Longer travel time due to construction sites: CFF compensation is in crisis – economy



[ad_1]

What is a common evil for motorists in the summer, rail users have to endure this year: construction sites. Thirty are in number, three of them are major worksites. In northwestern Switzerland, for example, the connections between Basel and Zurich as well as between Basel and Berne are respected, the Gelterkinden-Tecknau section being used only on one lane. In addition, there is major work ahead of St. Gallen and the total closure of a section between Lausanne and Bern.

There is particular discontent that only Romandie clients are compensated for the inconvenience. On the other hand, travelers in German-speaking Switzerland look empty-handed. This repeatedly causes criticism, as shown by the example of a working mother. She commutes between Zurich and Basel and, due to train cancellations and "massively long travel time", reaches her limits, she writes on SBB's Facebook page. "I think it's really good to offer compensation to commuters between Lausanne and Bern." But what about all those commuting between the two German-Swiss cities? " She asks: Two months – six weeks are effective – are incredibly long in this case. "No offense. But at GA prices I would really expect something different. "

The Pro Bahn Association asks SBB to widen the circle of compensated." Finally, the restrictions on rail customers are important.In addition to the three major yards, other regions are also affected. President Karin Blättler said that all affected passengers should be easily compensated, the best solution would be a general reduction of rail fares by a few percent on all fares, as long as the construction sites stop the customers at large. scale.

The application is little used

The compensation in Romandie is 100 francs .. also under fire.Previous is a special application of CFF.The reason: the persons concerned must be able to prove that they must take at least 20 minutes more for ten days.This is registered by the application.This only works on the latest generation The application does not work for some smartphones based on the Android operating system.

SBB presented their first figures on the use of the application yesterday at a press conference. About 1,500 people signed up for compensation. This concerns the 13,000 travelers who travel daily between Lausanne and Berne. It is amazing that these 1,500 people recorded only 2,500 trips. It's on average less than two trips per person. After all, the first customers had reached the ten days given, which he needs for compensation.

The figures allow to conclude that although some customers have registered on the application, but record almost no trip. Faced with this, a CFF spokesman merely says: "We assume that the application will be used differently". Meanwhile, Karin Blättler of Pro Bahn speaks of a meager record. It shows that the solution adopted by the SBB is too complicated and too expensive.

CFF leaders yesterday opposed the criticism. "I want to point out that it's a pilot project," said Linus Looser, head of passenger traffic management. And like that, it must also be evaluated. It still does not work perfectly, so improvements will be made continuously. If a track is not properly recorded, SBB showed a good attitude, continued Looser. With "unique innovation" in Europe, they wanted to test whether it would be possible in the future to manage other compensation measures via the application. The Romandie has chosen SBB because the impact on customers is the largest. In addition, the route file is technically demanding, so the pilot project was regionally limited, Looser said.

It was still too early to say whether the chosen form of compensation would prevail. In the era of smartphones, it was a way to check.

Positive Conclusion

Overall, SBB draws a positive conclusion, with respect to the previous experience with the summer schedule. The operation is largely problem-free and stable, said Looser. Punctuality also moves to the usual level. The number of passengers was decreasing as expected, as it was assumed in the planning that many customers would be on vacation during this period. As a result, the available places are sufficient. Even the number of customer responses is in line with expectations.

What are your experiences with the summer schedule? Write to us your experiences and impressions on:

[email protected]

[ad_2]
Source link