Maybe it's time to start charging for reservations?

[Krokodil]

It is true that actually making them compulsory will cause them to generally be occupied. I suspect occupation is high on London-Newcastle/Edinburgh on both LNER and Lumo for that sort of reason - because while reservations aren't compulsory on the train itself, all affordable tickets require reservation.

I was more thinking that LNER would love to dispense with the Anytime tickets and force everyone to commit to a train.

The premise of the thread is how you solve it - charge for them (and I would suggest a partial refund for releasing them, and perhaps something active asking you if you want it, e.g. an in app notification with a simple tap to release the reservation). Then only people who actually want them will pay for them.

I was asking Tetchytyke what they thought should happen, given that they were opposed to charging.

 

[Bletchleyite]

I was more thinking that LNER would love to dispense with the Anytime tickets and force everyone to commit to a train.

If they do do that it'll be so they can increase fares even more e.g. during the Edinburgh festival. I suspect they will otherwise be happy with the idea that the only passengers who can board without a reservation are those who buy an extraordinarily expensive ticket that hardly anyone does buy. I suppose the 70 Minute Flex does currently offer the ability to just board another train of your choice within the 70 minutes, but I can see that only being temporary while the relevant IT systems are not able to support that unless you bought direct.

 

[Ashley Hill]

I’ve seen “Bristol Parkway - Filton Abbey Wood” before now. Unsurprisingly not claimed.

Possibly part of a longer journey. If travelling from Parkway to perhaps Bridgewater, the change might be at Filton. Is it really worth finding your seat and sitting down for such a short journey?

 

[Tester]

Possibly part of a longer journey. If travelling from Parkway to perhaps Bridgewater, the change might be at Filton. Is it really worth finding your seat and sitting down for such a short journey?

It isn't, and that's the point - a perfect candidate for counted places.

 

[Krokodil]

So, should there be a minimum journey distance or duration for seat reservations?

 

[Tester]

So, should there be a minimum journey distance or duration for seat reservations?

I don't think worth the complication - just stop forcing people on walk up tickets to have reservations they haven't asked for!

Outside of compulsory reservation trains, who else does this?

 

[Tetchytyke]

I was asking Tetchytyke what they thought should happen, given that they were opposed to charging

Remove compulsory reservations from trains and the problem, such as it is, goes away.

Beyond that, so what if people reserve seats and don’t use them? What is the actual issue? If the train is busy someone else will take the seat when they see it is unreserved. If the train isn’t busy then they’ll sit somewhere else.

This whole thread reads to me like a solution looking for a problem.

 

[YorksLad12]

The other issue with LNER reservations is that every seat is reserved, or might be reserved while you're sat in it. Apart from the unreserved section, of course.

 

[Tetchytyke]

I can bet how LNER would solve it, and it won't be popular on here.

I can imagine that LNER management are howling with laughter at this thread. People on here demanding that they be charged more money for being able to reserve a seat.

“By customer demand, we’ve introduced a £10 per person reservation fee…”

The other issue with LNER reservations is that every seat is reserved, or might be reserved while you're sat in it.

That is, of course, only an issue if you don’t have a seat reservation. It hasn’t happened to me because I reserve a seat.

 

[A S Leib]

I think LNER's (and Avanti's; those two specifically for the ability to choose seats) system is fine at it is. The only changes I can think of which would be beneficial would be making it easier to cancel reservations / avoid getting them to begin with when undesired, as has been said in this thread, and to make it possible to make seat reservations and select seats at ticket machines if that isn't already the case (I'm assuming ticket offices do that already).

 

[Krokodil]

I don't think worth the complication - just stop forcing people on walk up tickets to have reservations they haven't asked for!

Outside of compulsory reservation trains, who else does this?

Remove compulsory reservations from trains and the problem, such as it is, goes away.

This is also an issue on XC, who do not have compulsory reservations. Bristol Temple Meads to Bristol Parkway for instance.