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Millions snap up new Germany-wide public transit ticket

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Re: Millions snap up new Germany-wide public transit ticket

#101
post #98

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>I believe you but since you're passing this on then you/they must also have more than some words in support. I am not supporting this, I only said it's how it works here. >Right? Who could be more qualified to operate a critical emergency vehicle or bring someone back to life than a person who until yesterday wasn't allowed even to vote. And yet at their age they seem qualified enough for the US to send them to war…

> I am not supporting this Ugh, "in support" of the veracity of the statement. You wrote that "the healthcare and social service systems would not be able to function" without the work of teenagers. I just wanted to know if you have any solid evidence of this. I will assume not, suspect that this is the usual political bamboozle people fall for when an explanation is needed, and move on. > And yet at their age they s…

> You're being dismissive of an entire profession as "a child can do it with a bit of training". It's not helping your argument.

Nobody is being dismissive of anything. I'm just showing you proof that 17 year olds can also be professionals in that field because what is a professional, but someone who received professional levels of training and got certified. Guess what? So are those 17-19 year old boys and girls to the same standards of much older people.

In fact you're the one being dismissive and ageist because you think young people can't be trained to do a job just because of their age.

> A teenager shouldn't be pushed in this kind of job.

And yet they seem to be doing it just fine. And they are not pushed, they can choose for which service they volunteer. They can work in kindergartens, but many choose emergency services because of the practical life skills learned there, camaraderie, and other personal reasons.

> don't force them, unless there is a desperate situation; use your critical thinking and don't believe (or worse, promote) the vagaries your government sells you when they want something their way.

Nobody is forcing them, and it's not my government as I'm not Austrian, and the government doesn't benefit from this as the kids don't do work for the government but they provide work for their own citizens, neighbors, etc.

It seems strange to outsiders like you and me, but this is the path that the Austrian society has democratically chosen for its kids and it seems to be working for them. Why judge someone else because they're different? School kids in Japan also clean their classrooms instead of janitors.

Re: Millions snap up new Germany-wide public transit ticket

#102
post #95

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Agreed but but that's exactly the point. Sweden and Finland have Russia even pushing them out of neutrality and towards NATO. Switzerland is a big repository of mostly illegal fortunes from all over the world and has to stay neutral to maintain this status, so it makes sense to extend its own defensive capabilities as much as it can. In Norway it's debatable, the obligativity is not enforced. You also have Greece whe…

> you can only assess the popularity of something when it becomes a free choice rather than obligation. Democratic elections and referendums have assessed this and the majority of the population has voted in favor of this system. For better or worse, that's democracy for ya'.

Not sure it's so simple. Most of the voting population is past the age where this affects them and people (I must admit I fall in that trap quite often) have the mentality that "it was done to me and look how well I turned out, so I'll do it to them". The only way to see if people want it is to give them the choice when the time comes.

> the population has voted

But as you said earlier, it's the same population and elected leaders who let critical systems and services degrade to the point where they would stop working without forcing children to work. Even agreeing this doesn't put the people in a bad light decision-wise, in this position it's no longer a choice but a necessity. Hence my incessant question whether the government's statement that "services will fail without child work" is supported by some study or it's just a scare tactic to get people to vote a certain way.

Yes, democracy is about getting the people's vote of confidence. How you earn that confidence is outside the democratic process and could be as simple as "feed them BS".

Re: Millions snap up new Germany-wide public transit ticket

#104
post #89

The biggest advantage of the new Germany-wide ticket is not the price, but rather that it simplifies things. This is a map of German public transit companies: [0]. I've heard the current fractured system be compared to the Holy Roman Empire. Every little region has its own ticketing system. If you arrive in a new city, you have to figure out how to buy local transit tickets, often with quite complicated rules (e.g.,…

I mean, you don't have to figure it out. You can just punch in start and end of your journey into one of several apps that work nationwide, and pay whatever it says. Of course, many people don't have any of the apps, particularly people who rarely use public transport, which are also the people most easily confuse by the complicated fee structure. Unfortunately, the new monthly ticket does little to help them. 49 EUR…

You're out of luck, if none of the route segments is served by Deutsche Bahn (which is often the case for regional routes), because then you'll be unable to buy your ticket using the most common nation-wide app DB Navigator.

Re: Millions snap up new Germany-wide public transit ticket

#105
We need Uber for Public Transit. Enter you destination and it tells you which bus to get on in real time, when to transfer and deducts payment automatically at the end of your trip.

The Uber experience on transit would make lots never riders and occasional riders use transit more often.

The mental load is a lot of some people at the end of the day, driving is just easier.

Re: Millions snap up new Germany-wide public transit ticket

#106

The biggest advantage of the new Germany-wide ticket is not the price, but rather that it simplifies things. This is a map of German public transit companies: [0]. I've heard the current fractured system be compared to the Holy Roman Empire. Every little region has its own ticketing system. If you arrive in a new city, you have to figure out how to buy local transit tickets, often with quite complicated rules (e.g.,…

This is typical in most countries that aren't very small. I'm struggling to think of a moderately-sized country that doesn't work have regional transit authorities with their own ticketing systems. I haven't been everywhere in the world so I bet they do exist, but I've yet to see one.

While Japan has regional ticketing systems and companies, they did standardize nationally on supporting 3 major prepaid transit cards (pasmo, suica, icoca) so most rapid transit and regional transit are low friction enough to just tap in and tap out. China has done the same with T-Union.

I suppose with NFC contactless payment, a plausible future state is just supporting credit card payments everywhere, though of course this doesn't solve the monthly pass problem.

Re: Millions snap up new Germany-wide public transit ticket

#107

We need Uber for Public Transit. Enter you destination and it tells you which bus to get on in real time, when to transfer and deducts payment automatically at the end of your trip. The Uber experience on transit would make lots never riders and occasional riders use transit more often. The mental load is a lot of some people at the end of the day, driving is just easier.

Google Maps does this for you. And nearly every local provider tends to have apps with end to end directions these days.

Re: Millions snap up new Germany-wide public transit ticket

#108

We need Uber for Public Transit. Enter you destination and it tells you which bus to get on in real time, when to transfer and deducts payment automatically at the end of your trip. The Uber experience on transit would make lots never riders and occasional riders use transit more often. The mental load is a lot of some people at the end of the day, driving is just easier.

Anyone who regularly uses public transit in the USA could tell you this isn't a serious solution to a real issue.

You use either Google Maps, Apple Maps, or the Transit app to tell you what to get on. You either buy a local nfc card or have an app on your phone you tap on the sensor to pay.

Having to use more than one app isn't an significant burden compared to the fact that that trains and busses don't come to the places I want at the times I want reliably.

Re: Millions snap up new Germany-wide public transit ticket

#109

We need Uber for Public Transit. Enter you destination and it tells you which bus to get on in real time, when to transfer and deducts payment automatically at the end of your trip. The Uber experience on transit would make lots never riders and occasional riders use transit more often. The mental load is a lot of some people at the end of the day, driving is just easier.

NYC/SF let you just tap your phone to get on transit. Apple Maps does a great job of trip planning using real time information about the status of trains. It is super smooth and easy. Easier than Uber even.

Re: Millions snap up new Germany-wide public transit ticket

#110
post #103

Controversial opinion: Public transport should be publicly owned.

[flagged]

Omnipresent habit to turn everything into the slightest personal attack is tiresome

Social media is a dumpster fire of apes reciting memorized experience.

Sorry not-sorry reality is not thinking of you first.

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