Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

The integrated timetable of Switzerland

jokteur.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

121–130 of 162 posts

Re: The integrated timetable of Switzerland

#121

Post by archerx »

jokteur wrote: post #46
archerx wrote: post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Has anybody told this to Morges? I would routinely get off the train in Bussigny just to watch the bus leave the bus stop as everyone is arriving. We would collectively let out a sigh of disgust. I've seen many people confront the following bus drivers about this problem, I know the drivers are not in control but some people just vent their frustrations on them anyway. I even saw a mass walk out of an MBC bus because…

Once per year, you are allowed to complain on https://www.projet-horaire.ch/fr/prise-de-position.html . However, the delay for next years timetable has already passed. I did this once for a bus to a village which didn't wait on the train and they made corrections for the next scheduling. So I guess it works ?

That's pretty cool, thanks for the info!

Re: The integrated timetable of Switzerland

#122

Post by archerx »

DeathArrow wrote: post #60
archerx wrote: post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The same train almost everyday for over a year? I'm sorry but the CFF loves smelling their own farts talking about how great they are but let's be honest here the Romandie part gets treated like a second class citizen. The trains are dirty, I remember seeing the same goop and grime on an inside train wall for over a month (I'm very consistent with my train timing so I ended up mostly taking the same train). The train…

Have you tried to complain?

I have sent a couple emails to MBC but it was in vain.

Re: The integrated timetable of Switzerland

#123

Post by dgb23 »

londons_explore wrote: post #52

Switzerland is a very rich country per capita. It can afford to spend a lot on public transit to get a very good service. That's important to remember when wondering if these ideas could be applied to your country.

High quality public infrastructure is a force multiplier IMO. It's hard to get and a long term investment. But the payoff is huge.

Another good example would be South Korea. The state invested massively in digital/communications/internet infrastructure fairly early on. The results speak for themselves.

Surely large infrastructure projects hinge on execution as well. You need solid processes and engineering competence. But it's generally something that is not solved though competition, but through collaboration and long-term thinking. In the "planting the trees for the next generation" kind of way.

Re: The integrated timetable of Switzerland

#124

Post by sschueller »

toss1 wrote: post #103

The people running the Boston Transit system REALLY need to read this Very impressed with the Swiss system. I could consistently take my seat, and watch a station clock as the departure time approached, and the train would inevitably start to roll on the very second. It seemed like the conductors really took pride in the exactness. It was also worrisome one evening when I was traveling alone with all my ski racing ge…

The Bunker Hill Memorial Bridge built during the big dig was designed by a Swiss. I recall reading that during construction the designers visited the site and noticed there being an issue (one of many at the big dig) where the rebar was incorrectly spaced and had to be completely redone or it would have collapsed before the opening.

Re: The integrated timetable of Switzerland

#125

Post by sschueller »

archerx wrote: post #28

My train to and from work has been late almost every day since last year. I feel like I don't live in Switzerland. So where are the punctual trains that this article is talking about and I am paying so much for?

Which train are you taking? There may be construction and it is planned. Or it might be the train from Milan which no mater what the SBB tries to do is always late! Then again if you have ever been to Milano Centrale you kind of understand...

Re: The integrated timetable of Switzerland

#126

Post by lmc »

lasftew wrote: post #95
prmoustache wrote: post #80

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes you can only have the smaller passes. But taking the GA is really convenient. You just enter every public transport without thinking about buying a ticket. I had a general abo for years and decided against renewing it when I moved to a job 3min of biking distance from home, I missed it dearly despite owning a car. You are drunk after a late night. Some sort of public transport will bring you home. You want to do…

That's all correct. In addition, you can get almost the same convencience without purchasing an expensive GA by using the EasyRide feature [1]. No more worrying about buying and choosing the right ticket. [1] https://www.sbb.ch/en/timetable/mobile-apps/sbb-mobile/easyr...

Amazing! Everywhere needs this

Re: The integrated timetable of Switzerland

#127

Post by erichocean »

mellavora wrote: post #86
runeks wrote: post #62

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Man it costs a lot of money to maintain this, but Switzerland will continue to invest heavily into rail service, backed by the public: https://www.bav.admin.ch/bav/en/home/modes-of-transport/rail ... Isn’t it paid for through ticket fees? Or is it subsidized by the state?

> Or is it subsidized by the state? "subsidized", yes, but like any other investment the idea is that it will create positive economic value across the whole country and across a long time horizon, in a way that the tickets cannot recapture (for example, every person on the train is one less person on the road -- less cars is a benefit for the other drivers and reduces road wear/maintenance cost and reduces accidents…

> Luxembourg went to totally free public transportation. Bus, train, light rail. Total game-changer. More countries should do this.

It's a "country" with 630K relatively wealthy, educated, trustworthy people. You can do a lot of things if your "country" meets that criteria.

Few do.

Re: The integrated timetable of Switzerland

#128

Post by tonfa »

CHsurfer wrote: post #40
bigDinosaur wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Hopefully European countries aren't prone to manipulating the statistics. An example that used to happen in my (Australian) city: if a train was running late, they'd skip stations: magically, it now arrived at its destination on time!

Was on a Swiss train that did exactly this yesterday. To be fair, the delay originated in Italy (20 minutes late)and there was a minimal impact for people wanting to get to or leave from that city (Bern) as passenger on the affected train could get off one stop early and then catch another train to finish their leg and passengers trying to board the train in Bern just had to catch another train to the subsequent stop…

> Was on a Swiss train that did exactly this yesterday.

Though there's usually replacement trains for those use cases. The main stations have a standby train (Dispozug) ready to immediately replace any train that's cancelled or delayed (and avoid propagating delays).

https://twitter.com/SBBTrainDriver/status/150809526141493657... (is an example, the driver spends 3h+ just waiting in the train in case it needs to replace another train)

Re: The integrated timetable of Switzerland

#129

Post by ISL »

mrep wrote: post #112
runeks wrote: post #62

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Man it costs a lot of money to maintain this, but Switzerland will continue to invest heavily into rail service, backed by the public: https://www.bav.admin.ch/bav/en/home/modes-of-transport/rail ... Isn’t it paid for through ticket fees? Or is it subsidized by the state?

You're looking for the Farebox recovery ratio [0]. Japan and honk kong: Mostly yes. Europe: Mostly no but at least a good portion of it is for most. US: Not even close. [0]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Farebox_recovery_ratio

Except Amtrak, which on that page is listed at 95%.

Why are the US regional transit ratios so low? They're taking in real money, yet the costs are 4-5x the revenue.

Re: The integrated timetable of Switzerland

#130

Post by [deleted] »

CHsurfer wrote: post #40
bigDinosaur wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Hopefully European countries aren't prone to manipulating the statistics. An example that used to happen in my (Australian) city: if a train was running late, they'd skip stations: magically, it now arrived at its destination on time!

Was on a Swiss train that did exactly this yesterday. To be fair, the delay originated in Italy (20 minutes late)and there was a minimal impact for people wanting to get to or leave from that city (Bern) as passenger on the affected train could get off one stop early and then catch another train to finish their leg and passengers trying to board the train in Bern just had to catch another train to the subsequent stop…

[deleted]
Post reply on HN