Priority seats

[Chester1]

I have had an infuriating situation on a TfW train. Two women in their 50s taking up two priority seats each, one for their cases each. I asked if one of them could put their case in the vestibule so that my pregnant wife could sit down. Both were annoyed with the request and told me to ask someone else to stand up. I wasn't willing to start asking random people to stand up, so they sat there with a visably pregnant woman standing next to them for 20 minutes.

Unfortunately the guard was nowhere to be found. How normal is this situation? I wouldn't sit in those circumstances. They had clearly chosen the priority seats for convience with their cases and pressumably expected some random guy to give up their seats. What is the best way for her to handle train travel in next couple of months? We were travelling on a train that was normally not especially busy but appears to have been short formed.

 

[Kite159]

Sadly some passengers are selfish when it comes to priority seats (or even giving up their seat if they see someone who is more in need)

 

[Dr Hoo]

The most effective solution I ever saw was on a Sheffield tram. A group of scholars had joined and sat in all the Priority Seats.
At the next stop a very frail chap with a stick and a younger companion joined.
The companion immediately spoke up with a parade ground voice “WHICH OF YOU YOUNG PEOPLE IS GOING TO VACATE A PRIORITY SEAT SO THIS GENTLEMAN CAN SIT DOWN”.
All of the youngsters sprang up and the conductor came from the other end of the set to see what was going on.
Worked like a charm!

 

[spyinthesky]

If there were no other seats to sit on, personally I would have grown some and dealt with it myself.

 

[WillC]

Pick up bag, move bag, sit down. Bags on seat are not tolerable.

 

[Chester1]

If it was not especially busy then why not just sit somewhere else? You give the impression it's packed to the gunwales but also say it wasn't especially busy.

Sorry to clarify the service is "not normally especially busy" i.e. there are normally seats free when I take the service. It is normally three coaches but only two today and all seats were taken with maybe a dozen people standing in each coach.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: Today at 19:52 ==

If there were no other seats to sit on, personally I would have grown some and dealt with it myself.

How do you propose I do that when the offenders are two middle aged women? As soon as I did more than ask them to move and emphasised pregnant woman they would have been the victim.

 

[JamieL]

Unfortunately some people are very selfish. Personally, I would have continued down the carriage and asked if someone else wouldn't mind moving. I think a lot of people would move in that circumstance and it would likely cause the two ladies a little embarrassment when you described their unwillingness to remove their bags from the priority seats. I would also file a complaint with TfW for their lack of onboard assistance and formally ask their guidance on what you should do. You could then post that reply here.

 

[sh24]

I would have asked nicely, then directly, and then removed the case and placed in the aisle.

 

[JamieL]

I would have asked nicely, then directly, and then removed the case and placed in the aisle.

I do agree with Chester1 though that moving the bags could put him in a difficult position. I am (guessing) he is in his 20s/30s and male so when he goes to move the bag, what would happen? My guess would be the two women start shouting and screaming and trying to stop him. That would create a disturbance which, at first glance, could look like a man trying to bully or intimidate others. What would it look like on CCTV that probably doesn't have sound to capture the initial request?