Tillmann Prüfer is a member of the editor-in-chief of “Zeit-Magazin”.
Hamburg The nine-euro ticket is said to be a complete success. The association of transport companies is now demanding a 69-euro ticket as a follow-up option. At the same time, politicians and transport companies warn that modern, functioning local transport cannot be available for free.
That’s a strange argument. On the one hand, a zero fare would be a zero-euro ticket. And on the other hand, nobody can speak of modern, functioning local transport. However, those responsible are happy to pretend that there is a great network in Germany in which we can set the clock when the trains arrive.
The fact is that most people are happy when, for once, they catch a connecting train. Apparently there are demands for resignation in Japan if the bullet train Shinkansen is a few minutes late.
In the past few weeks, however, I’ve rather heard platform announcements like: “Unfortunately, the train is canceled due to illness.” What would happen in Japan then? Would the station in question be bombed by the Luftwaffe to erase the blot from national memory? I read that 10,000 trains were canceled in Germany from May to June. Under these circumstances, Japan would probably be swallowed up by the sea.
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Germany doesn’t even need functioning passenger transport
In the past few months, many Germans have often stayed on trains that have hardly run and apparently found that okay. Or not okay, because they always complained. People tweeted their delay times and were outraged. People were concerned that some trains were so full that passengers could not reach their reserved seats. The bar stayed closed for several moves.
More columns by Tillmann Prüfer
I have little sympathy for the nagging. When planes are a long time coming, passengers wait obediently on the ground, often literally having to squat on the floor because the gates always have too few seats. On the plane I have to spend a lot of money for a warm can of beer.
On the train I can choose between three types of beer and it’s always cool. I can hang around in the aisles on the train, and someone would come straight away on the plane to draw my attention to safety regulations. On the train I can have a warm dish heated up in the microwave, on the plane there is at most a soft roll.
Above all, however, we have been able to learn that it is not so important that we always arrive on time. Nobody is waiting for us. If we arrive sometime during the day, that’s okay too.
If necessary, I just arrive a day earlier and stay at the Intercity Hotel. That’s a nice thing too. Germany doesn’t need a functioning passenger transport system and we all have a lot more time than we think. What a beautiful insight. And it only cost nine euros.
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