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Subsidised or Free Train Rides in Europe, a Sustainable Approach to Conserve Resources?


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This is the way to encourage more to switch to public transport but to some 80+ people in one particular cabinet, this would be raiding the reserve! 

Germany Experimented With Unlimited Train Rides For $9, Here’s What They Found 

Bahnhof-Germany-newspress-2-1024x555.web

Earlier this year, Germany was looking for a way to reduce the nation’s dependence on energy consuming cars, and decided to try something bold: it offered a monthly train ticket for €9 (S$12.55 at current exchange rates).

The ticket entitled users to access the entirety of Germany‘s rail and public transit networks, with the exception of high-speed trains. The hope was that the scheme would encourage drivers to take train trips instead of using their cars as energy woes threaten to impact the country following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Part of a relief package, the program will soon end and, although more thorough research is still underway, early findings suggest that the scheme was a measured success. Firstly, it proved very popular with the population.

The New Statesman reports that German rail companies sold 38 million tickets over the last three months, which amounts to about half of the nation’s population. That popularity was actually a bit of an issue at first, leading to packed trains and stations as companies struggled to keep up with the newfound demand.

According to Vox, ridership rebounded to pre-COVID levels, which was good news, but it only reduced car trips marginally. Studies in Munich found that congestion fell by about three percent. That’s because most people used the trains for vacations and for trips they might not have otherwise taken. Still, that meant that some elderly people and others with low income were able to take trips that would have been out of their reach.

In addition, researchers found that during the trial period, 35 percent of people used trams and buses more, and 22 percent used public transit for the first time, about a quarter of those people using it four or more times per week. Traffic data from Tomtom, meanwhile, showed that congestion lowered in 23 of 26 cities it studied during the nine-euro-ticket period.

According to riders, though, the biggest advantage of the ticket was how it simplified travel in Germany. Whereas German rail travelers tend to have to navigate many fares and complicated routes, the single ticket price meant that riders could easily jump from train to tram to bus where necessary.

“The ticket shows that people want to use public transport — when it’s easy to use and when it’s affordable,” Lukas Iffländer, the vice chairman of Fahrgastverband Pro Bahn, a passenger association, said.

The concept also revealed some weaknesses in Germany‘s rail network, pointing to areas that are underserved by transit and others where transit doesn’t run when it might have been useful, such as late at night.

The trial period may have been undercut, too, by subsidies for fuel that happened at the same time. Although the price of transit was heavily cut down by the government, so was the price of gas, which may have led some drivers to wonder, “Why bother with transit?”

“It’s not sufficient if you only support alternatives to the car, but you have also to be more restrictive towards the car,” said Frederic Rudolph, head of the T3 Transportation Think Tank.

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Madrid and Barcelona Win From Spain’s Free Train Travel Plan

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Spain will become the latest European country to make a large part of its public transit network free as part of a push to promote cleaner transportation. It also has another clear objective: helping citizens to reduce fuel consumption as energy prices soar.

Following an announcement this week from the national government, Spain will offer season tickets for suburban and regional trains, which host roughly 48 million journeys per month. The program, which will run between Sept. 1 and Dec. 31, seeks to promote rail travel as “a safer, more reliable, comfortable, economical and sustainable means of transport than the private car,” a government spokesperson said in a statement.

That leaves suburban rail users — and specifically people living around Madrid and Barcelona — as the plan’s greatest beneficiaries. Spain’s two largest cities account for 80% of the country’s suburban rail passengers. The government’s subsidy is being greeted less enthusiastically in regions without suburban rail networks, such as Galicia in the country’s northwest corner.

The plan follows the introduction of similar temporary ultra-low-cost policies adopted in Germany this summer, though Spain has been mulling it for some time. The government announced last month that it would cut season ticket prices by 50%, before ramping that proportion up to 100% this week. Meanwhile, on June 25, Spain’s government also introduced a 30% drop in fares for municipal public transit to be topped up to a 50% or 60% discount in places like Catalonia by the regional government.

The policy’s stated aim may be to publicize the benefits of more sustainable forms of transit, but it’s also designed to cut car use during a cost-of-living crisis that Spain is feeling particularly acutely.

With energy costs rising as a result, the free season tickets could mitigate the stress on lower- and middle-income households, albeit not uniformly across the country. They will also follow a package of measures to mitigate the economic effects of the war in Ukraine, including a cut in sales tax on electricity and obligatory contributions to state pensions and a price freeze on butane gas cylinders.

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33 minutes ago, Carbon82 said:

This is the way to encourage more to switch to public transport but to some 80+ people in one particular cabinet, this would be raiding the reserve! 

Germany Experimented With Unlimited Train Rides For $9, Here’s What They Found 

Bahnhof-Germany-newspress-2-1024x555.web

Earlier this year, Germany was looking for a way to reduce the nation’s dependence on energy consuming cars, and decided to try something bold: it offered a monthly train ticket for €9 (S$12.55 at current exchange rates).

The ticket entitled users to access the entirety of Germany‘s rail and public transit networks, with the exception of high-speed trains. The hope was that the scheme would encourage drivers to take train trips instead of using their cars as energy woes threaten to impact the country following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Part of a relief package, the program will soon end and, although more thorough research is still underway, early findings suggest that the scheme was a measured success. Firstly, it proved very popular with the population.

The New Statesman reports that German rail companies sold 38 million tickets over the last three months, which amounts to about half of the nation’s population. That popularity was actually a bit of an issue at first, leading to packed trains and stations as companies struggled to keep up with the newfound demand.

According to Vox, ridership rebounded to pre-COVID levels, which was good news, but it only reduced car trips marginally. Studies in Munich found that congestion fell by about three percent. That’s because most people used the trains for vacations and for trips they might not have otherwise taken. Still, that meant that some elderly people and others with low income were able to take trips that would have been out of their reach.

In addition, researchers found that during the trial period, 35 percent of people used trams and buses more, and 22 percent used public transit for the first time, about a quarter of those people using it four or more times per week. Traffic data from Tomtom, meanwhile, showed that congestion lowered in 23 of 26 cities it studied during the nine-euro-ticket period.

According to riders, though, the biggest advantage of the ticket was how it simplified travel in Germany. Whereas German rail travelers tend to have to navigate many fares and complicated routes, the single ticket price meant that riders could easily jump from train to tram to bus where necessary.

“The ticket shows that people want to use public transport — when it’s easy to use and when it’s affordable,” Lukas Iffländer, the vice chairman of Fahrgastverband Pro Bahn, a passenger association, said.

The concept also revealed some weaknesses in Germany‘s rail network, pointing to areas that are underserved by transit and others where transit doesn’t run when it might have been useful, such as late at night.

The trial period may have been undercut, too, by subsidies for fuel that happened at the same time. Although the price of transit was heavily cut down by the government, so was the price of gas, which may have led some drivers to wonder, “Why bother with transit?”

“It’s not sufficient if you only support alternatives to the car, but you have also to be more restrictive towards the car,” said Frederic Rudolph, head of the T3 Transportation Think Tank.

This is the 9Euro ticket I bought when I have a night layover in Frankfurt for my trip to NYC.

20220901_223457_copy_4032x3024.jpg

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8 hours ago, inlinesix said:

In 2021, Govt subsidy for public transport is $2bn.
To do this, likely increase to $5bn.

Sack all ministar not enough to cover additional $3bn

🤭

Those billions are necessary to pay our World Class Mini Stars to think up more ways to collect more billions from us. 😁

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Winter is coming. With energy supplies being cut from from Russia they will have to think from a broader perspective.

Nevertheless it is encouraging to see what their govt is doing.

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The best way to encourage people to take public transport is to slap a 100,000 dollar tax on cars.

But don't call it a tax as people don't like to hear the word tax.

Call it a certificate.

And genius is let people bid so if they want to pay more than 100k let them.

:D

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Imagine if it was free.

The train will be twice as full.

:D

4 minutes ago, mersaylee said:

Nothing new to free public transport...😁

OIP (2).jpg

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3 minutes ago, Jamesc said:

Imagine if it was free.

The train will be twice as full.

:D

 

India and Sri Lanka have been the precursors for the world to see where we're heading...sit inside if can afford to...free sunbath if need to conserve...😅

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Europe people should all ride bicycle lah save the environment warm up the body

reject Iran reject Russia reject nuclear reject coal love windmill solar wave underground thermal 

Don’t say mustank no intro

go water cool all your ps5 pc and hook up to water heater. Like that pah game can bath hot water :XD:

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2 minutes ago, Jamesc said:

Even driving to the supermarket to buy a 10kg bag of rice and carrying it home is stupid.

:D

Nowadays is buy from red Mart liao

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