• Commuter who can't get a seat is fined for standing in luggage space near first class
• Kelly pledges 14,500 more seats for busiest routes
• 44 new carriages gives Thameslink commuters boost
• Commuters on track for 100,000 extra seats
• Rail fares rise by double inflation
• Rail firm goes back to 30-year-old trains to boost reliability

Reader views (27)

 Add your view

have to say that when I get the tube I zone out. If an elderly person or pregnant woman stands right next to me I'll probably notice and offer my seat. Otherwise please ask as I'm also sometimes embarassed to ask if someone is pregnant or just fat. I have a 2 hour commute each way and am of the opinion that given how much I pay I should get a seat and free parking. Why can't train companies be forced to allow first class seating when they have failed to provide sufficient standard class seating. To say nothing of seats that are too small without enough legroom

- Andy, Northampton

A more constructive, 21st-century proposal would be to encourage telecommuting. A seat for every commuter? What a ridiculous idea. Nowhere has it ever been achieved -- because it can't. duh.

- Alan, Islington

I am sick of people saying "pregnant women should not travel on the Tube in rush hour". All I can say is I wish these people were my boss and would allow me to change my working hours just before I am about to take at least 6 months off work! Are these people really living in the real world?

AS for Holly and her get a backbone haha are you sure you had a human baby? You may have had a lovely pregnancy and felt on top of the world and even been able to run a marathon the day before the birth - remember other women are not as lucky as you and feel sick constantly and feel faint most of the time - let's hope you are as lucky next time you are pregnant.

Have we all really got that sad in London that we can't even give up our seat on the Tube for someone that is in more of a need be it pregnant or elderly or on crouches etc., just because they are on the Tube at the same time we finish work?

I am also completely at a loss at the guys that say "oh well it's not my fault you're pregnant" haha you guys are amazing and I hope for your own sake that you never end up needing a seat on the Tube.

Don't you just love London nowadays!

- Tracy, Ealing

If we were animals being transported there would be specific rules governing the process... whatever happened to Health & Safety, because the way they crowd us into trains and onto the tube (with no cooling in summer) seems irrational and unsafe, save from a commercial perspective.

- Gary Langton, Rowledge, Farnham

Heavily pregnant and I have to stand most mornings and EVERY evening and pay for the privilege! As my train does not have 1st class I can not even get an upgrade (and to get this if they had it I would have to take proof to my local station! Hey look at my belly its obvious!) I was even told by one commuter to give up work early as it was safer then travelling into London! Yes it was my choice to have a baby but do I really have to put up with smelly armpits and people pushing and shoving me to get on the train to see if there is a seat (if there was I would not be standing!) and then to top it all off be made to pay for it. The mafia ran fairer rackets then this and they were not even legal. Make the Executives of these rail companies travel like cattle for a year and see how quick they change things (They get 1st class travel on all journeys FREE!)and am I not right in saying that if a farmer gets caught with too many cattle he can be imprisoned? If it's a prisonable offence for cattle to travel like that then what about us? A seat for all is the only fair and humane option or do we all have to start mooing to get someone to notice us? Sort this out for once and for all.

- Denise - Bedfordshire, Bedford Bedfordshire

Introduce Economy Class on rail (as well as First and Standard) where carriage has no seats and customer stands and pays less for ticket!
It is ridiculous to pay so much and stand all the way, no other country would put up with this.
Give us choice stand and pay less. Pay more and get a seat.

- Dave Sutherland, Woking Surrey

I don't think this recommendation is daft enough.
What I recomend is not only a seat for every train commuter, but this should be extended to London Underground.
Not only that but a seat for everyone in the lower deck of all double deck buses.

- Gerry, Chatham Kent UK

It seems somewhat unfair to penalise people for travelling to their place of work both in terms of uncomfortable travel, and in fare hikes. The centre of London provides the greatest contribution to the tax burden in the country, and people who work there should be allowed to arrive at work without being completely stressed out. There should either be adequate housing provision in London (which there clearly is not), or adequate transport. The latter is far easier to solve than the former. The government consistenly fails on both counts.

- Victoria, London, UK

Anything to encourage more green power, but a few points I would like to add.
1 sort out the roads - the area that is designed for cyclist are filled with pot holes, not very user friendly.
2 get vans, TAXI etc and Buses more cycle friendly.

- Gary White, London

Don't be ridiculous. No major city in the world can offer a seat to every commuter. To do so in London would involve at least doubling capacity on every line, and with Crossrail costing £16 billion for one line, that would be rather pricy.

- Dick, London

I read about the congestion charge increase whilst travelling home from work by bus. I thought it meant bus charges were going up.

- David Clarke, London

For the past couple of weeks there have been ticket inspectors at St. Neots and again at Kings X. I pay just under £5k for my season ticket and most of my journey is either standing up or sitting on the rack for approximately fifty minutes. This I find totally uncceptable but the train companies get away with it and just keep raising the fares... biggest crooks EVER!!

- Nikki, St. Neots, England

I only have to go one stop a day, and that can take an hour.

Streatham Common - Balham.

Most people aren't able to actually get on the train let alone moan about it getting a seat...

- David, Streatham Common

I'm 7 months pregnant and rarely get offered a seat, in fact it's happened twice through the whole pregnancy. I have to work also, I didn't want to claim benefits, and the longer I work the more time I get to spend with my child after it's born. Although I have cut down to working 2 days a week because of the travelling. I still suffer morning sickness, which is normally worse after long train journeys, and I have problems with my legs and ankles swelling which is common in pregnancy and extremely uncomfortable. Plus pregnant women are very prone to fainting (which is not only bad for us and the baby it will also delay every ones train journey).
I know every one pays for their seats, and I know lots of people are tired after a long days work but try and find it in your heart to stand up. At the end of the day it's just basic manners anyway.

- A-M, London

Is that a seat, or a clean seat?

- Kevin Llewellyn, Abercarn, Wales

Over 5 years of commuting into central London from the south east, I can definitely say that the commuter level has vastly increased. Each morning I am becoming more and more concerned whether I will actually be able to board my train, not the old cliche of whether there would be delays, cancellations etc...

With Londons and the South Easts population to grow exponentially over the next 5 years, this is a problem that needs drastic action taken now.

But as well know, nothing will be done despite the fare increases and money poured into the rail network companies.

- Bradley Symons, London, UK

The answer to the seating problem is to put transport high up on the list of Government priorities, so that this essential service is given the same importance as health. The paltry rail subsidy should also be doubled, to enable investment in new and longer rolling stock, and additional rail connections.

In Italy the rail system isn't perfect, but the subsidy is higher, fares cheaper, and trains longer. This means that there is a better chance of getting a seat during peak periods.

- Mark Wright, Verona, Italy

On buses and trains I'll never sit in seats with the "for elderly or disabled" notice on them. However, I see men, younger than me dive into those seats at the first opportunity.

About 2 weeks ago, my wife and I got on a bus and stood close to where an elderly woman was sitting on the fold-down seat in the bay reserved primarily for wheelchair users. There was already one woman with a buggy and child in part of the gap, plenty of room for them both. The bus was packed.

At the next stop 2 women with buggies got on. The first moved her buggy toward the gap. The old woman moved her bag out of the way. The woman with the buggy said to her, curtly, "there's two buggies" and looked hard at her. The old woman got up and managed to get another seat, given up by someone else. I said to my wife, "I just hope someone in a wheelchair gets on now".

Most of us remember when we were younger, that women with buggies, picked up their child and folded up their buggies. Aren't they supposed to be easier to fold up these days? If so, why do so many women "expect" the space to be theirs, automatically?

It's worse too, when they carry their child, but leave their empty buggy unfolded!

- Darron, London

Congratualtions to Holly for being able to stand up 8 months pregnant but that is far from the case for many pregnant women, especially when carrying a heavy laptop and squashed on all sides by other commuters. Travelling out of the rush hour is simply unrealistic, we still have a job to do!

Having commuted to London during 2 pregnancies I am fed up with seeing people hide behind their papers when they spot your bump - there are designated seats for the elderly and pregnant and these should be offered.

- Helen, London

There is already a seat for every passenger if only employers were more flexible with their staff and their travel arrangements.

- Martin H. Watson, Teddington, England

If a woman is heavily pregnant offer her a seat - if she refuses (Holly - from earlier comments) then so be it. I was heavily pregnant and didn't ask for a seat - I stood when there wasn't a seat available and didn't ask - I also passed out and put myself and baby in danger. I worked in the city and couldn't help my commute time - I had a job like everyone else and need to get to work. Each case is different - if you see someone standing (old, pregnant) offer your seat - they may refuse, but for goodness sake be upstanding (literally). To Holly - congrats to you for standing - but don't berate fellow pregnant travelers when you don't know their situation - it's an embarressment to read a woman writing such rubbish to other women.

- Jennifer, London

If you are pregnant don't travel at rush hour, likewise if you are towing 3 kids and a push chair or have a suitcase. I realise some people cannot avoid this but if a few more people thought about it it might not be such an issue.
You're pregnant not unable to stand. I was able to stand up to 8 months pregnant, get a backbone women!

- Holly, London

I think they could make a start but getting rid of the first class seating.

- Caroline, Croydon

For all the thousands of pounds I spend on a year on travel, I think it's disgusting that I should have to stand. We should issue the rail companies with bills to fix all of our varicose veins that are caused by the prolonged torture.

- Elaine Hummingway, Burgess Hill

I've taken the 08.19 train from Shortlands station to Blackfriars and even tough I'm seven months pregnant not one person offered me a seat...people just turn the their eyes around and avoid me. Never have I felt so low and disgusted.

- Ana, London

I'm sure that if they did manage to run enough trains to provide seating for all current commuters, it would simply attract further users to that service - just as building a new road often creates more traffic than providing quieter road conditions for existing drivers. It's an admirable objective, standing in "cattle truck conditions" for a 60 mile journey is completely unacceptable, however personally I would be happy if only those getting on the train for the last few stops had to stand for a matter of minutes.

- H, London

How will this be enforced? Say 1000 seats at the start of the journey, 800 get on at that stop, then 201 are waiting to board during the rest, who polices it to see who gets a seat? This is impossible to achieve, it cannot be enforced, how many train carriages are needed on each train to make this work and how will they fit on the tracks? Faster services, better timetable keeping. This is a pipe dream.

- Terry Scott, Crawley, England

Add your comment