Jon WorthOct 4, 2023

Public transport journey planning has a public purpose - get people efficiently to their destination.

This planning function *might* not have financial compensation - there might be no ticket sale involved.

The likes of Trainline then have very little incentive as I see it to provide excellent journey planning. But if they can’t, and the likes of DB won’t, internationally… then who can?

#WorldPassengerFestival

Show threadBerend SchotanusOct 4, 2023

@jon

To me it’s completely obvious that planning is part of the sales process.

To me it’s also completely obvious that better planning makes better sales.

…sorry Jon, I think I cannot follow you somewhere…

Show threadIαn has moved accountOct 4, 2023
@schotanus @jon If a private business is running a monopoly like service, then their incentive is to cut costs, not provide a better service. As people can't immediately go elsewhere, and sales won't change much.
Show threadBerend Schotanus
@ianp5a @jon Why should planning/sales be run as a monopoly?
Oct 4, 2023 at 5:53pmWeb
Show threadIαn has moved accountOct 4, 2023
@schotanus @jon If passengers can't choose a different service for a journey, as one company has the franchise, that is monopolistic. And you rely on their priorities. It's the same with a public organisation. But their priorities can be defined to be in the interests of passengers and not shareholders.
Show threadBerend SchotanusOct 4, 2023

@ianp5a @jon Sure, the operation of a line is done by one single operator. But they needn’t do planning/sales.

You can plan your trip in Google Maps or buy it at Trainline. If the operators provide the timetables and enable resales, then competition for the planning/sales part is entirely possible.