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Bet on German Train Delays

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Re: Bet on German Train Delays

#171

Post by mafuy »

DocTomoe wrote: post #116
ozgune wrote: post #104

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'll save everyone a web search. This is satire and there isn't any such German federal court ruling. It also speaks to the world that we live in these days - I'm having a hard time separating satire from reality.

In all fairness, being both an avid Deutsche Bahn victim (with the Gold victim status), and knowing the German court system ... that was perfectly plausible, if a bit optimistic. I'd do many, many things if I got a 50% chance of arriving on time.

No joke: 15 years ago, when I was riding DB trains regularly, I got whole packs of refund forms. Took a while to find someone who would not refuse this request. I built a rudimentary transparent template in latex that had my name, address, etc. Pushed a whole pack into a printer to fill out most of the forms, leaving only the date and train to be manually inserted. My trains were always delayed, so this saved a lot of time.

Re: Bet on German Train Delays

#172

Post by Bluecobra »

birdsongs wrote: post #109
Aldipower wrote: post #65

Oh man, det er virkelig rigtigt sjovt!!! :-D "Jurisdiction notice For legal reasons, all BahnBet users, their devices, and their emotional baggage are hereby classified as legal residents of Schleswig-Holstein, the only German state where gambling is fully permitted. This is non-negotiable. By creating an account, you have moved to Schleswig-Holstein. Your new postal code is 24103. You now speak rudimentary Danish."

> You now speak rudimentary Danish." Så, norsk da. :)

Mit luftpudefartøj er fyldt med ål!

Re: Bet on German Train Delays

#173

Post by weedhopper »

maxeda wrote: post #80

> In January 2026, Germany's federal court ruled that purchasing a Deutsche Bahn ticket constitutes a form of gambling (Glücksspiel), citing that “the probability of arriving on time is statistically comparable to a coin flip.” > Rather than contest the ruling, DBSM embraced it. If riding our trains is gambling, then passengers deserve the right to hedge. > BahnBet is our answer: a platform where you can bet against…

Reads like Onion news (Zwiebel News?)

Re: Bet on German Train Delays

#175

Post by mafuy »

gzread wrote: post #67
palata wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I am pretty sure that they know about the delays. A nice thing about the Deutsche Bahn is that they exist . It's not the case in every country in the world. Sure, they can improve, but it seems possible. The French SNCF has improved a lot in the last decade, for instance.

This is true. DB trains get me from one point to another point, and in my experience, are usually not more than a few hours delayed end-to-end. Remember that if your train is delayed more than a certain amount (30 minutes?) you have the legal right to ignore the routing on your ticket and take any train you want, that leads towards the destination on your ticket. Consider it an adventure. The app can suggest alternat…

Nitpick: Unless it changed, you cannot upgrade from regional to interregional vehicles. You can upgrade from IC to ICE, though, and in general, the free choice of vehicle on your route is very useful.

Re: Bet on German Train Delays

#176

Post by mafuy »

trueismywork wrote: post #75
gzread wrote: post #67

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is true. DB trains get me from one point to another point, and in my experience, are usually not more than a few hours delayed end-to-end. Remember that if your train is delayed more than a certain amount (30 minutes?) you have the legal right to ignore the routing on your ticket and take any train you want, that leads towards the destination on your ticket. Consider it an adventure. The app can suggest alternat…

Huge number of people use DB for regional transport for commute. They get affected by 10 mins delay since connections are missed

The free choice of train does take this into account. You just need a (single!) ticket that, overall, will expectedly suffer from a delay long enough.

Re: Bet on German Train Delays

#177

Post by moresty »

CaptainZapp wrote: post #71
fnordian_slip wrote: post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's incredible that about 80% of people in this thread seem to be commenting without having looked at the website. In defense of Deutsche Bahn, countries with comparable infrastructure but more reliable transport have put in about twice as much money per capita for the last 30 years at least. Also, it went through a pseudo-privatisation back then, which hasn't helped (just private enough to focus on quarterly profit…

> In defense of Deutsche Bahn, countries with comparable infrastructure but more reliable transport have put in about twice as much money per capita for the last 30 years at least. Why is that "in defense?" When you let your infrastructure rot away since the 90s of the last century for something as complex as a train network by brutally underinvesting. Then you seriously fucked up. There's nothing to defend here.

> Why is that "in defense?"

Because DB does not decide its own budget. And we're literally living in times where their employees are getting attacked and verbally abused by the passengers for the state of the train system

Re: Bet on German Train Delays

#178

Post by rsynnott »

CaptainZapp wrote: post #71
fnordian_slip wrote: post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's incredible that about 80% of people in this thread seem to be commenting without having looked at the website. In defense of Deutsche Bahn, countries with comparable infrastructure but more reliable transport have put in about twice as much money per capita for the last 30 years at least. Also, it went through a pseudo-privatisation back then, which hasn't helped (just private enough to focus on quarterly profit…

> In defense of Deutsche Bahn, countries with comparable infrastructure but more reliable transport have put in about twice as much money per capita for the last 30 years at least. Why is that "in defense?" When you let your infrastructure rot away since the 90s of the last century for something as complex as a train network by brutally underinvesting. Then you seriously fucked up. There's nothing to defend here.

Investment isn't really down to DB, though; it's down to the government.

Re: Bet on German Train Delays

#179

Post by rsynnott »

gzread wrote: post #67
palata wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I am pretty sure that they know about the delays. A nice thing about the Deutsche Bahn is that they exist . It's not the case in every country in the world. Sure, they can improve, but it seems possible. The French SNCF has improved a lot in the last decade, for instance.

This is true. DB trains get me from one point to another point, and in my experience, are usually not more than a few hours delayed end-to-end. Remember that if your train is delayed more than a certain amount (30 minutes?) you have the legal right to ignore the routing on your ticket and take any train you want, that leads towards the destination on your ticket. Consider it an adventure. The app can suggest alternat…

> Remember that if your train is delayed more than a certain amount (30 minutes?) you have the legal right to ignore the routing on your ticket and take any train you want, that leads towards the destination on your ticket

There's definitely a comedy docudrama in there somewhere.

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