A Train Passenger Refused To Move Seats For A 'Rude' Elderly Lady & The Praise Is Pouring In

It's common courtesy to give up your priority seat for an older adult on a packed train, but does that rule still stand if you've paid extra for the seat?

One stumped Reddit user found herself in this exact dilemma and recently turned to the popular Reddit community Am I The A**hole for advice — and the reactions were strong.

She explained that she paid extra for a first-class seat on a train from London, U.K., to Aberdeen, Scotland, which is a seven-hour ride.

"I specifically booked one of those seats to enable me to work," she explained in her post.

However, the train company assigned her to a priority seat, and an elderly woman tried to kick her out and take the spot just after she boarded.

She says the woman, who appeared to be in her sixties, walked right up and "pointed at the sign above my head and, quite rudely, told my to move because she was elderly."

"I told her I'd booked the seat, and she'd need to speak to a member of staff to find her one," continued her post. "She pointed out that the train was full (even first class was full), and there were no other seats. I apologised but reiterated that I'd booked the seat and wasn't going to move."

A train employee eventually got involved and told them that one of them would have to take a seat in the standard cabin because the older woman had purchased an "open ticket." That meant she hadn't reserved a specific seat and was not guaranteed one on the train.

The original poster refused to move to the standard class seat, and so did the rest of the passengers in first class, so the train guard eventually took the older woman to get seated in the standard class cabin.

"I felt bad, but I also don't think I needed to put myself in severe discomfort because someone else didn't think ahead and reserve a seat," explained the Reddit user.

She also added that she was unaware that her seat was a priory seat before she got on the train.

People commenting under her post concluded that she was not actually the a**hole here.

One user wrote, "the train company are the assholes here. They sold the disability seats as the most expensive seats on the train. Then they tried to get the person who bought those seats to move to standard.

"Those seats should IMO never be sold unless the occupier is disabled. That's on the train operator. It's not on you," continued their comment.

"Yea, it seems odd to me that they would have a priority seat be reservable for people without a need for it," commented another.

Another user commented that just because she was in her sixties and considered elderly doesn't mean the older woman was disabled and unable to sit in the standard seating section.

They argued that unless she had an underlying health condition, a person who paid extra shouldn't be obliged to move for the elderly.

"I think the lady tried to pull a fast one to save a few bucks by not reserving a seat," wrote another user. "They shouldn't sell seats and yet also declare them 'priority seating.'"

Would you give up your chosen train seat for an older person?

This article's cover image was used for illustrative purposes only.