When fortunate enough to bag a seat on a train or bus, you should pretend to be asleep or so utterly engrossed in your book/newspaper that you fail to notice the standing elderly people and heavily pregnant women.

If you do notice, you should not make eye contact under any circumstances. If you don’t make eye contact they won’t know that you’ve noticed them, thus excusing you from needing to feel guilty.

Eventually, some other kind-hearted soul might give up their seat. If this happens, you may feel suitably smug that you have kept your seat and no longer need to feel guilty.