Would you stand?

[fowler9]

Standing for ladies is plain silly, and extremely outdated in this day and age.

Yeah, just burp in their face or something.

 

[Squaddie]

I hold doors for ladies...and men. No discrimination here!

Precisely. Good manners should not depend upon the gender of the recipient.

 

[TheKnightWho]

It's a fair cop...



Quite...of course, in the old days a gentleman would rush ahead of the lady to open the door for her!

And then let the door shut in the face of the man behind!

But all of this is getting a bit off topic...

I think I'm beginning to understand why early feminists got annoyed with people holding doors open for them... That goes beyond patronising and into the realms of sycophancy.

I don't think anyone would object to anyone doing anything for them, so long as it wasn't dependent on some characteristic that should, in this day and age, not have anything to do with it.

 

[fowler9]

I once had a weird experience holding the door open for a lad. It was in work and as he walked past he said "Cheers geek". Fortunately 2 weeks later we played his team in the indoor 5 a side league in the office and I had the opportunity to slam him in to the wall, win the ball off him and say "Cheers geek" back. Never put me off holding the door for anyone or giving up my seat etc.

 

[Marvin]

I'd stand if someone else was in obvious discomfort and clearly needed a seat, regardless of how old or what gender they were.

Conversely, if someone looked like they were perfectly able to stand without discomfort then I wouldn't offer them my seat, regardless of how old or what gender they were.

Age/gender alone say nothing about how capable a person is of standing on a train.

 

[Squaddie]

I once had a weird experience holding the door open for a lad. It was in work and as he walked past he said "Cheers geek". Fortunately 2 weeks later we played his team in the indoor 5 a side league in the office and I had the opportunity to slam him in to the wall, win the ball off him and say "Cheers geek" back. Never put me off holding the door for anyone or giving up my seat etc.

There are some strange, contradictory values in operation here. You will stand for a lady merely because she is a lady, but you will also take any opportunity to "slam" someone into a wall. Strange.

 

[fowler9]

There are some strange, contradictory values in operation here. You will stand for a lady merely because she is a lady, but you will also take any opportunity to "slam" someone into a wall. Strange.

Blimey mate. Get over it. What I said initially was only light hearted. As for the footy game, we'll it was footy game and everyone got on afterwards.

 

[Greenback]

Anything goes in indoor 5-a-side!

Acknowledging my own cuplpability in this area, can we please try and stay vaguely on the topic of this poll and discussion?!

 

[fowler9]

Anything goes in indoor 5-a-side!

Acknowledging my own cuplpability in this area, can we please try and stay vaguely on the topic of this poll and discussion?!

Indeed. Apologies to yourself and Squaddie. I don't apologise for standing for Ladies though, even if there is a tiny element of self interest.

 

[Greenback]

No worries, I did my bit to go off topic too!

 

[DarloRich]

They should have reserved a seat if they were that old or infirm.

I've chucked people out of my reserved seat before, even where they were probably less able to stand than me. Not my problem, the reservation ticket is clear enough, they chose to sit in a reserved seat. I would do the same thing again.

Rude? No, it isn't. I reserve seats to avoid having to stand. They should do the same.

If the train is unreserved then I would offer my seat, because then it is a free-for-all.

That's your choice - i dont say it is right or wrong just that i have a different view. I wouldn't throw a frail old person out of my seat reserved or not. I do consider it rude. Different standards/morality/upbringing/insert word of choice I suppose.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

Standing for ladies is plain silly, and extremely outdated in this day and age.

I tend to agree, however if they are fit................

(sorry sound the misogyny alarm!)

 

[185143]

I think school children in uniform should be a bit quicker to relinquish their seats, which they probably don't pay for anyway,.

Does a train ticket entitle you to a seat now then??

Correct me if I'm wrong, but it never used to!

As a school Child in Uniform, I have often stood to offer my seat, but usually get told to sit back down! I do pay for my travel, partly because I travel to a station with ticket barriers. I did used to travel to an unstaffed station, to where I still bought a season ticket.

 

[Chapeltom]

Whilst I prefer to sit as most people would I am one of those people who will stand out of choice. Unless there are a few noticeable gaps, i.e. I won't make much attempt to grab a seat and would rather stand. This doesn't always apply but I'm 21, I'm fully capable of standing. If I get on a train and I can't see a free seat, I won't go out my way to find one.

Would I give up my seat for the elderly, pregnant and those otherwise unable to stand? Only if asked. I've never been in this situation and probably will never, I will get on a rush-hour service and walk find a place to stand. If I've got a seat reservation with an advance ticket I'm afraid it's not my problem. Not every seat on a service is going to be taken by advances/people with reservations. I'm usually travelling to/from London - that's really the only time I buy advances. If someone unable to stand is travelling long distance i.e. an hour or more, they really should have a reservation. I'd happily stand for an hour on an unreserved service if needs be. I'm one of these people who will happily stand on a train if I'm tired so I don't fall asleep, I did once start nodding off stood up on a 142 however, red hot day, early start, few after Uni beers. Luckily I didn't nod off completely!

 

[Greenback]

I sometimes choose to stand, especially on short journeys.

I can see the argument put forward that people who may have difficulty standing should reserve a seat for longer journeys. It certainly seems to tie in with the notion that anyone requiring assistance needs to book that ahead of time.

However I have difficulty with this argument myself. I expect that individual definitions of a longer journey may not accord precisely with the hour or more stated by Chapeltom above, and on some services it is simply not possible to reserve a seat at all.

Add to that the fact that some people have no option but to travel at short (ie a couple of hours) notice, and the majority of TOC's will not issue a reservation at such a late stage, and I hope others can see why I don't have the same view myself.

 

[AndrewP]

Of course I would if I noticed them (not always the case) but rather than say something I'd just move out of the way.

 

[455driver]

The only person I will give my seat to is a route learner and then only if there is another seat available in the same area!

Oh you mean as a passenger!

 

[fowler9]

I normally prefer to stand on the journey to work anyway. It only takes about 15 minutes and I spend the rest of the day on my arse as a rule.

 

[The Ham]

Every day and thrice on Sunday.

It's called common decency!

Quite.

Also, there are ways and means of moving out of a seat early so that others can use it if they like without having to offer it directly if needs be.

If I was travelling on a busy train with my child I would have them sit on my lap it it meant that others (regardless of age, sex, health, etc.) could sit down, unless we were going to be on an IC train for a long time and had pre booked seats, when I may be a little more fussy about who I did that for (i.e. if I was on a GW train out of Paddington I'm unlikely to do so for a healthy looking 40 year old in a suit who looks like they do the trip daily).

 

[SimonS]

With a daily commute of 1hr 20mins I don't do it other than in exceptional circumstances. The trains are so busy I could otherwise find a reason to do it every day.

 

[southern442]

I most certainly would, but most of the time I don't need to.
Part of my journey involves getting a bus, and the priority system works very well, despite being a ridiculously small midibus with 50+ people on board. Elderly people frequently get on, and will normally ask politely if they can have the seat if a person hasn't already given it up. However, I have seen the most appalling behaviour from young children and their mothers, with the children running into the already full bus, screaming "MOVE DOWN PLEASE" before finding the nearest seat and scrambling over the person occupying it. Their mothers will normally not intervene until a person refuses because of this behaviour, and the mother in question will tell the individual (that is normally a schoolboy/girl) to move because the child is only a child. Understandable, but the parents should observe this behaviour and teach their children some discipline.

 

[VauxhallandI]

With a daily commute of 1hr 20mins I don't do it other than in exceptional circumstances. The trains are so busy I could otherwise find a reason to do it every day.

Should someone stand because they do the trip daily?

Surely that would mean they could be stood daily, by this logic shouldn't the happy once a year tripper stand?

 

[CC 72100]

I'll happily stand for anyone who visibly has more need for the seat than I do. Normally eye contact is just enough and the person will tag on to the fact that I'm offering the sea to them.

However people who walk on and start moaning before anyone has the chance to give up the seat for them, will be ignored. Bit tit-for-tat, I'll accept, but you shouldn't get priority through moaning.

The scramble for seats on the metro between people only going a few stops in the morning never fails to surprise me. Personally, only being on there for 10 minutes, I'd rather stand. Plus, I'm going to the office where I'll be sat at my desk all day, may as well get the 'freedom' of standing up whilst I can!