Counted place reservation on an open ticket

[moliones]

So someone I know has a counted place reservation (Coach *, Seats ***) for a Northern service from Hull to Doncaster. At first I thought this was a reservation as part of an Advance ticket, but no, it is an "open" ticket (not sure what kind, whether Anytime/Off-peak, nor single/day/period return).

Can anyone explain this? As I see it, it offers no rights or obligations to anyone.
Is it just for convenience (so it is written down what time the train leaves)?

Thoughts?

 

[Kite159]

Is the ticket part of another journey with the 2nd leg having a seat reservation (i.e. Hull to Sheffield, changing onto a TPE/XC service at Doncaster)?

(I've had things similar when buying a Dorridge - Shrewsbury ticket, the Chiltern leg comes up with a counted place with the ATW leg having the proper reservation)

 

[moliones]

That could be it, though I often don't get that with an & Connections advance ticket (with unreserved first leg).

 

[SickyNicky]

Some systems will do that, because the train is marked as reservable, so a reservation is obtained regardless. Other systems will check if a "real" seat is available before actually issuing the reservation.

At the moment, our system does the former. We're working with Raileasy to do the latter in due course, at the same time as we allow seats to be reserved prior to purchase. Other systems are likely to do the same.

 

[Wallsendmag]

i always used to throw the counted place away with flexible tickets when I sold them. It was quicker to hit reserve all rather than individual legs that actually gave a seat res.