@happydisciple @patrick Sure, but then were I to use OUIGO, *or* to use a TGV Paris-Lille, then other trains, I can get it much cheaper by train as well.
So this is not just train vs. car, but also train vs. other train on this route.
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@patrick @happydisciple Or subsidised 😳
@happydisciple @patrick I know, I know. But that is the crucial point here - this being “open market” Paris-Bruxelles means rail under performs still further.
@jon @patrick Musing a bit more on this.
Trains, at 90+% occupancy [1], are (marginally to substantially, depending on carrier and convenience and booking-ahead) cheaper than cars at 25% occupancy, but quickly more expensive than cars at 50%+ occupancy.
To have the convenience of walk-up-and-go, general train occupancy should be <50% (cf. @quixoticgeek ‘s repeat point of “I want to buy a ticket, not book a ticket/train/seat”).
To level the playing field against subsidised cars train ticket prices should probably be halved, and that should be made doable with <50% occupancy instead of 90%+ (or vice versa - make cars more expensive by removing the subsidies there. I don’t know what the fair cost of travel should be.)
[1] Well, booked-out-ness
@happydisciple @jon @patrick @quixoticgeek
UK way of trying to tackle this is the "two together" railcard. Which gets you 30% off if travelling with a specific named person (not naked, autocarrot...).
Trouble is, then single people like me feel discriminated against... 😉
@swaldman @jon @patrick @quixoticgeek The NL approach is the “samenreiskorting”, where others can profit off your discount card on a per-journey basis.
Nowadays they/their ticket need(s) to specifically be associated to your discount card, so it’s a bit of a faff, but it’s much more fluid than a railcard with a specific named person.
@happydisciple @swaldman @patrick @quixoticgeek Aside from all the independence drawbacks (hasn't @jon had a story where he bought 2 tickets together but 1 passenger couldn't make the trip and SNCF made a fuss because the name didn't match?), I wonder what's the incentive model for railways to offer "travel together" discounts?
Coarse market segmentation between single business travelers vs. families and groups of friends? Convincing families/friends not to use a car?
@cycling_on_rails @happydisciple @swaldman @patrick @jon to try and convince us they aren't running an extortion racket.
@jon @happydisciple It does show how incredibly efficient (and thus cheap) train as a mode of transport is/can be.