4 ms·

It is. I believe it's meant to encourage commuting by train, not long range travel. It's for example now significantly cheaper that the normal Berlin yearly tic

by ido 4y ago

It is. I believe it's meant to encourage commuting by train, not long range travel. It's for example now significantly cheaper that the normal Berlin yearly ticket was while also increasing coverage.

mytailorisrich 4y ago
IMO, the most effective way to make people commute by public transport is to make parking difficult and expensive. People spend hundreds a month commuting by car so the issue is not the price of train tickets, it's that people prefer to drive as it's more comfortable and convenient. But now, if you cannot park or it will cost you a fortune you'll think 'fuck it, I will take the train'.
- ckdot 4y ago
  In Germany it’s not unusual that you need about 3x the time by train instead if you go by car. You can’t force those who have to commute to go by train. You have to force employers to provide (maybe not only provide, but enforce) remote work options for all the jobs where it’s simply not necessary to be on-site.
  - mytailorisrich 4y ago
    Right, public transport is also usually slower. My point is that cutting ticket prices isn't going to make people suddenly use public transport because it's not an affordability issue.
    - iggldiggl 4y ago
      Unfortunately cutting ticket prices is the quick political win, so instead of actually better public transport we'll only get it cheaper…
    - ido 4y ago
      For some people it is. I personally know people here in Berlin (or rather around Berlin, zone c) that in the past would drive instead of taking transit into the city a couple times per week because if you already have a car it’s cheaper than buying the Berlin A-C monthly ticket (the one that takes you all the way from the suburbs the city center). This is now no longer the case, and being able to use the same ticket elsewhere in Germany is a nice little perk. Obviously it depends on where in Germany you are but in/around Berlin while driving is often faster it’s usually not such a big gap because you’d be stuck in traffic in a car but not on the train. It would often be more like ~50 minutes instead of 40 (but then you can read a book on the Regio/S-Bahn instead of focusing ok driving).

by ido 4y ago

It is. I believe it's meant to encourage commuting by train, not long range travel. It's for example now significantly cheaper that the normal Berlin yearly ticket was while also increasing coverage.

mytailorisrich 4y ago

IMO, the most effective way to make people commute by public transport is to make parking difficult and expensive. People spend hundreds a month commuting by car so the issue is not the price of train tickets, it's that people prefer to drive as it's more comfortable and convenient. But now, if you cannot park or it will cost you a fortune you'll think 'fuck it, I will take the train'.

ckdot 4y ago
In Germany it’s not unusual that you need about 3x the time by train instead if you go by car. You can’t force those who have to commute to go by train. You have to force employers to provide (maybe not only provide, but enforce) remote work options for all the jobs where it’s simply not necessary to be on-site.
- mytailorisrich 4y ago
  Right, public transport is also usually slower. My point is that cutting ticket prices isn't going to make people suddenly use public transport because it's not an affordability issue.
  - iggldiggl 4y ago
    Unfortunately cutting ticket prices is the quick political win, so instead of actually better public transport we'll only get it cheaper…
  - ido 4y ago
    For some people it is. I personally know people here in Berlin (or rather around Berlin, zone c) that in the past would drive instead of taking transit into the city a couple times per week because if you already have a car it’s cheaper than buying the Berlin A-C monthly ticket (the one that takes you all the way from the suburbs the city center). This is now no longer the case, and being able to use the same ticket elsewhere in Germany is a nice little perk. Obviously it depends on where in Germany you are but in/around Berlin while driving is often faster it’s usually not such a big gap because you’d be stuck in traffic in a car but not on the train. It would often be more like ~50 minutes instead of 40 (but then you can read a book on the Regio/S-Bahn instead of focusing ok driving).