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On the topic of fold-up seats, from a Northern Line Commuter:
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Well I can understnad the sentiment of the added comment, but standing at peak times in the norm around the world, and if we were to give every peak commuter a seat, we would have a huge fleet of trains sitting idle for most of the day. However, I think the current situation is unacceptable. We should aim for a maximum standing time of around 15-20 mins. On the Northern line having to stand, often pressed against a crowd of people for 45 mins to an hour is common.
More trains are needed, and progress is slowly being made in this direction, but people sitting on folding seats or on the floor of packed trains are clearly making the situation worse. I don't think folding seats are acceptable at any time - people tend to plonk them in the middle of the passageway or blocking the inter-carriage doors, and they impede passage through the train.
I don't mind sitting on the floor when the train is only slightly over the seated capacity, but as soon as the train starts to fill up, they really must stand up - for their own safety as well as consideration of other passengers. I see people sprawled across the floor with a big crowd around them, and the suspension on our commuter trains is not good enough to stop a minor jolt sending the whole crowd a step in any direction, so these people are at severe risk of getting trampled.