Should seat reservations be abolished?

[Bletchleyite]

Ending seat reservations would be shocking PR - it just shouts ‘we can’t run a railway’.

Interestingly this didn't cause a furore when both SWT and LM abolished them. Though they are primarily commuter operations.

Also can you imagine the stampedes down the ramp at Euston if the entire train was first come first served!!

There is that. Of course they could stop that by putting platforms up earlier and allowing people to queue by the train doors while cleaning is taking place. They just choose not to.

 

[Meerkat]

It can get a bit grumpy with only some people looking for an unreserved seat.
I think there would be quite a bit of conflict with crushes round the doors, barging through the train, people bagging whole bays for their mates still in the bar etc etc.
Just get the reservations working properly.

 

[Meerkat]

Interestingly this didn't cause a furore when both SWT and LM abolished them. Though they are primarily commuter operations.

Guessing here based on SWT experience but...
Most passengers are commuters and wouldn’t expect to reserve, less likely to be worried about not getting a seat (ie infirm etc) and travelling singly so don’t want a group together.
The sort of people who reserve would probably be mainly off peak when there was plenty of space (ten years ago is before SWT shrunk off peak trains so they are also rammed??)
Even long distance passengers on SWT are conditioned (beaten down??) to consider it a commuter operation with associated lack of niceties.

 

[AndyHudds]

On the 16.50 TPE from Leeds now and the reservations are causing issues. Passengers procrastinating about ousting people out, people huddling round the door way afraid to sit down. A lot of the reservations are made by leisure travellers as opposed to season ticket holders and daily regular travellers and a lot of reservations are unclaimed making the situation worse. Whereas I'm not saying saying you're entitled to a seat as a season ticket holder but for the amount of dosh spent in comparison to a leisure travellers who may well be travelling in a 10 quid advance you have to wonder what's going on.

 

[Bletchleyite]

Fundamentally there shouldn't be any Advances on any trains where there are not routinely empty seats.

 

[Meerkat]

They are unlikely to be ten quid advances on a busy train?

 

[AndyHudds]

They are unlikely to be ten quid advances on a busy train?

Aren't there? If you book far enough in advance they may well have got it at a very cheap price. I used £10 just as an example rather than as accurate price.