Post AT8mRvFuwsIez4taZE by jon@gruene.social
(DIR) More posts by jon@gruene.social
(DIR) Post #AT8GmCQBdjCVTsK8nY by jon@gruene.social
2023-02-27T17:41:56Z
0 likes, 2 repeats
To book an international railway ticket in Europe it SHOULD NOT BE NECESSARY1️⃣ to have expert level knowledge2️⃣ to need to have 20 browser tabs open simultaneously3️⃣ to have parts of your trip where you have no option other than to buy tickets on the spot4️⃣ to have to go to a railway station, or pick up the phone to make the booking - ONLINE has to work5️⃣ to have to consult multiple sources of information to get the best price for a single train
(DIR) Post #AT8GmE8tF0YMooFM7E by jon@gruene.social
2023-02-27T19:01:56Z
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Also to those replying "yes, but I prefer to speak to a specialist on the phone" - sure, if you have the time and the money for that, by all means do that. But that - simply because of the cost and labour intense nature of it - cannot be the default. The cost of taking the train *is* a barrier, so the emphasis has to be cheap, mass online booking as default - and telephone for those who need it. Not the other way around.
(DIR) Post #AT8GmGtkzjENMkBoRc by jon@gruene.social
2023-02-27T20:50:31Z
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Also please don’t go “ah but here it worked”. Sometimes it works. But often it doesn’t. And I speak from a hell of a lot of bitter experience - including travel in 27 European countries by train last year *alone*
(DIR) Post #AT8inbvZ5k2raoSiLw by coffee@mastodon.kakafe.ga
2023-02-28T13:33:18Z
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@jon Even interrail from what I've been searching is kinda cumbersome, cmon, we are on the information era, everything should be doable online...
(DIR) Post #AT8mHHdVOl0XD6r6hc by django@mastodon.social
2023-02-27T19:27:26Z
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@jon the Eurostar website was designed to fix this exact problem and theoretically let you book a ticket starting and ending anywhere in Europe (albeit via e* in this case). That was enabled by all euro train ticketing going into a shared backend system (xebia iirc)
(DIR) Post #AT8mHICxGxMcz3RPxQ by coffee@mastodon.kakafe.ga
2023-02-28T14:12:13Z
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@django @jon maybe i missed something, but say portugal and spain are not there as possible departing stations
(DIR) Post #AT8mRvFuwsIez4taZE by jon@gruene.social
2023-02-28T14:14:05Z
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@coffee @django Maybe I am too stupid to use it?
(DIR) Post #AT8miLorx98U0H4sNc by coffee@mastodon.kakafe.ga
2023-02-28T14:17:11Z
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@jon @django Looks like it's only available for countries where eurostar operates, so not really a solution to the problem (not having a unified reservation system), but instead a operator that operates in multiple countries (not even close to all)
(DIR) Post #AT8n9WCVSoeA1F5X1M by jon@gruene.social
2023-02-28T14:20:01Z
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@coffee @django Right. And not even ALL of those countries either!
(DIR) Post #ATArpOsJsXOZaunAm0 by vesperto@gladtech.social
2023-03-01T13:31:32Z
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@jonSo interrail isn't a thing anymore? Or you mean something else by "international"?
(DIR) Post #ATArpPXRPeHxeS20rw by jon@gruene.social
2023-03-01T13:35:59Z
0 likes, 1 repeats
@vesperto Errr, how would one use Interrail for - say - a weekend trip from München to Milano?You wouldn't, because it'd be too costly. You'd buy regular tickets.And yes, Interrail exists. And yes, it's as much of a mess as regular tickets as well... https://jonworth.eu/why-interrail-is-structurally-incapable-of-fixing-the-seat-reservation-problems-with-its-passes/
(DIR) Post #ATArsUdOvDXqKFHyAy by coffee@mastodon.kakafe.ga
2023-03-01T14:24:30Z
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@jon I've read that lower speed trains usually don't require reservation on interrail. Isn't that true?
(DIR) Post #ATAsRx5P8BxShbIMz2 by jon@gruene.social
2023-03-01T14:30:48Z
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@coffee Depends on the country. Mostly yes, that's indeed true, but not universally.
(DIR) Post #ATCxhqJRUBbpVlEclc by AstridSawatzky@mastodon.social
2023-02-28T09:48:31Z
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@jon @alterisian
(DIR) Post #ATCxhrDo6chCKZbdce by alterisian@c.im
2023-03-02T14:39:14Z
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@AstridSawatzky @jon Hello how can I help, and what is your budget?
(DIR) Post #ATCzYBgbMfIIoRaiZ6 by alterisian@c.im
2023-03-02T14:59:54Z
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@AstridSawatzky @jon p.s. Astrid, you were going to do a LinkedIn reference for my help many months ago. Surely, it was more valueable to than not doing it?
(DIR) Post #ATDP4QADZP6DppuX8y by AstridSawatzky@mastodon.social
2023-03-02T19:45:50Z
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@alterisian @jon I don't exactly understand what you mean by your last sentence and I don't think we should discuss this matter in public.Still regarding you being my friend (in a German way) and I don't want to be too German again.🤗