Bags on seat riddle

[trainophile]

I don't put my bag on the seat except if I am like on an Ellesmere Port-Warrington service (no passengers) or where the whole carriage is being shared with only another person.

Shoes I don't like, but not bothered about stocking feet, in fact, I've even heard guards say take your shoes off if you want to put your feet on the seat.

A guard on a train I was on the other day brought two Metro papers from somewhere, and gave them to two girls (late teenagers I'd say) who had their feet on the facing seats (to put under their feet, not to read!). In a way it was nice of him not to make an issue of it, but I think he should have initially told them that it was not acceptable. As it was, they just shoved their feet back on the paper-covered seats and carried on giggling.

 

[transmanche]

It's one thing on busy trains, but on those where there is plenty of space it's just good manners to spread out. You wouldn't turn up in an empty field and pitch a tent inches from someone already established, and it's good manners for the same to apply on trains.

A bit like the 'urinal positioning' dilemma!

 

[DiscoStu]

A guard on a train I was on the other day brought two Metro papers from somewhere, and gave them to two girls (late teenagers I'd say) who had their feet on the facing seats (to put under their feet, not to read!). In a way it was nice of him not to make an issue of it, but I think he should have initially told them that it was not acceptable. As it was, they just shoved their feet back on the paper-covered seats and carried on giggling.

But, but ... what about the ink that may end up on some poor sods bottom, even though they'll never know?

 

[trainophile]

But, but ... what about the ink that may end up on some poor sods bottom, even though they'll never know?

I'm trying to work out some gag about the back sports page having a headline like "kick here", and someone in white trousers sitting on it... but it would come out in backwards writing I think .

 

[DiscoStu]

I'm trying to work out some gag about the back sports page having a headline like "kick here", and someone in white trousers sitting on it... but it would come out in backwards writing I think .

It would be even better if the paper was left open on page three

Backwards writing would be the least of his worries!! haha

 

[PHILIPE]

If I am looking for a seat when joining a train, I usually make a point of going for a seat with a bag on it. Am I mean ?
There was an occasion once on a full 150 in the Cardiff Valleys when I had no alternative but to ask somebody to move their bag to allow me to sit down. She replied by saying "Where else can I put it on this train". I merely pointed out that seats were for bums and shaped so. Quite often you hear a conductor/Train manager on a well loaded train make an announcement requesting people to remove luggage from seats. I know this was touched on earlier.
Straying off the bags issue I was travelling on XC Voyager once sitting on the aisle seat where the chap on the inside seat was using his laptop. It was a bright sunny day and due to the position of the sun, he decided to pull down the curtain. I pointed out I wanted the curtain raised to enable me to see out of the window. He agreed - no problem.

PS - It happened to be a rare Voyager seat lined up with a window.

 

[455driver]

A guard on a train I was on the other day brought two Metro papers from somewhere, and gave them to two girls (late teenagers I'd say) who had their feet on the facing seats (to put under their feet, not to read!). In a way it was nice of him not to make an issue of it, but I think he should have initially told them that it was not acceptable. As it was, they just shoved their feet back on the paper-covered seats and carried on giggling.

But doing it this way might encourage them to put their feet on something in future.
Whatever you try and do they will continue putting their feet up, thats for sure!

 

[Tomnick]

A bit like the 'urinal positioning' dilemma!

Good to see I'm not the only one who puts some thought into it! Why anyone, faced with the choice of three urinals in a row, would choose the middle one really is beyond me :roll: . Far more of a problem than someone placing a small bag on the seat next to them on a half-empty train!

 

[RichmondCommu]

Mine stays on the seat till most of the remaining clear pairs of seats have gone - got no time or desire for the usual vile smelling stoat who wants to talk to you unless strictly necessary!! I would never attempt to deprive someone without the confidence to speak up a seat though.

I concur that having to endure strangers trying to make conversation is a nuisance but that is no excuse for leaving your bag on the seat. Just ignore them, it works a treat for me!
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That is simply an selfish/ ignorant attitude!

I concur that bags should never be left on seats but it's no fun having complete strangers trying to make conversation.

 

[LowLevel]

I think it's only going to be a case of some people find it irritating and some people just don't - I'm afraid we shall just have to agree to disagree and attempt to mutually irritate each other should we come across each other on trains I have to confess you are statistically much more likely to find me, if I'm sat at the time rather than doing something else, sat in a single seat in the back cab anyway (which, to be fair, I still don't fit into properly) so the situation doesn't arise that often!

 

[user15681]

The only time I'll leave my bag on the seat is when I finish early, need to do work which requires frequent use of the bag and know there will only be about 5 people at most in the carriage. Other times, it'll go under the seat or between my feet.

 

[transmanche]

If I am looking for a seat when joining a train, I usually make a point of going for a seat with a bag on it. Am I mean ?
There was an occasion once on a full 150 in the Cardiff Valleys when I had no alternative but to ask somebody to move their bag to allow me to sit down. She replied by saying "Where else can I put it on this train".

So because one person was extremely selfish in the past, you now choose to deliberately 'target' people with bags on seats even though there are plenty of other seats available?

That seems a bit of an over-reaction to me. Just chill and take a free seat!

 

[455driver]

Just chill and take a free seat!

So you are saying a seat with a bag on it isnt a 'free' seat then!

 

[Starmill]

A bit like the 'urinal positioning' dilemma!

Clearly everybody's mental capital is going into deciding weather its OK to put a bag on a seat or not, judging by the contents of this thread, when this is a far more worthy cause to spend time thinking about!

Though that might be more to do with the fact that some toilets seem to have been designed by people who don't have to use them; e.g. mirrored urinals? Mirrors!? What's that all about!?

 

[rdeez]

Pretty fierce debate going on here!

I think some people are failing to make the distinction between those who place their bag on the seat, and then take steps to make people think twice about asking them to move it e.g. spreading possessions out, napping, etc, or who grumble when asked to shift it, and people who will put their bag on the seat but will move it when the carriage is becoming busy or when someone asks / appears to want to sit there...

If I can see there's plenty of free seats, and the seat next to mine is unreserved, I will place my bag on the seat next to me because a) It gives me easier access to magazines, chargers, etc that I may need, b) I'm a bit forgetful / absent minded at times and having it there makes it (almost) impossible for me to leave it behind, c) It can at times be a bit heavy with books and my laptop. Convenience, yes, pure and simple. However the moment I see that quite a few people are boarding, the bag moves, and I'd never fall asleep or stick my headphones in with it there, either. Even if someone is hovering near my seat when there's others available, I assume they may want to sit there and shift it. Also, the bottom of my bag is perfectly clean as it never gets placed on the ground!

I don't see anything at all wrong with what I do, I don't see it as rude, disrespectful, and I don't see that the behavior of a minority should reflect on me. :roll:

 

[Squaddie]

Why anyone, faced with the choice of three urinals in a row, would choose the middle one really is beyond me :roll: . Far more of a problem than someone placing a small bag on the seat next to them on a half-empty train!

Some people really do seem to over-analyse every situation!

Walk in, urinate, wash your hands and leave. It would never occur to me to wonder or care which urinal I should stand at. Is it really wrong to choose the middle one, or the one next to one at which someone else is standing?

 

[158747]

Your bag shouldnt be on the seat in the first place so boarding passengers have the full choice of where to sit.

When I am travelling on a train that is not very busy with my bag on the next seat any boarding passengers will have plenty of other seats to chose from.

 

[Clip]

Never happened, and I've been on thousands of trains in my life.

I mean, how dirty do BAGS get on the bottom? Shoes are a different matter, but most bags that are the size that people are likely to put on their seat are carried without really touching a filthy surface.

Yawn. Just because it hasnt happened to you doesnt mean it does not happen. It does. And i can travel on up to 30 trains per day.

Bags do get dirty on the bottom, yes, and that can transfer to the seat. But I am sorry, you obviously know more about this than me because you are innundated with passenger complaints every day off your life on the railway.

 

[tony_mac]

Some people really do seem to over-analyse every situation!

Walk in, urinate, wash your hands and leave. It would never occur to me to wonder or care which urinal I should stand at. Is it really wrong to choose the middle one, or the one next to one at which someone else is standing?

http://people.scs.carleton.ca/~kranakis/Papers/urinal.pdf

 

[CyrusWuff]

Personally, I'd ask them to read the NRCoC and then charge the correct fare.:roll:

That'll be six Anytime Singles for exclusive use then? (Though I doubt that survived the transition from The Manual to iKB)

 

[GodAtum]

I would never sit next to someone if there was another double seat available. it's just good manners and being respectful.

 

[essexjohn]

Not a new problem!
http://punch.photoshelter.com/image/I0000aNy1DbujGzI

 

[87019Chris]

As an 18 year old who commutes everyday using the train, I always know where the train will stop and I usually get a table seat because of this so my bag goes on the table (its only a small satchel bag), however I find that even though I don't have my bag on the seat and I'm dressed smartly people refuse to sit near me due to my age not because I have a bag so when a train departs and no one has sat next to me, I will move it there I don't see why I shouldn't if someone wants the seat they should sit down and not discriminate against me when I'm not a scumbag, chav or moron. If they dont want the seat then why shouldn't I spread out I give them plenty of time to take the seat up If I'm late for my train then I have no objection to asking big headed business men/women to move coats/laptops etc so I can sit down, in today's world people are always too afraid of asking I say just do it if they say no then they look like a massive t**t not you!
When someone does sit next to me I don't find that they all smell terrible (you will always get one or two people but most don't), and they don't talk as they have there head in a book or there phones, and that's fine I don't fancy a random chat with someone about something daft, I usually just want a nap on my train home.
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I would never sit next to someone if there was another double seat available. it's just good manners and being respectful.

Personal space can get compromised on trains nowadays especially on 3+2 seating and unless I know the person, I wouldn't either.

 

[HowardGWR]

As an 18 year old who commutes everyday using the train, I always know where the train will stop and I usually get a table seat because of this so my bag goes on the table (its only a small satchel bag), however I find that even though I don't have my bag on the seat and I'm dressed smartly people refuse to sit near me due to my age not because I have a bag so when a train departs and no one has sat next to me, I will move it there I don't see why I shouldn't if someone wants the seat they should sit down and not discriminate against me when I'm not a scumbag, chav or moron. If they dont want the seat then why shouldn't I spread out I give them plenty of time to take the seat up If I'm late for my train then I have no objection to asking big headed business men/women to move coats/laptops etc so I can sit down, in today's world people are always too afraid of asking I say just do it if they say no then they look like a massive t**t not you!
When someone does sit next to me I don't find that they all smell terrible (you will always get one or two people but most don't), and they don't talk as they have there head in a book or there phones, and that's fine I don't fancy a random chat with someone about something daft, I usually just want a nap on my train home.
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Personal space can get compromised on trains nowadays especially on 3+2 seating and unless I know the person, I wouldn't either.

Chris, could I respectfully ask you put full stops in your posting. I began to get a bad headache halfway through and gave up. This is a pity, because I wanted to read what you had to say. Thank you.

 

[455driver]

I would never sit next to someone if there was another double seat available. it's just good manners and being respectful.

In that case I bet your wife/girlfriend loves travelling with you!

Yes I do realise what you mean!

Edit-
I think what we are all trying to say in our own way is summed up by Rdeez in post 75.

 

[DiscoStu]

I concur that having to endure strangers trying to make conversation is a nuisance but that is no excuse for leaving your bag on the seat. Just ignore them, it works a treat for me!
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Do you really just ignore somebody when they speak to you?

That's rude to the point of being embarrasing.
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Yawn. Just because it hasnt happened to you doesnt mean it does not happen. It does. And i can travel on up to 30 trains per day.

Bags do get dirty on the bottom, yes, and that can transfer to the seat. But I am sorry, you obviously know more about this than me because you are innundated with passenger complaints every day off your life on the railway.

:roll:

Okay then.

How many of these complaints you receive are from people moaning that they've sat on a seat that has been soiled, specifically, by a bag?

Gotta hear this ....
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I think what we are all trying to say in our own way is summed up by Rdeez in post 75.

Agreed - but let's not stop the debate
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

And i can travel on up to 30 trains per day.

Blimey, what do you do? That's nearly four trains an hour in an eight hour shift.

 

[Urban Gateline]

Chris, could I respectfully ask you put full stops in your posting. I began to get a bad headache halfway through and gave up. This is a pity, because I wanted to read what you had to say. Thank you.

There was really no need for that patronising post... :roll:

 

[Clip]

:roll:

Okay then.

How many of these complaints you receive are from people moaning that they've sat on a seat that has been soiled, specifically, by a bag?

Gotta hear this ....


Blimey, what do you do? That's nearly four trains an hour in an eight hour shift.

Not directly from a bag being on there but from them picking stuff from off the seats, feet are the main culprit but transferance from bags happens - to say it doesnt is just madness.

Im a GSM so that means I frequently travel to my stations every day that I am at work and, funnily enough, I use the train to do this. And on a certain day each month I have to visit about 20 of them. Ill let you add that all up and then my commute to/from work which can be as many as 3 trains in each direction depending on where I start at .

 

[Tetchytyke]

It depends on the bag. Big rucksacks and suitcases will put muck on the seats, a handbag or satchel probably won't.

But in the scheme of things that's nothing compared to feet, or to the sheer amount of food and drink that must get spilled on seats every day.

I think rdeez hit the nail on the head too.

 

[RichmondCommu]

Do you really just ignore somebody when they speak to you?

That's rude to the point of being embarrasing.

If someone asks me a question then I will give them an answer. I will also help those who are in distress. However, if a random stranger tried to start a conversation then yes I would ignore them. I'm quite happy with my own thoughts.