Seat reservation

[Destructix]

Is it possible or allowed to abbreviate my name on the seat reservation. Instead of using my full name. Lets say i put my name down as Chris C. I don't feel comfortable people seeing my full name. Plus one time the whole coach had i3645.57fh something like that on all the displays and i had to get staff to get someone off my seat.

[comcor]

So long as you have the ticket with your seat number on it, I doubt there's a problem. I've seen a few joke names up (Darth Vader seems to be a regular traveller on the service) and it hasn't caused issues. I suppose it depends what happens if there's someone in your seat.

[Mark Gleeson]

You are required to use your correct name especially if a student/16-25 railcard is in use.

So there is no escaping your surname has to be there

[hoopsheff]

gotta say the seat reservation thing drives me nuts- i usually get a train that serves commuter stops as well as intercity stops. I buy an annual ticket (for commuter). Why should I not be allowed to reserve a seat, whereas somebody on a once off journey can?


And most of the time IR are too lazy to load the seat reservations to the trains system...they just throw a 'reserved' sign on the seat

[ACustomer]

hoopsheff: In many countries commuter and intercity services are separate and hence your problem would not arise. However you should remember that for a given journey you are going to pay much less than a one-off "intercity" customer, and so perhaps you might expect a lesser level of service in the form of seat resevation.

[James Howard]

I think you do a reservation only booking if you feel you need to reserve a seat, but I think it ends up costing about 6 euro for the journey.

I don't think it is on to treat an annual ticket holder as a second class citizen just because they are paying less per journey. Yes, they pay less per journey but they contribute a lot more and a regular revenue stream to Irish Rail than somebody who buys a ticket once a fortnight. They should also cost less to service as they know where everything is so don't have to look for help from Irish Rail staff or buy tickets.

If you travel regularly with Aer Lingus, they give you all sorts of perks that the occasional user doesn't get. This is the norm for most businesses - reward the regular customers to persuade occasional customers to become more frequent users.

[ACustomer]

Yes, James Howard, you make a reasonable point. However I might add something which perhaps I should have said earlier: the intercity ticket holder might well have a 3-hour journey while the regular commuter is more likely (but not inevitably) to be getting off at an early stop with perhaps a 1-hour journey.

[Ballymore]

Originally Posted by ACustomer

Yes, James Howard, you make a reasonable point. However I might add something which perhaps I should have said earlier: the intercity ticket holder might well have a 3-hour journey while the regular commuter is more likely (but not inevitably) to be getting off at an early stop with perhaps a 1-hour journey.

Yes, AC, your point is also somewhat valid but a day tripper on a 3 hour trip will not have to stand for more than 16% of his /her trip whereas an annual ticket holder going to say Mullingar would be standing closer to 50% of the trip home. I believe it should be first come first served on commuter routes.

[MaryK]

I dislike being identified as female when I reserve a seat so I always put M K..... and it never causes a problem. I just don't like the opportunity for people to address me by my first name if it is written over my head. I do just wish they would put reserved up on the top.

And no-one looks up to see if the seat is reserved despite the continious announcements. I really wish the train host would take the time to go through the carraige and see if people are sitting in reserved seats. With all tickets being issued via the ticket office I cannot see why people are not automatically assigned a seat number nowadays.

[Mark Gleeson]

I'm told Irish Rail will make the name over seat optional in some way so possibly down to Initial Surname or similar. That will be some time, new booking/fares system etc to be built

[Kilocharlie]

In the UK, at least on Cross-Country Voyagers and Virgin Pendelinos, the displays just says 'Reserved' or 'Reserved from XXX' or 'Not Reserved'. No names.

[Mark Gleeson]

UK NRES does not hold the passenger names at all, not required during the booking process.

The name does make it easier to locate your seat and immediately deals with any argument as to whose reserved seat it is

[Thomas Ralph]

Originally Posted by MaryK

With all tickets being issued via the ticket office I cannot see why people are not automatically assigned a seat number nowadays.

Tickets (the impact-printed ones) bought at ticket offices are not tied to specific trains, and many ticket offices do not have the equipment required to issue reservations.

[James Howard]

Issuing tickets with reservations by default would require people to pick a return train for their journey. For most people the current flexibility to hop on an earlier train is more valuable than a booked seat.

It would also make things very difficult for commuters. Even if it were free, I could never book an evening train as the time I get out is dependent on how work went. So if the bulk of the train was on assigned seating, regular commuters would rarely get a seat. This isn't a big deal for a Maynooth or a Balbriggan commuter but it is a problem for people like me who spend 3 hours a day on the train.

Personally, I prefer the existing situation where if I want to be sure of a seat on a particular train, I show up 15 minutes early and I suspect the majority of the population would agree. I would suggest that the Irish really aren't the most regimented or organised race on the planet and it suits our nature better to just turn up when we feel like it.

[Mark Gleeson]

Irish Rail are looking at upgrading its booking engine to allow for changes in journey, book one way flexible return etc so should see some progress. Ability to book at any station is also being looked at

As James points out Irish public transport culture couldn't cope with a mandatory booking. However I would say it is likely that Irish Rail will tighten up on standing