Passengers sigh when they remove bag off neighbouring seat on PT

[nfg]

Unless you paid for two seats or have 2 passes for yourself and bag, people should not be using seat next to them for their bag(s)

One morning i saw a ‘lady’ take up three seat, one got her arse, one got her bag and one did her folded coat!!!! People were standing, if I didn’t have a seat she would have bed my first target. I don’t ask either I just say ‘move your bag please!’

I agree with you OP … BUT with age I’m noticing how unintentional sounds come out when I’m doing everyday things, and I sound just like my mother did.
For example

• getting into car “oomph”
• bending down to pick large box up “arrrrh”

So if I ever sigh around you please don’t take it personally 😁

I just ask politely if I can sit down - and then if someone's sat on the aisle seat, they can let me sit by the window - some people want the aisle so they can stretch or use the loo, or if they're not going far. It may be that they've had a nightmare day, plonked their bag next to them and forgotten - so just asking means that CFs feel obliged to move still, but nice people don't feel told off. I do always ask and have no truck for 'I need two seats because x' - if you can't deal with having someone sat next to you, don't get on public transport. I did once guilt an entire Tube carriage into finding a seat for a heavily pregnant woman (with her permission) on the basis that while an individual might happen to have a hidden disability it was unlikely that they all did.

Not quite the same thing but I was on a crowded train in the evening rush hour - got on at the first stop and as we were waiting to depart, the bloke in the seat in front of me kept turning people away from the empty seat next to him because he was 'saving it for someone'.

The person he was waiting for got on two stops down the line. 🙄

I had a seat but if I'd been standing I'd have said, this isn't the school bus, pal, you don't save seats for your mate on a packed commuter train!

Yet I have always thought that people sitting resolutely on the outside seat are trying to ensure they don’t have to sit next to anyone! So it is interesting to read your different perspective.
Regarding putting a bag on a seat, I think one problem is that there is so little space on public transport that an empty seat becomes the only obvious place to put it. I think people should always be moving a bag though when it gets busy and you see people looking for a seat.
On the bus I go on daily, the upstairs seats are full of people stretched out with their big dirty trainers on the seats. It enrages me!

I’ve seen this and it’s not on. Same at our local pub - people letting their dogs sit on a chair next to them, in dining area. Why? Fine to do it in your own home , but why the entitlement of doing it in a public space, where other people have to sit.

I did inadvertently sigh at someone recently who made a beeline for me, when I had my case in front of the seat and backpack/handbag on the seat. I could see at least 3/4 only backpacks on seats that she had walked straight past to come to me. I know I shouldn’t block a seat but there was nowhere else for my things to go(I can’t lift the case overhead), so I had to get up and stand by the doors for the last 10 mins of my journey. One of them moved their backpack upon seeing this but I couldn’t sit there as I’d be blocking the aisle. Reading this thread and learning that people actually just do this to make a passive aggressive point to people who they think are an easy target doesn’t really bode well for society

Given that I have seen some people put bags, that have been on dirty floors, onto train seats, how is it possible to know exactly who doesn’t do it.

I find it simple:
can you move your bag please?
if they refuse or don’t answer I go for the handle and ask:
do you want me to hand you your back or place on the floor next to you?

They always whip their bag away before my slowly lowering hand reaches it.

So, just to be clear, are you saying I’m wrong to set my bag on a seat?

Yes, in an ideal world I’d rather you didn’t, because I can’t be certain where you may or may have not put it before. But like you say yourself, you can easily put the bag on your lap, if need be.

Yes, in an ideal world I’d rather you didn’t, because I can’t be certain where you may or may have not put it before. But like you say yourself, you can easily put the bag on your lap, if need be.

What is your strategy if, having asked politely for the bag to be moved, the owner says NO, or is otherwise ignoring you? What if you move the bag yourself and the owner becomes violent or aggressive? I think it's the potential reaction when asked that puts people off asking!

I kind of think that most bags on seats hoarders are oblivious, and generally will move the bag when asked. But I often worry what would I do if they turned on me.

Anyway, I will always take the outside seat whether or not the inside is free. I never like being trapped in there, and it's usually by a man in the aisle seat because they like stretching their legs with their manspreading legs. Or copping a feel or playing footsie when so one is looking. They ARE out there!

If it's any relevance I'm 60+ and quite assertive, but I do fear some reactions to my poliite requests.

No, I didn’t say “easily” - it’s uncomfortable for my knees, but I will move it from the seat to hold it there if the bus or train gets busy.

But when the bus or train isn’t busy you think I should still be uncomfortable rather than set it in the empty seat just in case someone like you might not know whether my clean bag is in fact clean or not. Seriously?

Why are they ‘some fucker?’ Why should they sit next to someone else rather than you? People nearly always sit in an empty pair of seats if any are available.

it still amazes me that there are people in the world that give headspace to things like this. Why on earth would you care if a stranger sighs at you?

Dd 18 can't stand on a moving bus she's has balance problems so will always grab the first seat avaliable.
One day she was around 15 and a rather rude woman told her to move because she was in a priority seat.
She got up bus starts moving dd falls a splits her head open.

I reach for the bag to take it off the seat if they don't move it first. Then it gets moved very quickly.

Or a guaranteed chance for them to reply "yes".

You're hardly in a position to ask them to prove it. Very annoying though, I agree OP.

If I were quick enough (I'm not!) I think I'd ask "How much does a ticket cost for a bag these days"? 😊

It’s a sport. Always ask the person who will be most irritated by being asked to take their bag off the seat. Obvs only if there are not enough free seats.
if they sigh then kill them with a bright and breezy smile!

You do realise that there are places for your bags elsewhere in the carriage and you have no business blocking seats with your stuff. It’s so selfish.

We can't be sure where you've put your arse before, but you're putting that on a seat 🤷‍♀️

You mean acting entitled. No need for it at all.

On the train into work earlier this week. Only a few seats left when I got on, so I asked the person in the window seat to move her bag so I could sit down. She kind of jiggled it on the seat a bit, but didn't actually pick it up! So I sat on it. At which point she huffed really loudly, retrieved the bag, and then moaned about me into her phone for the rest of the journey.