6 ms·

While I like the idea and will probably try it out in January, I think this article takes it bit too easy. The price of the cheapest ticket maybe €22, but by th

by patall 10y ago

While I like the idea and will probably try it out in January, I think this article takes it bit too easy. The price of the cheapest ticket maybe €22, but by that measure, I was also able to do the same journey for €14.25 with Deutsche Bahn this year. They are mostly cheaper but not that much as the those tickets are for particular trains which are also cheaper on DB. And other admenities like Wifi will also finally come to ICE this year, there are already family zones. Besides maybe the seat gurantee, the other features sound more like gimmiks to me, nice on the first look but not really world changing. I like the croudfunding aspect though.

cknight 10y ago
Exactly. "A €22 ($23.50) one-way ticket is less than a quarter of DB’s €115.90 ($123) standard fare." is a bit misleading, given that DB's Standard fare is far from their cheapest. I have a BahnCard 25 (so a 25% discount), and always use Saver fares instead of Standard - meaning I have to take a particular train at a particular time... like with Locomore. A "Standard" DB fare, for those who don't know, means you can take any train(s) at any time on the date for your destination, and for some that flexibility is hugely valuable. I am travelling between Christmas and New Year this year, and even though it is along Locomore's single serviced line, the price will actually be the same. Since Locomore only stops once a day in my city at an ungodly hour of the morning, it's not so convenient. So I'm going with DB in the evening. Now, I am glad the city I live in and the one I visit my friends in are both on Locomore's line, as I am looking forward to trying it out, but as with you, I'll probably only try it out later, at a time when DB's fares aren't looking competitive. It really depends on how far you're going, what times are acceptable, and what discounts are available. Locomore's prices are roughly doubled during the festive period while DB has a mix of regular and high priced stuff. All that said, seeing some actual competition in this area is great.
- lucb1e 10y ago
  > DB's Standard fare is far from their cheapest. I have a BahnCard 25 (so a 25% discount) Well the price of the bahncard should be added to the price you pay per trip, so the question is, how much is that card? Then people can figure out for themselves how often they'd commute and whether they'd save anything. And still, 25% off of €116 vs. €22 doesn't sound too appealing. Not criticizing the rest of your post, e.g. I agree that competition is good and available discounts should surely be included in comparisons!
  - lima 10y ago
    Bahncard 25 is 60€ (so it pays itself as long as you take 2-3 long-distance trips a year)
  - cknight 10y ago
    We're talking 25% off a Saver fare, which can often be well under half the price of a Standard fare. Because Locomore has only one train for one line, virtually all Locomore customers are going to be long distance DB customers as well, for all their other travel needs. Hence, a huge portion are going to have a BahnCard of some kind already. My BahnCard 25 maintains that discount for the local trams and buses in my city, so that's icing on the cake. For ~€60 a year, it's a no-brainer. The only people I know here without one are people who really do only take a train once or twice a year. All in all, Locomore seems competitive. But that's all, it doesn't seem like much of a market disruptor yet. Of course, with their expansion plans already in the works, I am excited to see what comes next. It's going to be an uphill battle but I'm glad someone has taken it on.
  - gsch 10y ago
    I travel DB long-distance twice weekly for commutes. The 116€ "standard fare" is actually the maximum fare. It only gets cheaper if you buy in advance, buy saver tickets, or get a BahnCard. I have a BahnCard 50 (50% discount on flexible fares). It paid for itself in about three weeks. It cost 255€ and I've never had to pay more than 47€ for a flexible ticket, even last-minute on high-speed lines.
deleted 10y ago
[deleted]
morsch 10y ago
The cheapest DB ticket may be as cheap as Locomore, but Locomore's maximum fare is half as much as DB's (~75 EUR).
- nkkollaw 10y ago
  Yeah, but the trains are half as good and half as fast.
  - adimitrov 10y ago
    Taking one hour longer on 5 hours trip (for the DB) does not equal "half as fast." As to "half as good" — that's debatable, isn't it? For some, they may be nearly as good.
  - fs111 10y ago
    I dunno what "trains are half as good" is supposed to mean, but on the line from Berlin south we often have those old run down ICE 2, that really could use a makeover...
Fnoord 10y ago
The article is misleading the price of travel via DB, but OTOH price of DB is rather complex (its variable, and there are also options for discounts). It is important to note the price of travel by train in Germany varies a lot depending on variables. You can order your ticket months in advance and get a specific seat (in the ICE) at a specific fare (ie. a trainseat at a specific time & date). This allows for massive discounts. However you're inflexible in your schedule and spot. Consider the following hypothetical examples: 1) You order 3 months in advance and can get a discount of 75%. 2) You order 3 weeks in advance and can get a discount of only 25%-50%. 3) You want to order 2 days in advance and can't even get on the train anymore since its full (ICE). You think you can travel by ICE and buy your ticket on the spot and can't since its full. Grumbled you buy a ticket -at full price- for the RE/IC and have to swap trains all the time which also stop more often. Note that right now its mid december so it is going to be difficult to book cheap for end of december. Since Germany is a large country you'll practically end up travel by ICE if you travel through the country. For example, the full price of a one way ticket from Ruhr area to Berlin is ~115 EUR. So, it is interesting how much time in advance one has to order with Locomore. Apparently one can only order online and not via DB sale points. But how does the ticket work then? Does one have to print it out or can it be shown on a smartphone? I don't know how pricing works in other countries apart from The Netherlands. IC in The Netherlands have free WiFi, but it requires one to log in with a web browser. No cryptography is used in the connection either. The article mentions the following: > and a journey on a recycled (dare I say vintage) train that runs entirely on sustainably sourced green electricity. I'd like to know which sustainably sourced green electricity. Because nuclear energy is also considered 'green' these days. Not sure if that is true in Germany. > Europe’s railways have already seen substantial deregulation and privatization—often, as in Britain, with highly negative results. Yeah, there's a national system akin to Oyster card in The Netherlands. Easy to log in and out and once they swapped from Mifare, more secure. Yet if you swap train of a different company (and they're more rampant here than in Germany, apparently) you need to log out and in. If you don't, you are considered free riding and get a fine of 35 EUR plus the fare price. If this ever happens to you in The Netherlands know that you can appeal a fine once a year by phone or the website. So you can get your money back.
- pluma 10y ago

by patall 10y ago

cknight 10y ago

Exactly. "A €22 ($23.50) one-way ticket is less than a quarter of DB’s €115.90 ($123) standard fare." is a bit misleading, given that DB's Standard fare is far from their cheapest. I have a BahnCard 25 (so a 25% discount), and always use Saver fares instead of Standard - meaning I have to take a particular train at a particular time... like with Locomore. A "Standard" DB fare, for those who don't know, means you can take any train(s) at any time on the date for your destination, and for some that flexibility is hugely valuable. I am travelling between Christmas and New Year this year, and even though it is along Locomore's single serviced line, the price will actually be the same. Since Locomore only stops once a day in my city at an ungodly hour of the morning, it's not so convenient. So I'm going with DB in the evening. Now, I am glad the city I live in and the one I visit my friends in are both on Locomore's line, as I am looking forward to trying it out, but as with you, I'll probably only try it out later, at a time when DB's fares aren't looking competitive. It really depends on how far you're going, what times are acceptable, and what discounts are available. Locomore's prices are roughly doubled during the festive period while DB has a mix of regular and high priced stuff. All that said, seeing some actual competition in this area is great.

lucb1e 10y ago
> DB's Standard fare is far from their cheapest. I have a BahnCard 25 (so a 25% discount) Well the price of the bahncard should be added to the price you pay per trip, so the question is, how much is that card? Then people can figure out for themselves how often they'd commute and whether they'd save anything. And still, 25% off of €116 vs. €22 doesn't sound too appealing. Not criticizing the rest of your post, e.g. I agree that competition is good and available discounts should surely be included in comparisons!
- lima 10y ago
  Bahncard 25 is 60€ (so it pays itself as long as you take 2-3 long-distance trips a year)
- cknight 10y ago
  We're talking 25% off a Saver fare, which can often be well under half the price of a Standard fare. Because Locomore has only one train for one line, virtually all Locomore customers are going to be long distance DB customers as well, for all their other travel needs. Hence, a huge portion are going to have a BahnCard of some kind already. My BahnCard 25 maintains that discount for the local trams and buses in my city, so that's icing on the cake. For ~€60 a year, it's a no-brainer. The only people I know here without one are people who really do only take a train once or twice a year. All in all, Locomore seems competitive. But that's all, it doesn't seem like much of a market disruptor yet. Of course, with their expansion plans already in the works, I am excited to see what comes next. It's going to be an uphill battle but I'm glad someone has taken it on.
- gsch 10y ago
  I travel DB long-distance twice weekly for commutes. The 116€ "standard fare" is actually the maximum fare. It only gets cheaper if you buy in advance, buy saver tickets, or get a BahnCard. I have a BahnCard 50 (50% discount on flexible fares). It paid for itself in about three weeks. It cost 255€ and I've never had to pay more than 47€ for a flexible ticket, even last-minute on high-speed lines.

deleted 10y ago

[deleted]

morsch 10y ago

The cheapest DB ticket may be as cheap as Locomore, but Locomore's maximum fare is half as much as DB's (~75 EUR).

nkkollaw 10y ago
Yeah, but the trains are half as good and half as fast.
- adimitrov 10y ago
  Taking one hour longer on 5 hours trip (for the DB) does not equal "half as fast." As to "half as good" — that's debatable, isn't it? For some, they may be nearly as good.
- fs111 10y ago
  I dunno what "trains are half as good" is supposed to mean, but on the line from Berlin south we often have those old run down ICE 2, that really could use a makeover...

Fnoord 10y ago

The article is misleading the price of travel via DB, but OTOH price of DB is rather complex (its variable, and there are also options for discounts). It is important to note the price of travel by train in Germany varies a lot depending on variables. You can order your ticket months in advance and get a specific seat (in the ICE) at a specific fare (ie. a trainseat at a specific time & date). This allows for massive discounts. However you're inflexible in your schedule and spot. Consider the following hypothetical examples: 1) You order 3 months in advance and can get a discount of 75%. 2) You order 3 weeks in advance and can get a discount of only 25%-50%. 3) You want to order 2 days in advance and can't even get on the train anymore since its full (ICE). You think you can travel by ICE and buy your ticket on the spot and can't since its full. Grumbled you buy a ticket -at full price- for the RE/IC and have to swap trains all the time which also stop more often. Note that right now its mid december so it is going to be difficult to book cheap for end of december. Since Germany is a large country you'll practically end up travel by ICE if you travel through the country. For example, the full price of a one way ticket from Ruhr area to Berlin is ~115 EUR. So, it is interesting how much time in advance one has to order with Locomore. Apparently one can only order online and not via DB sale points. But how does the ticket work then? Does one have to print it out or can it be shown on a smartphone? I don't know how pricing works in other countries apart from The Netherlands. IC in The Netherlands have free WiFi, but it requires one to log in with a web browser. No cryptography is used in the connection either. The article mentions the following: > and a journey on a recycled (dare I say vintage) train that runs entirely on sustainably sourced green electricity. I'd like to know which sustainably sourced green electricity. Because nuclear energy is also considered 'green' these days. Not sure if that is true in Germany. > Europe’s railways have already seen substantial deregulation and privatization—often, as in Britain, with highly negative results. Yeah, there's a national system akin to Oyster card in The Netherlands. Easy to log in and out and once they swapped from Mifare, more secure. Yet if you swap train of a different company (and they're more rampant here than in Germany, apparently) you need to log out and in. If you don't, you are considered free riding and get a fine of 35 EUR plus the fare price. If this ever happens to you in The Netherlands know that you can appeal a fine once a year by phone or the website. So you can get your money back.

pluma 10y ago