? I mean I know they are a bit shit but where do you draw the line at ignoring our laws to follow someone else's

Bags should never be on seats on a busy train, regardless of the supposed reason.

Bit of an obvious question that you should have explained in the OP but what did you do? Let her dictate that you should stand, like a numbskull? Or act like a reasonable person and tell her to move them?

And you do realise that this can also include people like me who need to travel to hospital appointments but also need to sit down?

It's still a big deal to me. I'm certainly not a fan of the virus when my immune system is fucked around with on a daily basis by medication and illness. But I also still need to get to hospital appointments and that need outweighs everything. Don't make them inaccessible to me due to lack of seating.

And then you can be thankful that access to seating on public transport is not such a big deal to you.

I took my 12 year old granddaughter to the station to return home, a 4 hour journey, after the big storms in February, total chaos with trains cancelled, late etc., eventually one going to her destination came in and 3 train loads of delayed passengers were trying to get on. She got on and I watched her stand by a table where there was a spare seat but bags on it, the woman wasn't for moving them but, as my granddaughter said, I gave her my best Paddington stare until she moved them! Some people think they're so special and entitled!

I would just sit on the seat. If the bag still happens to be on it, then it’s her hard luck.

unless the train/bus is half empty, then it’s always a dick move to stick your bag on a seat. If you want two seats, pay for two seats.

“When did we become such a brutal, unkind country?”

when folk decided their bag was more entitled to a seat than an actual paying passenger.

Possibly at the point at which people stopped comprehending that more than one type of disability exists?

Ask if she’d paid for two seats !