Giving up child seat on train to an adult (who is NOT pregnant, elderly nor disabled)

[smiles4u]

... Rouge i'm so glad you bought that up as i mentioned the exact same thing to DP !!

Rouge, you & i can have ' warped minds ' together, LOL

I did show emotion in sounding & looking upset which would be natural to anyone BUT the key is to not show emotions in an aggressive way like them ... they look confused & simply don't get it ... to me that has always proved that people like that are just simply NOT NICE and more than likely have some deep seeded issue within themself !!

Someone recently said to me that just some people it has something to DO with their unbringing, etc & to accept that ... I for one WILL NEVER accept that as an EXCUSE cause if anyone knew my background they would be mind-blown-away and it has never turned me into a nasty person in life, if anything it has taught me a higher level of compassion towards other.

Funkeefrog i'm so glad you mentioned the word spite as i needed to hear that ... i have been spiteful maybe one other time in my life & i still feel ashamed of that all these years later ... yesterday i think i was so desperate after having been physically pushed and touch by this woman i was clutching at straws !! FF, thanks for being so supportive

[Rouge]

I think you handled yourself well I think you stood your ground well which is also important emotion or not! And hey don't think for one second I'm perfect either... I've yelled at woman in the car park for accusing me of being a neglectful parent for being roughly 5 paces away from my car (DH was leaving the car and I was going towards it). I felt bad for yelling in front of my kids but the old biddy was being absolutely ridiculous and my temper and mother bear instincts got the better of me. The funny thing is I think it all relates back to our protective mechanisms. I bet if that woman had spoken to you like that you would have brushed it off completely, but the fact is she was rude to your CHILD and thats simply not on

And there is nothing wrong with having a warped mind...

[smiles4u]

... So well said Rouge ... and how dare that lady speak to you like that & interfere

When i got pushed on the train NOT a person came to my aid ... funny how no one ' interfered ' there

[smiles4u]

... i forgot to mention before still no response via email or phone call from V/line

[smiles4u]

So sorry for the very late update ..........

About a week after my email to V/line i had a lovely & very friendly lady from Customer Service ring me & she was in no rush to get me off the phone but she was very interested in what had happened.

We covered ground with everything ... now i've just gotta remember it all to relay to you all

For starters she said that my DD has a RIGHT to have a seat on the train ... BUT BUT BUT if the train carriage is appearing to fill up i * MUST * give up her seat to anyone that asks for it whether they be full or concession paying passenger.

Now this i was more than happy to DO & of course expected to DO, i mean after all my DD is getting her train ride journey for FREE being that she is 3 years of age.

The lady did say children of her age use to have to pay BUT only a few years ago it was introduced that children under i think she said 5 or 6 (i have to check that out) are entitled to travel for free on V/line trains. I asked her would it be best that i PAY for her next time so she can have a seat ... her instant response was NO, NO don't you pay a ticket for her SHE is entitled to travel for FREE.

Now on another matter in regards to the woman i had problems with on the train ride the customer service lady of course said it was uncalled for behaviour & agreed that she could have asked in a polite manner. The C/S lady said if i ever have a problem again with another passenger that there is a phone on (i think) each carriage ... i just say what the problem is and a conductor will come. As far as security cameras go she said there are NONE on the carriages only on the actual train stations. So she said if i ever feel in danger to not hesitate & find a phone on the train to contact the conducter whom in turn can call for security that is on Southern Cross Station.

So, there you go ... only thing is i forgot to ask her (i thought of it later) IF I HAVE TO give up DD's seat to a passenger who asks for it if there is clearly to be seen another seat available that they can sit on, like can i contest that (???) ... i might have to email about that question one day

Apologies again for the late reply as i totally forgot about it until now

[kelebek]

For starters she said that my DD has a RIGHT to have a seat on the train ... BUT BUT BUT if the train carriage is appearing to fill up i * MUST * give up her seat to anyone that asks for it whether they be full or concession paying passenger.

I asked her would it be best that i PAY for her next time so she can have a seat ... her instant response was NO, NO don't you pay a ticket for her SHE is entitled to travel for FREE.

Maybe I am a bit thick but how can she have a RIGHT to a seat but MUST give it up if asked when the training is filling up?? Does that mean she only has the right when the train is half empty? that she has to GIVE UP her right to a seat if someone asks.... who decides when the train is full enough??

I'm sorry but I don't agree that your DD should have had to give up her seat especially in this case as there were other seats available. I understand why you feel that she should as you didn't pay for her seat but when you offered to pay the C/S lady clearly told you that she is entitled to travel for FREE... so does this mean she can travel for free she just isn't entitled to a SEAT if it is too full?!?!?!?!

Sorry for my rant and I meant to reply when you first created this thread and as a public transport user this just makes me mad grrrr.....

[LimeSlice]

:yeahthat:

She is either entitled to a seat or not...can't have both. As far as I would be concerned, it is at THEIR insistence that babies travel free, therefore she has as much right to a seat as any one else.

[smiles4u]

Hey Kel ... yep, just quoting what she said ... my thoughts exactly ... mmm DD has a right to a seat BUT oh if someone asks to sit in her seat when the seats are filling up then its expired. Kel, you are probably thinking what i am at what point is her seat NO LONGER her rightful seat , when there are 10 available seats left other then her seat OR when there are one or none. The impression i was given was not so much if there was none but you would think it would be if there were none. I'd then be happy enough to give her seat to anyone that spoke to myself or my DP in a manner that was not rude.

Another point the C/S lady mentioned ' if ' i did buy her a ticket i would still have a debate on my hands with a passenger, showing her ticket (proving i have one) & it wouldn't be worth the stress of travelling waiting for it to happen.

Something i would also like to mention please keep in mind this was to be a happy family event, travelling for the 1st together into the city on the country train as a family & when the seat was wanted by this woman we still had a long 45mins journey to get to where we were wanting to go & that's just one long journey of hell if as it would have more than likely turned into an ugly debate/ heated argument. Also my DP is not one for confrontations & i know it would have stressed him completely & i had to remember this was his journey too.

Thanks Kel, for seeing how ridiculous a situation like this is. Maybe i should tell people she isn't a child but a small adult & say they are discriminating her & not them for gving up HER seat.

It's put DP off doing this again travelling with DD ... whereas i am fully prepared to expect to travel 1 hour 20min or so on the journey now each way with a 14kilo child breaking my lap

Alexis ... that's what i couldn't get this C/S lady to clear in meaning to me. It's like as if i'm meant to be polite in giving up her seat BUT at the same time it's expected of me OR ELSE ??? ... how does that make any sense. All i know is this lady was only repeating what she was trained to be telling !! I even asked her if i resisted what would i get ??? a fine ??? she didn't have an answer to it.

Putting all that aside my other concern is there being NO security cameras on a V/Line train travelling so far,how does anyone prove if something happened if there is no proof ??? Just disappointing. But at least this lady tried to help as best she knew how & was polite about it whereas before i've had rude staff to talk too.

THANKS for your imput gals !!! ... hey, just another day on the public transport system.

[kelebek]

I remember reading that it was suppose to be a happy family trip and that lady really tainted it for you. I can understand why your DP didn't want a confrontation as I don't like confrontation either and you may have been faced with harrasment through the rest of the journey.

I think you handled the 'incident' with the lady really well and if nothing else even though it may not have seemed like it I hope she thinks about it next time.

I wonder if this is age discrimination??? she is entitled to travel for free because of her age but not entitled to a seat?? I wonder if this is someone we can contact to check!!!


I hope you do the trip again and that DD gets her seat!!

[smiles4u]

Thanks a million Kel for your kind words of encouragement cause i'm planning on taking DD on the V/line on Friday 16th Oct for the BB meetup of gals at the Baby Expo in Melb and i won't lie i DO have a worry i'm gonna knock out the next person that might be rude about it in wanting her seat ... maybe i should put makeup on her & some high heels, LOL ... Anyway, fingers crossed for that day ... let YOU know how i go !!

(P.S - hope you come to the Gold Coast meetup next June )