PLOT TWIST!!
I didn't get to York. Everything brokked, and I had to turn around at Birmingham. So now I have to work out how to refund 12 bits of cardboard. 🤦♂️
How frustrating.
Up until two weeks ago, I was British but now I'm Dutch.
I can travel anywhere in the Netherlands with this little plastic card and generate no paper. The trains aren't entirely cheap, but of course not as expensive as the UK. Before COVID they were shockingly, obsessively reliable. Now they're just pretty reliable, which is still very good.
Sorry, sorry, not trying to show off, I was trying to agree...
@sothach @nickpiggott This used to happen a lot in New York City subways too.
I just checked and the Netherlands has a suicide rate that's just a little less than the world average rate.
Sadly, the US, which used to be average, is now about 50% higher than the world average, worse even than Hungary.
Do note that these stats are definitely dodgy. It is strongly suspected that many countries misrepresent their suicide rates, downwards, for obvious reasons. (I doubt .nl is in that category.)
@TomSwirly its an interesting demonstration of how 'privatisation' and 'competition' become detrimental to the core proposition. I hope that other countries (🇩🇪) learn from the mistakes in the UK if they continue to pursue a 'free market' approach to train travel
In short - doesn't work for the consumer, doesn't work for the taxpayer, so who is it working for 🤔
@hamato @nickpiggott We have some train problems here since COVID.
Oh, don't get me wrong: the trains here are far, far more punctual (and cleaner, and better maintained) than DB! And we haven't really been inconvenienced.
Now almost every time I look at a train signboard, I see trains marked with something I'd never seen before, "Cancelled due to logistical reasons". I am told it's personnel shortages.
I'm sure it's just a coincidence that no one here takes COVID or masking seriously.
Yes, people seem to have forgotten about COVID. Just look at the christmas markets, everyone sneezing and coughing in every direction, people with cold symptoms going to work etc.
DB has serious trouble finding people though, and they've been running massive want ad campaigns for a while. They're understaffed in many areas, which makes them more vulnerable to people calling in sick or leaving for greener pastures.
For the confused:
It's often less expensive in the UK to get individual tickets between stations on your chosen route that buying one through ticket.
The wonders of rail privatisation at work 🫤🤦♂️
@nickpiggott well trains here have on board charging sockets.
Not sure how mobile ticket could give you grief on a multi-segment journey. Most of my trips are multi-segment.
Nick Piggott 🇪🇺
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