Asking someone to move on train

[openjoy]

Is it unreasonable to ask someone to move if they are sat in a train seat that is allocated to you on your train ticket?

I’ve always thought it was ok to do. There are the screens above the seat that say “seat booked” or “seat available until x” etc. I was on a train recently where a woman asked someone to move as they were in her seat and they refused. It caused a bit of a scene in the carriage.

Should the seat allocation (which is free with the standard ticket booking) be ignored and if you get a seat you do and if you don’t, you don’t?

Well obviously you can book seats on a train where other passengers have done exactly that.

Yes, on a thread specifically about train etiquette. Who would have thought it?!

If someone's in my seat, I ask them to move, and I've never had anyone refuse - except for when I got the wrong row number, and it wasn't actually my seat at all...

The reservation notices showing above the seats don't always mean someone will come along to sit in them; you do get a lot of no-shows.

I find it shocking that someone could refuse this

on what grounds

imagine being that arrogant and entitled that you think you are entitled to someone else’s reserved seat!

the only time I’d be ok with it is if the person in the seat tells me they are disabled or pregnant - yes they could be lying obviously but I probably wouldn’t argue and would just hope their conscience gets the better of them

Not if there were other free seats no, I don't often book a seat but if I did and someone was sat in it I wouldn't make a fuss if there were other seats. I haven't paid any extra to reserve it.

giving up a seat if its reserved fine....but when it gets to laying down the law on the first class gavotte......

Oh look it’s the thread police ….

I commute Mon-Fri by train. It's only 2 stops for me so I'll jump in any unoccupied seat if it's busy. I'm aware the reserved person might board though, in which case I'll vacate it. They are a no show 9/10 times though.

What does surprise me is the surprise of the booked person that someone might be chancing them being a no show and sitting down. Instead of just standing next to an empty seat 😅

I would seriously like to know anyone that thinks it’s okay to not move from a correctly reserved seat.

I always ask them to move, very rarely have I reserved a seat and not found someone sitting in it. Can’t say that they’re ever happy about being asked to move though and usually act surprised.

Only once has someone refused so I went to find a member of train staff as I had a long journey ahead and didn’t want to stand, reservations were still in operation. Found the train manager in his room with two British Transport Police and he refused to assist.

Of course people should move if challenged and you have the right paperwork for the seat on that train. Maybe not if they look as if they have had a bad day, or they look as if they need the seat more than you do.

I don't long distance commute these days, so normally buy tickets in advance and get asked to reserve a seat in the process. When I have flexible tickets I'd love to be able to cancel the seat reservation or book a new one (on the day, preferably an hour in advance). Tonight they let the train board a good 10 minutes before posting up the seat reservations, so most of the passengers in our carriage had checked whether they were okay/might need to move.

No its the anti etiquette police police

Of course. I haven't had to do it yet, but would have no problem. It's my seat with my name above it.
I saw someone take a blind woman's reserved seat and then have the audacity to challenge her about it when she arrived. The general public need to learn better manners.

I had a booked seat on a train a while ago - turned out to be a Priority seat, which I hadn't asked for. I took it, but would have moved if someone who needed it more had come along. As it happened, the carriage was quite empty, and the train didn't have many stops, so I was undisturbed.

I once saw a young woman arguing with an older couple. One of them was apparently in her reserved seat. Turned out they were in the right seats, but on the wrong train - they were booked on the train an hour later. The young woman gave up in the end and went off. I hope she found a seat elsewhere - the train was busy.

I wouldn't let them make their problem into my problem.
I amazed that upthread people characterise someone wanting to sit in the seat they booked as "petty". Or enter into debates about who needs it more.
Is this just a train thing or people book seats then let someone else take them in other circumstances?

We could never book seats when my husband was a train driver and we got heavily discounted tickets, hence him getting turfed out his seat on the way home from Devon once

I'd rather nor pay extra for being disabled, ta very much.

I once had someone telling me I couldn't sit in my reserved seat, because she didn't want anyone sitting next to her. This was way before covid Btw!! I just laughed, pointed to the reserved card and plonked myself down whilst she spent the rest of the journey until she got off muttering under her breath.

People should move if they are sitting in a reserved seat and the person who reserved it asks for it. But they don't always agree, and in that case the only hope is asking the train staff to ask them.

I posted an example earlier. I wasn't going to give up the seat the guard had told me to use because someone else had reserved it. I had a seat. It was a priority due to disability, but the guard asked me to move for someone they considered to have a greater need. I wasn't willing to move for the person who had reserved the seat. I was told by the guard that was an appropriate seat to use. The guard should have found a seat that was actually free.

Of course it’s ok to ask. If seat allocations are not working (often) then they do cancel reservations, but some people will still move. To refuse is pretty rude.

I'm an LNER regular. It's becoming increasingly common for people to refuse to move.

I've also been burnt recently by a seat double booking - my train was cancelled so I went onto the app to reserve a seat on the next train got on and me and another woman both had a reservation for the same seat, same carriage and same train. We sorted it out amicably.

The other one I keep seeing is reservations being suspended and then people trying to enforce the reservation system. In that circumstance I'm not moving unless it is patently obvious that their need is greater than mine.

Seat reservations are still valid on trains that are still running!!

If your train is cancelled, you cannot expect to have the same seat reservation on the next train you get on; that will have been reserved by someone else.

I'd always ask someone in my seat to move. That's why I reserve a bloody seat.

I pointed out to a woman that she was sitting in my reserved seat - at a table for two with my husband opposite - and she asked me if I wanted her to move! My bloke answered for me and told her that he wanted to sit with me, not her. She was massively miffed and moved with very bad grace. Why I have no idea, the train was half empty. Perhaps she fancied him.

It depends.

If they've cancelled reservations then you can't make people move and it's frustrating.

But if everything is working then yes people should move the only exception is say you're at a table and it's a family of 3 and one is sat in your seat and the 4th is free I won't ask them to move in that situation.