Britons ‘too reserved’ to ask for their seat

MORE than half of train passengers would rather stand than ask someone in their reserved seat to move, a poll has found.

The survey of 2,000 Britons found that 56 per cent would either go without a seat or look for somewhere else to sit than confront a fellow passenger because they felt “awkward”.

The study by train operating firm LNER also found that 41 per cent of those polled admitted often sitting in a reserved seat they had not booked. Sixty-four per cent confessed to “lingering” near passengers they thought might be getting off at the next stop, ready to swiftly claim their seats.

Thirty per cent said they “patrolled” trains, looking for spare seats or people about to get off.

One in three said that they would never disturb a passenger who was sleeping – or pretending to sleep – and 24 per cent said they had moved coaches after a “seat altercation” with another passenger.

Bosses at LNER said they were trying to help passengers by introducing new “Seat Sensor” technology to help them locate free spots.

Passengers who log on get a digital map of the train, with free seats highlighted. A green light shows that the seat is unreserved for the whole journey, while amber indicates it is reserved for part of the route and red warns it is fully reserved.

Suzanne Donnelly, of LNER, said: “We know some of our customers can become anxious when trying to find a seat, whether they are asking for their reserved seat back from a passenger or struggling to find an available unreserved space.

“We hope Seat Sensor improves their overall journey experience.”