h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

This morning, I was a bit late, so ran to the station and just caught the train in time. It was packed, as usual, but I managed to get one of the last few remaining seats.

Just before the next station, my phone rang. I was on-call so had to answer it. Out of consideration for my fellow passengers, I left my seat and moved to a nearby corridor between carriages to take the call. It was a bad line and broke up before I had the chance to advise the caller on their IT problem. I turned back to my seat to find someone else smugly sitting there. All other seats had now been taken.

As I tried to tell the man, he pretended to ignore me, and then my phone rang again. I decided I was probably going to be taking a few calls, so went and stood by a door instead for the rest of the (hour-long) journey.

So what are the correct manners here, both for me and for the guy who stole my seat?

Should I have resigned myself to taking phone calls and simply given up my seat (not that I was going to get it back)?

Should I have just remained in my seat to take the calls (and annoyed the nearby passengers)?

Should the seat stealer have offered the seat back to me? I probably wouldn’t have minded so much had he not been younger and fitter than me.

I think he should have given your seat back - especially if he was younger and fitter. That's only courtesy.

Most of the time, I'd say don't sit next to a stranger and carry on a phone conversation, because it's rude.

However, if it's an emergency, or your job, and you don't talk loudly and disturb everyone in the car, I'd say go ahead.

You know what I really hate? Those people who walk around while talking on the phone, and run into other people. Especially if they're pushing shopping carts at the time.

Were you in a quiet coach on the train? Most trains seem to have one these days. I assume that as there is a dedicated area in which use of mobile phones is discouraged, as long as you're not in this area, use of a mobile phone is permissible provided the phone conversation is conducted at an ambient level.

As regards the seat, if you left it a few minutes after the train had left the station – making it obvious that you were still on the train – it should be considered to be yours, and the satanic seat stealer should surrender to your prior claim. If you had left the seat around the time of the train's arrival and departure from a station, then I fear it would be finders-keepers, unless you, say, left a coat on the chair with which to stake a claim.

<BB<

"You know what I really hate? Those people who walk around while talking on the phone, and run into other people. Especially if they're pushing shopping carts at the time." [Dmitri]



That's the new normal, I'm afraid. Frankly, I think people have lost their minds. If the aliens descend in , I will gladly help them take away anyone with cell phone in their hands .

Yes. They can take them to a planet with no wifi, and let them suffer...

I think the situation described in the OP went quite normally and was acceptable on all parts. If you left your seat and took all your baggage etc with you, there's no way anyone could know it was "your" seat and you have no more right to it than anyone else. Looks like you were condemned to spending the journey in that draughty bit outside the carriage anyway, with other phone calls coming in.

It was more than courteous of you to go outside to deal with the call - I hope you could hear well enough. It gets quite loud in that part of the train.

Yes, it was a lot louder there. And sub-zero (the heating wasn't working).

Oh well, I'm not on call now for 4 weeks.

I had an unfortunate situation in summer, when I didn't have any luggage or a coat, but I am required to book in advance to travel with my wheelchair, so my seat was booked.

I left the wheelchair space to go to the toilet, and while I was in there the train stopped at a station and the staff loaded another wheelchair user into the space! Luckily there was a handrail in the corridor so I felt quite safe, but it wasn't much fun 'standing' for half an hour rather than being able to sit at the table in the carriage... I'm not sure what would have happened if I hadn't left the space, but probably the other wheelchair user would have been expected to 'stand' instead, or they may have been loaded into the wrong carriage by mistake and could have found another seat

Living in a place with NO public transportation, I'll just .

When I was in France a few years ago, mobile phone use was banned on all trains. It may still be. The result was that when somebody did take a call they talked very very quietly, looking around like a frightened rabbit. Well worth observing the spectacle.

[Amy P]

Why is mobile phone use banned on trains? It's not as if they're driving the thing.

Must ask SF.

People use trains for working and phoning is part of that. People have elderly parents and young children and emergencies can arise.

I wouldn't blame anyone for getting out their laptop and skyping.

In France "The use of mobile phones isn’t allowed on most trains and there are signs indicating this, although many people ignore them" --from http://www.justlanded.com/english/France/Articles/Travel-Leisure/Trains-in-France

The most annoying thing is that a lot of people shout at their phones, like W. S. Gilbert in "Topsy Turvy". Now there's a great flick.

"You know what I really hate? Those people who walk around while talking on the phone, and run into other people. Especially if they're pushing shopping carts at the time."

No-one I've spoken to can explain this phenomenon, It didn't happen when we only had corded phones and were restricted to the hall, however the Americans then lengthened the cord, and lo! They started pacing, as can be seen in American films. Cordless then came on the scene, and we did the same, but mobiles (cell phones) mean we can pace all over the place. Why?

But I digress. Vacating a seat on the train. Unless a fellow traveller is notified to advise that the seat is occupied and the occupier has had to vacate it temporarily, then it just becomes an empty seat.
Taking a mobile call in an enclosed space is, to me, very rude but, as you are travelling by yourself, just with strangers, taking the call, but being considerate to your fellow passengers should be ok.
Ad no, the passenger has the right to take a vacant seat unless it is reserved.

Maybe next time you travel on a train with a reserved seat, retain the ticket inserted into the back of the seat, and reuse it on these occasions?

MMF

Did someone call?
Mobile phone use on the train is banned for the tranquillity of all passengers. It is advised that people who need to phone while on the train do so in the space between the carriages. There are seats there, so it's not that bad.
And of course you won't be scolded if you're phoning from your seat, provided you do it sensibly.
Gallic