spinoff to train vent...does luggage get a paid seat?

dh and i always go back and forth on this.

5 years ago...i go out drinking after work.
I board an express bus home. ride is 1 hour 20 minutes.

bus is full, my cousin takes last seat.
however...there was a woman sitting in a window seat and a suitcase on the seat next to her.

I said can we put that on the floor for a bit...
she says no...i paid for 2 seats.
she says ask driver-i am not moving luggage.

now, with a few in me and standing on bus...i can't let this go.
i tell her i am a person, who also paid for a seat. that i need her to put it on the floor.
no.

so, my cousin and I-harass her for awhile.
told dh when i arrived home...
he completely sided with woman. she paid 2 seats.

any thoughts?

Message edited 4/27/2011 2:00:11 PM.

Re: spinoff to train vent...does luggage get a paid seat?

im with you... why on earth she would pay for a seat for her luggage i will never understand...

Re: spinoff to train vent...does luggage get a paid seat?

if she paid for it and they collected both tickets I'd have no problem with it

Re: spinoff to train vent...does luggage get a paid seat?

Re: spinoff to train vent...does luggage get a paid seat?

Re: spinoff to train vent...does luggage get a paid seat?

my dh says fcfs....
but to make a human being stand while your bag gets a seat...seems wacky to me.

if someone pays for 2 seats because they want to spread out...is that okay?

Re: spinoff to train vent...does luggage get a paid seat?

Re: spinoff to train vent...does luggage get a paid seat?

thanks...that is his argument.

Re: spinoff to train vent...does luggage get a paid seat?

Re: spinoff to train vent...does luggage get a paid seat?

so long as she paid for it, than she can have it..

Re: spinoff to train vent...does luggage get a paid seat?

I guess since she paid for the seat, she was entitled to use it for her luggage, but I would still find it super annoying. I mean really? Your bag can't go on the floor so a PERSON can sit for an hour and 20 mins? So wacky.

Re: spinoff to train vent...does luggage get a paid seat?

it's ridiculous but... i agree with your dh

Re: spinoff to train vent...does luggage get a paid seat?

the only way I can relate to this is on the LIRR.

If you buy 10 tickets you are still not guaranteed a seat. Just a ride.

If it's the same with the express bus then you are right.

Re: spinoff to train vent...does luggage get a paid seat?

I find it hard to believe that the conductor actually allowed her to do that.
I can't buy 2 "seats" on the LIRR unless there are 2 people there to occupy them. As far as im concerned, you don't pay for an actual 'seat' anyway - you're paying for the ride itself, whether you're standing or sitting

Not sure if it's different on buses, but i would have assumed the woman was full of it and asked the driver if she was telling the truth or not. If she was, then i'd probably lodge a complaint with the bus company just to question the policy.

The only way i can see them allowing someone to pay extra for luggage is if it was something super fragile that couldn't fit in the overhead compartment or under the seat (or was too delicate to go under the bus in the luggage compartment) and they make an exception for something like that.

other than that.. i say a person trumps a piece of luggage for a seat anyday!

Re: spinoff to train vent...does luggage get a paid seat?

as much as that woman was being annoying....i do agree she paid for the seat so she shouldn't have to give it up.

Re: spinoff to train vent...does luggage get a paid seat?

thanks...i think she definitely paid for the seat...she looked like an out of towner who probably flew into newark and was treking it to her destination on the bus.

Re: spinoff to train vent...does luggage get a paid seat?

I do agree with you DH, if she paid and she was there first, she shouldn't have to give up the seat for you.

Re: spinoff to train vent...does luggage get a paid seat?

I guess if she paid, you can't argue. But to me, it's just common courtesy to let a person sit if there are no more seats.

ETA - I would never pay double just so my luggage could keep me company

Message edited 4/27/2011 2:33:59 PM.

Re: spinoff to train vent...does luggage get a paid seat?

Under normal circumstances I'd be tempted to throw her luggage out the window, but if she paid for 2 tickets then she gets the seat.

Re: spinoff to train vent...does luggage get a paid seat?

Re: spinoff to train vent...does luggage get a paid seat?

No way-I don't care if she paid for a seat for the luggage.

I'm a human being, the luggage is not tired and cranky and likely to come at you (unlike me, cause I'm all of that).

Re: spinoff to train vent...does luggage get a paid seat?

As much as I don't want to...I agree with your DH. I don't think what the woman did was nice at all but by paying for the extra seat I think she had the right to do it.

Re: spinoff to train vent...does luggage get a paid seat?

For all of you saying she paid for a seat for the luggage-you don't pay for a seat, you are never guaranteed a seat just transport, right?

I think the real scammer was the person who let her pay for 2 tickets knowing that she should not have the right to use one for luggage and deprive another rider of a seat.

However, maybe she is sick, has OCD and would freak out if her luggage touched the floor. I would have asked her and if yes, I would have wished her well. Trust trying to think of how this could really come about

Re: spinoff to train vent...does luggage get a paid seat?

Re: spinoff to train vent...does luggage get a paid seat?

It's NOT first come first serve, because you are not paying for SEAT.

You are paying for entrance onto the bus.
Her luggage could have entered with her, without paying extra. Her luggage is not a customer. She is a customer who paid too much to ride an express bus. By her logic, since you didn't have a seat, you shoudn't have paid.

If it was a movie theatre, that would be different, b/c the # of tickets corresponds to the number of seats. There is no standing room in the theater.