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9-Euro-Ticket

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Re: 9-Euro-Ticket

#551

Post by smcl »

inglor_cz wrote: post #520
newaccount74 wrote: post #369

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And add 30 minutes that you are stuck in downtown traffic because your meeting starts at an inconvenient time. I can't speak for all of Europe, but here in Austria trains, trams, and subways are way more predictable than taking the car. Sure, sometimes there are delays, but 99% of the time you get to your destination on schedule. When you drive you always have the risk of random delays due to traffic.

Hello, southern neighbor. Czech railways were never great when it came to punctuality, but this year takes the cake, with several big works on the main railway arteries taking place concurrently. A delay of an hour is pretty ordinary and, in the last timetable, they stretched the journey times almost back to the 1980s levels, in order to have at least some semblance of regularity. We need some high speed rail like he…

I would love it if we got high-speed rail but I cannot see it happening any time soon. One thing I can say is that rail travel here is insanely cheap and compared to UK and my experience has been that it's generally more punctual with more frequent services. I must admit though, I haven't travelled by rail a great deal this year (only a couple of local journeys like Brno->Hustopeče, and Brno->Adamov) so I haven't encountered the delays you've described, that sounds painful.

edit: actually I just looked up Czech high-speed rail and found a wikipedia page. Apparently there are a set of HSR routes already approved and planned out, with a more direct Prague-Brno line via Jihlava supposedly due to start in 2025. Any idea if this is realistic, or if it should be taken with a generous pinch of salt?

Re: 9-Euro-Ticket

#552

Post by derhuerst »

krrrh wrote: post #411
kappuchino wrote: post #127

For anyone wondering why 9€? Not 10€ or 15€ or ... - its consistent with 101 consumer psychology. First: Its not free, its subsidized by the state. Free would suggest for some "not worth it". Not you, most likely, but this is why some free offers are not taken (seriously). If you want to see what free does, look for the Luxemburg experient: https://www.mobiliteit.lu/en/tickets/free-transport/ Second: Higher price poi…

One interesting thing about the Berlin metro system (which is covered by this pass) is that it is one of the few metro transit systems that is nearly or fully supported through ticket fees. I can't find a reference for this at the moment, but it was something people talked about when I lived there.

https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berliner_Verkehrsbetriebe#Fina... the 2020 results are probably not very represenative, but you can find them on page 19: https://unternehmen.bvg.de/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/BVG-Ge...

Re: 9-Euro-Ticket

#553

Post by wongarsu »

londons_explore wrote: post #484
stavros wrote: post #321

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What's the difference between this and completely free rides? AFAIK, making it "almost free" is usually preferable, as it prevents some abuse ("it's free so I'll take it even when I don't really need it", which depletes the resource), while still making it effectively free.

Remember that even if the journeys are 'free' in the sense of money, they still take time. And for most people sitting on a bumpy bus isn't as comfortable as sitting at home or sitting in a park (also free ways to spend time). You should always think of the cost of public transport as ticket price + hourly wage * time spent - value of anything you might get done on the bus.

This is true for busses, but train rides can be quite enjoyable on their own to some people, depending on the train and the view. You still have the opportunity cost of everything else you could be doing, but some people might prefer to read the newspaper on the train, enjoying some shopping a couple towns over and reading on the way back.

Re: 9-Euro-Ticket

#554

Post by hef19898 »

inferiorhuman wrote: post #479
SoftTalker wrote: post #420

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Most cargo revenue come from transporting freight in the holds of passenger jets. Is this really true? DHL, FedEx, and UPS (and Amazon?) all operate their own freight aircraft. There are also contract freight operators. Most major airports have an entire area that is exclusively for freight operations. Yes some freight does go in the holds of passenger jets, but is it "most" or even close?

Yes, and during the pandemic when passenger traffic cratered passenger airlines started putting additional cargo in the passenger cabin. China started cracking down on that recently though (unsure why). Freight is generally far more profitable than passengers.

And usually freight doesn't complain. Much unlike the self-loading variaty, aka passengers.

Re: 9-Euro-Ticket

#555

Post by Hendrikto »

foepys wrote: post #199
Hendrikto wrote: post #105

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Also it is completely useless for people living on the countryside. The nearest train station is a 20 minute drive away from where I live, so this does nothing for me. Still better than nothing, I guess.

Over 75% of Germans live in cities or towns which overwhelmingly have reliable bus transit at least at daytime. Those remaining <25% are not really important here and can still use their cars.

> Those remaining Very arrogant to claim 21 million people are not important.

Re: 9-Euro-Ticket

#556

Post by hef19898 »

jupp0r wrote: post #466
anonyfox wrote: post #459

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Also remember we’re talking Autobahn here! Gmaps assumes upto 130kp/h… depending on your car and driving style you could drive 200kp/h++ (at least partially when there’s no speed limit) -> I’d challenge the 3:20h driving time, would probably more like 2:30h in ideal conditions

The ability to do that will be highly traffic dependent. In practice, driving that fast when possible doesn't shave more than a few minutes time off the overall travel duration from my own experience.

Jep, one minor traffic jam and all the cars you passed at 200 kmh catch up to you. As you do with all those that passed you at 250 kmh. I have that experience multiple times a week. Generally driving at around 130 kmh seems to be a sweet spot, and is by the way the recommended speed on the German Autobahn. It is also much more relaxed. Not that driving fast isn't fun, it is, but going fast in straight lane is among the easiest things to do.

Re: 9-Euro-Ticket

#557

Post by Hendrikto »

jona-f wrote: post #188
Hendrikto wrote: post #105

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Also it is completely useless for people living on the countryside. The nearest train station is a 20 minute drive away from where I live, so this does nothing for me. Still better than nothing, I guess.

Afaik regional buses are included in this ticket. I do not know any villages that don't even have those at least once a day.

Again: What good does a once-a-day bus do villagers? It‘s useless for commuting, it‘s useless for doing errands.

Re: 9-Euro-Ticket

#558

Post by magicroot75 »

MandieD wrote: post #368
misja111 wrote: post #311

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> There does not appear to be any residency requirement, but remember, you’re not the target market for this (unless you live here and are struggling with fuel prices…) I'm not sure what you're trying to say. Do you mean that non Germans should refrain from buying these tickets?

I’m trying to say that although anyone is free to buy them, they’re not designed for city-to-city tourist convenience or even as a good substitute for the IC/ICE product for long-distance, car-comparable-speed travel. They’re for making short, local trips more affordable in a country that has a lot of people struggling with fuel and inflation, and for encouraging drivers to consider transit instead more often, and lo…

The reasons why a national legislature enact a law that brings forth a program like this are complex and multifaceted. It's completely possible that slow-tourism generated by these tickets will greatly benefit small towns who otherwise might not garner the interest of foreign capital.

Re: 9-Euro-Ticket

#559

Post by sokoloff »

Pamar wrote: post #550
sokoloff wrote: post #492

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don’t see the accounting for the quantized arrival times imposed by a set schedule over the chosen times availed by a private car to be “dismissing trains [or airplanes] altogether“ but rather to be applying an appropriate factor to the door-to-door transit time. Exact same situation as train proponents [correctly] pointing out the additional time needed for airline security theater or transit from city center to a…

Framed like this it is surely a much better argument. But just applying a flat 1-hour "penalty" to train transit is a bit of a strawman: railway companies do their best to give you sane options, so that if you are, for example, a commuter, you can get at your destination before 8am. I believe that the main difference in our viewpoinylts is this: people who drive a car tend to reason and plan as if the car is the most…

Several years ago, I was traveling to Warsaw, Krakow, and Prague with another colleague from the US and one from Spain. It was interesting to observe both my US and Spanish colleague start looking for flights from Warsaw to Krakow and look at me sideways to suggest that we’d take the train.

We did, and it was vastly faster, cheaper, and more pleasant that flying, but it really showed the power of default thinking on people.

Re: 9-Euro-Ticket

#560

Post by littlecranky67 »

jupp0r wrote: post #378
IMTDb wrote: post #316

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is assuming that your trip starts and stops exactly next to the train station and that there is a non-delayed train available precisely at the right time. In practice that's not the case and those time add up quickly . Car trip will look like: 1. Travel from start to location (3:20) 2. Find parking (0:5) 3. Walk from parking to location (0:10) Total time of 3:35 Your train trip will look like: 1. Go from start t…

You are making the assumption that it's one person traveling. If I imagine me traveling with my family, then the tradeoffs would look quite different: 1. There's only one driver in the car, so all other passengers could still work/read during the drive. 2. The cost is split. With three kids and two parents, the cost would be 45 EUR vs 50 EUR traveling with a somewhat fuel efficient car with an internal combustion eng…

Kids travel for free in Germany if under 14 years and travelling with either (grand)parent - even in long distance trains.

That said I agree with you, travelling with kids is more convenient if done by car.

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