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Bet on German Train Delays

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Re: Bet on German Train Delays

#71

Post by CaptainZapp »

fnordian_slip wrote: post #45
croisillon wrote: post #14

for the people who wouldn't have inadvertently clicked on the website: it's not real money, it's a campaign to nudge the German provider to care about their infamous delays

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.

Re: Bet on German Train Delays

#72

Post by mschuster91 »

gzread wrote: post #55
bulbar wrote: post #49

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Contrary to what crypto currency enthusiasts believe, having inflation (most of the time) is the only feasible and sane way for an economy. Why ever do anything at all with your money, ever, otherwise? Except for basic needs.

Yes, but simple inflation isn't the problem. In a stable economy, we spend money as we received it, and take on loans for large purchases. In fact the economy was that way before. Now, things are too unsteady for that.

> In a stable economy, we spend money as we received it, and take on loans for large purchases. In fact the economy was that way before.

You used to be able to save for most large purchases without going into debt. Even cars.

But no, these days cars tend to be so goddamn expensive while at the same time being so low-margin products for the dealerships that even if you theoretically can pay in cash, the salespeople do their best to force you into some sort of debt because the kickback from that is the only way they make money. And practically, rents suck up so much of your income you can't save anyway.

Re: Bet on German Train Delays

#73

Post by trueismywork »

fnordian_slip wrote: post #45
croisillon wrote: post #14

for the people who wouldn't have inadvertently clicked on the website: it's not real money, it's a campaign to nudge the German provider to care about their infamous delays

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…

As someone who is in a group who regularly trashes DB at will, no one blames the line employees, but definitely blame people in upper levels of management

Re: Bet on German Train Delays

#74

Post by i-blis »

eigenspace wrote: post #11

The proliferation of online gambling is IMO one of the bigger under-reported trends in modern society, and has a real potential for massive externalities throughout society.

This is NOT a genuine gambling site but a take on DB to remind them of the issue and take it seriously.

Re: Bet on German Train Delays

#75

Post by trueismywork »

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…

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

Re: Bet on German Train Delays

#76

Post by fxwin »

ilikerashers wrote: post #63

German trains are absolute chaos. Tickets are sent via PDF for trains running 3 hours late. I was in Frankfurt last year getting to Cologne and back a few times. Coming from someone who has to commute via South Western railway into London everyday. Sad state of affairs for Germany.

> Tickets are sent via PDF for trains running 3 hours late

I agree that the delays are unacceptable, but the official app is great w/ digital tickets + seat registration, you don't need the PDF at all (it's even optional during checkout, so if you don't like them you can just uncheck the box lol)

Re: Bet on German Train Delays

#77

Post by eigenspace »

i-blis wrote: post #74
eigenspace wrote: post #11

The proliferation of online gambling is IMO one of the bigger under-reported trends in modern society, and has a real potential for massive externalities throughout society.

This is NOT a genuine gambling site but a take on DB to remind them of the issue and take it seriously.

I'm aware, but the existence of this site both reminded me of the existence of this problem, and IMO likely will inspire polymarket or some other crypto gambling site to offer the 'real' version of this.

Re: Bet on German Train Delays

#78

Post by baxtr »

lordnacho wrote: post #40
baxtr wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Is there a site where I can bet on site reliability?

This is a great business plan. Since downdetector has been bought, we can make a new site, where people can bet on what sites will be down. The whole market can be automated fairly easily to check whether a given website is responding. This should divert a substantial proportion of the world's DDoS capacity.

This made me think of another idea for you/us:

Bet on which companies will be hacked next! Divert some hacker capacity…

Re: Bet on German Train Delays

#80

Post by maxeda »

> 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 your own train, turning delays into suffering, and suffering into profit. Every minute of punctuality you lose, you can win back in deliciously valuable caßh.

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