What is it about trains...

[Landslide]

...that turns peoples' brains to mush?

This morning's journey featured a chap. Smartly dressed, shirt and tie, looked like he could tie his own shoelaces. When the ticket inspector came along to check tickets, he handed over his seat reservation.

Quoth the inspector, "Can I see your ticket please, that's just the reservation."

"Oh, is it?" ventures the chap as he hands over the other little bit of card.

YES YOU TWONK!!! That's why it has "SEAT RESERVATION" printed on it!!!
It mightn't have been quite so bad, but pretty much the exact same exchange had taken place a few seconds previously with another passenger!

Further proof (if it were needed) of the stupifying power of rail travel followed. Due to a "computer problem", the seat reservations hadn't been uploaded with the result that people just sat wherever they liked.

"I'm OK," said the chap, "I've got this seat reserved anyway. Seat 16. This is 16 isn't it?"

NOOOOOOOOOOO YOU FLAMING EEJIT!!! It's seat 13! That's why the little number on top of it says "13"!!! How the feck did you manage to get out the house this morning???

I'm sure that if you have ever travelled by train, you'll know that this isn't an isolated incident either. The number of people who've handed over their reservation rather than their ticket, or who wander up and down and up and down the carriage looking for their seat, or who find what they think is their seat but they're in the wrong carriage must run into the millions!

It's really not that hard, is it?

 

[bikepete]

Can I join in the ranting?

The braindead idiot who designed the Virgin Trains electronic seat reservation display thingy is a criminal against usability. Instead of a clear display you can read at a glance you get a moronic scrolling message that you have to watch for about five seconds before it actually tells you whether the seat is reserved or or not. Infuriatingly stupid design.

 

[snakehips]

Is it just trains ?
I thought getting in to a car had a similar effect.

 

[snorri]

It mightn't have been quite so bad, but pretty much the exact same exchange had taken place a few seconds previously with another passenger!

It is quite clear to me that with so many people having a problem with the system, the system is at fault.
A simple return journey requiring one change of train can require up to 8 tickets, four for travel and four for seat reservation. Then there are the tickets for your bicycle as well. They also print the credit card receipt on the same style of ticket, just to add to the confusion.
It's a nightmare I tell you, just a nightmare.

 

[Melvil]

It is quite clear to me that with so many people having a problem with the system, the system is at fault.
A simple return journey requiring one change of train can require up to 8 tickets, four for travel and four for seat reservation. Then there are the tickets for your bicycle as well. They also print the credit card receipt on the same style of ticket, just to add to the confusion.
It's a nightmare I tell you, just a nightmare.

Aye, it's a whole tree instead of a ticket. And heaven help you if you have to change trains a couple of times as well....then you need a folder to keep all the paperwork in.

One thing I like about travelling in France is that the ticket has the seat reservation on it. However, having to remember to validate your ticket on the platform before getting on the train is a bit pants when you forget (as I do).

 

[Landslide]

It's a nightmare I tell you, just a nightmare.

Unless you (a) can read, (B) know what the date is, and (c) know where you're going! It's not rocket science! And I suspect that a lot of these people are travelling to pretty well-paid jobs where they manage to make lots of important decisions and generally not stuff things up! They just turn into gormless plonkers when they're on a train!

 

[Fnaar]

chuffing trains

 

[Gromit]

I remember the days when I got just one ticket with the seat number on it. What ever happened to that, it worked and was easy to use.

 

[Hover Fly]

Can I join in the ranting?

The braindead idiot who designed the Virgin Trains Pendolinos is a criminal. Infuriatingly stupid design.

Is that what you meant?

 

[colly]

It does seem a bit odd that people do that I agree.
On the other hand why do you need a 'seat reservation' in addition to the ticket?
It seems obvious that the seat reservation should be included on the ticket. I mean you are unlikely to have a reservation without a ticket are you ?

I haven't used the train system for years, not until just last month. When I got my ticket(s) for a simple return journey to and from Hull I got no less than 5 credit card sized bits of guff. B)

1. Outward trip / time
2 Seat reservation
3 Return trip / time
4 Return seat reservation
5 A kind of summary of all the above

What a waste.
A single ticket could have had all the same information on. In fact years ago thats all you got, a bit of cardboard about 25mm x 40mm

So addressing your final question :
'It's not really that hard is it?'

I would say
'No, so why do they make it harder than it need be?'

 

[rich p]

What, someone gave the inspector the wrong piece of paper delaying the whole process by 15 seconds. That is absolutely outrageous behaviour. Some people don't take this sort of breakdown seriously and even regard it as fairly trivial. They don't realise that, if left unchecked, it can ultimately lead to the slippery slope of moral and social decline.

 

[Amanda P]

Unless you are the ticket inspector, I can't see what is so infuriating about the chap's behaviour.

I do agree, though, that being issued with dozens of superficially identical bits of card is rather pointless.

I'm never clear why seat reservations are really necessary anyway. Why don't they just count how many seats there are on the train and stop selling tickets when they have sold one for every seat?

There's always someone sitting in the seat you have reserved anyway, counting on the rightful occupier thinking it's more trouble than it's worth to get them to move.

 

[Landslide]

Unless you are the ticket inspector, I can't see what is so infuriating about the chap's behaviour.

Because I'd love to be able to believe that the human race isn't actually as stupid as it continually demonstrates itself to be...

 

[Kirstie]

This is the wodge of train tickets we got for two people and two bikes from peterborough to inverness and back in April:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mrmichaelwright/3306320716/

And don't get me started on thetrainline.com. What an utterly rubbish service that is. And their call centre is hopeless.

 

[Maz]

...YES YOU TWONK!!! That's why it has "SEAT RESERVATION" printed on it!!!

NOOOOOOOOOOO YOU FLAMING EEJIT!!! It's seat 13! That's why the little number on top of it says "13"!!! How the feck did you manage to get out the house this morning???

I bet that was going through your mind, but only manifested itself as a raised eyebrow.