VWD8 wrote: » Sorry but you are being allowed to travel for Free. IE have to give priority to fare paying passengers in the interests of fairness.The fare paying passengers are also helping to subsidise your free travel.
Losty Dublin wrote: » I understand that, hence suggesting reserving seats on board the train. While you may run the risk of somebody else sitting in them, you will have the booking for same in event of dispute.
The problem is that on intermediate stops in particular reservations should be listed/notified above the seat from the beginning of the journey such as say in thurles reserved from thurles should be displayed from cork or from Dublin for a seat that is reserved from thurles in either direction, but what happens is there is no indication until the train stops in or leaves thurles when the reservation then shows.
Jamie2k9 wrote: » They have this system already in place. Any passenger sitting in pre booked seats needs to be given a fine of €100, and it won't take long for people to get the message.
No Pants wrote: » It's obviously not working, so it would be easy to appeal such a fine and cost IE even more money.
Hilly Bill wrote: » Its a problem with the wi-fi , it should come up when the driver inputs the train id but it doesnt always work. It can be done manually but sometimes it fails or staff dont get enough time due to train being late onto the platform .
No Pants wrote: » Hmm, "it doesn't always work" he says. That suggests to me that it isn't working.
schemingbohemia wrote: » It's a problem with trains being left open to board by people before the driver is anywhere near the train. So is it drivers not arriving in proper time for the journey or other staff allowing people onto trains when the driver isn't there or both? Whichever, it's not the passengers fault. The issue arises mostly with those using free travel passes or those buying at the station, should there not be a notice telling these people to travel in coach A and not leave that open to seat bookings in advance, depending on load factors?
Jamie2k9 wrote: » Sorry but how is it not working, the signs clearly state for example if I board in Waterford, some seats will say Reserved from Kilkenny.
Emme wrote: » The train could well be full before Kilkenny - what happens then? People have to try to find their reserved seats on a packed train with people more than likely sitting there. Reservations might work on a relatively quiet train but some train lines are not suited to reserving seats.
Pretzill wrote: » The reserved signs are really hit and miss but shouldn't be - it happened to me recently boarding in Dublin and there was someone seating in the seat - no indication it was reserved except the seat number is on my ticket - anyway the person looked comfy enough so I just sat elsewhere. It can be embarrassing to move people if the sign above the seat isn't lit.
Hilly Bill wrote: » When a train is left open then the train id would have already been entered and reservations should come on above the seats. There is never a question of it being the passengers fault if the seat is not clearly marked as reserved. There are some that will sit in seats that are clearly marked as reserved anyway and get annoyed when asked to move. Anyone with a ticket for a train should be allowed to sit anywhere on that train regardless what type of ticket they have if the seat is not reserved for someone else. There are also those that have reserved a seat and choose to sit in a different seat altogether.
schemingbohemia wrote: » What if, as happened to me, the train is left open, the train ID has not been entered so no reservation names come up but I know my seat number. I sat in Carriage A seat 21 (or whatever), another ten minutes go by, the train ID is entered and the carriages change! Mine went from A to C, queue a scramble of people from one carriage to another. It's laziness on behalf of staff, either driver or gate staff, not passengers. Simple solution, don't let passengers on until the Train ID is entered correctly.
FakeSheikh wrote: » Hey all, just to give a quick update. I have received another email from IrishRail and they're still not budging. At this stage it looks like I'll have to try getting a charge-back on my credit card. I'll let you know how it goes.
Hilly Bill wrote: » Was coach A displayed on the side of the train when you boarded? Laziness????? far from it. Why would it be laziness by the passengers? What if the reservation system had failed, do you want the passengers to wait until the departure time to board or would you prefer passengers to get on while they can to get a seat?
schemingbohemia wrote: » No, I want IE to be organised enough that they have the reservation signs lit up before people are allowed on the train, it's not really too much to ask is it? If the system fails, then you have a plan in place with staff telling people to sit in coach A if they don't have a reserved seat (or whatever), and they bring back the paper reserved signs and put them on the reserved seats, it's called customer service.
Hilly Bill wrote: » Thats part of the problem though, people too uncomfortable to move someone sitting in their seats. Would you move someone sitting in your seat at a show where your seats wouldnt be marked as reserved?
JayRoc wrote: » If there were other seats free for me to sit in? And the person sitting in the seat I'd reserved had no way of knowing since it wasn't displayed? What kind of gob****e would try and move someone out of their seat under those circumstances??And the cinema analogy is way off the mark. EVERYONE is given a selected seat....or no-one is
Hilly Bill wrote: » [/B] No its not. Someone could move seats to get a better view which does happen. Would you move them or go and sit at the back? Its simple and i cant understand why some people travelling cant grasp it. If i have a ticket for a certain seat in a certain carriage then i'll sit in it. If the names are not displayed and the seat is occupied then i'l tell them that i have that seat reserved and show them my ticket with the seat number . It doesnt matter who it is be they old, young, or pregnant they will have to move. There are a certain ticket holders that think that their ticket allows them to sit anywhere they want regardless if the seats are clearly marked or not.
foggy_lad wrote: » Irish rail should fix their reservations which quite frankly are a disgrace but better than they were instead of trying to alienate the few remaining paying passengers they have!
foggy_lad wrote: » When you reserve a seat there is no guarantee you will get that or any seat! If your reserved seat is not shown to others as being reserved for you then any other person can legally sit in that seat. The problem is that Irish Rail are so inconsistent with the reservations system that it rarely works properly and when it does work it only partly works. I have been on many trains with the seats from the previous journey still shown as reserved! or where reserved seats don't light up until after the stop they are reserved from! People can say this is due to X, Y or Z human or other fault etc but at the end of the journey the dam thing has not worked and passengers(whether they have a reservation or not) should not be penalised for that! There is a facility in place for passengers to get a refund of the reservation fees paid if a seat can not be found on the train if their reserved seat is taken or if the reservation system does not work! The reservations systen rarly works and until it is scrapped or sorted out then no passenger can be penalised or forced to find another seat if they have legitimately taken a seat that is not shown as reserved! There is no obligation on any passenger to leave any seat which was not highlighted as reserved at least 20 minutes before departure and certainly no obligation when any reservation does not appear until the train has reached the first or subsequent stops! Irish rail should fix their reservations which quite frankly are a disgrace but better than they were instead of trying to alienate the few remaining passengers they have!
