Commuting WTF Thread
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So there are two main sections in long distance trains that run during the day. The seats in one section are booked in advance and there is one section where the train cars have no prior bookings and anyone can sit anywhere after buying a ticket just before boarding the train. The latter section is usually overflowing like the ones in the picture ( In this case few train cars those belong to the section with no prior bookings)
On one unfortunate day a bunch of us had to get into a crowded train like this. We had prior bookings but we were late for some reason and had to just jump in some random car. It was filled with people all tightly pressed against each other without even an inch of wiggle room. I looked at my friend and said "No matter what we are are getting down at the next station, move to the booked traincar, and not stand in this free-for-all section". He laughed for a good 2 minutes before he went "This is the section we booked for yesterday asshole, live with it"
Never used the fucking train again.
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So there are two main sections in long distance trains that run during the day. The seats in one section are booked in advance and there is one section where the train cars have no prior bookings and anyone can sit anywhere after buying a ticket just before boarding the train. The latter section is usually overflowing like the ones in the picture ( In this case few train cars those belong to the section with no prior bookings)
On one unfortunate day a bunch of us had to get into a crowded train like this. We had prior bookings but we were late for some reason and had to just jump in some random car. It was filled with people all tightly pressed against each other without even an inch of wiggle room. I looked at my friend and said "No matter what we are are getting down at the next station, move to the booked traincar, and not stand in this free-for-all section". He laughed for a good 2 minutes before he went "This is the section we booked for yesterday asshole, live with it"
Never used the fucking train again.
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I hope this is obvious but if it is not, people in these overcrowded train pictures genuinely do not care about their lives. They think themselves very daredevil to the point of being extremely careless about their lives like it just blows your mind how much these people don't care.
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@stillwater said in Commuting WTF Thread:
This is the section we booked for yesterday asshole, live with it
There's one thing your train company still did better than ours, then: The car with your seat in it actually existed. Here, they frequently decide to travel with less cars than originally planned and of course they're always the cars with the reservations. The price of a reservation is also conveniently lower than the minimum amount you need be owed to get a refund.
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@dfdub said in Commuting WTF Thread:
@stillwater said in Commuting WTF Thread:
This is the section we booked for yesterday asshole, live with it
There's one thing your train company still did better than ours, then: The car with your seat in it actually existed. Here, they frequently decide to travel with less cars than originally planned and of course they're always the cars with the reservations. The price of a reservation is also conveniently lower than the minimum amount you need be owed to get a refund.
If there are cars missing and you wanna travel instead of getting a refund what do you do?
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@dfdub I mean, is it really trolling when these pictures are actually taken in India?
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@stillwater said in Commuting WTF Thread:
@dfdub said in Commuting WTF Thread:
@stillwater said in Commuting WTF Thread:
This is the section we booked for yesterday asshole, live with it
There's one thing your train company still did better than ours, then: The car with your seat in it actually existed. Here, they frequently decide to travel with less cars than originally planned and of course they're always the cars with the reservations. The price of a reservation is also conveniently lower than the minimum amount you need be owed to get a refund.
If there are cars missing and you wanna travel instead of getting a refund what do you do?
Well, unless there's a huge delay, you cannot get a refund for the whole ticket because your car is missing anyway. You'll have to try and find another seat (unlikely) or stand the whole time.
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@dfdub said in Commuting WTF Thread:
I was expecting to see a donkey cart, TBH.
That used to be the Middle East or Afghanistan stereotype IIRC.
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@dfdub Hahahahaha so you book a ticket in a car which you are not certain will actually show up. You must be a very brave person if you can live with that much uncertainty.
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@stillwater said in Commuting WTF Thread:
@dfdub said in Commuting WTF Thread:
I was expecting to see a donkey cart, TBH.
That used to be the Middle East or Afghanistan stereotype IIRC.
I guess I failed stereotypes 101. That's probably a good thing.
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@stillwater said in Commuting WTF Thread:
If there are cars missing and you wanna travel instead of getting a refund what do you do?
Climb on the roof
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@stillwater said in Commuting WTF Thread:
@dfdub Hahahahaha so you book a ticket in a car which you are not certain will actually show up. You must be a very brave person if you can live with that much uncertainty.
Exactly. And, as mentioned above, the train may not show up, either. At least you get money in that case, though.
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@dfdub said in Commuting WTF Thread:
@stillwater said in Commuting WTF Thread:
@dfdub Hahahahaha so you book a ticket in a car which you are not certain will actually show up. You must be a very brave person if you can live with that much uncertainty.
Exactly. And, as mentioned above, the train may not show up, either. At least you get money in that case, though.
I sound like a whiny bitch compared to your problems. You book tickets for a train you are not sure won't show up. I am speechless. Fuck the refund what about getting from point A to point B. What country is this?
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@stillwater said in Commuting WTF Thread:
What country is this?
I still want to see if someone manages to recognize it from my description. ;) Let's just say that it's a first-world country - at least supposedly.
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@dfdub said in Commuting WTF Thread:
@stillwater said in Commuting WTF Thread:
What country is this?
I still want to see if someone manages to recognize it from my description. ;) Let's just say that it's a first-world country - at least supposedly.
I'm guessing somewhere in Europe. Let's see if someone gets more specific.
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@stillwater @dfdub In my experience in (western) Europe, the currency thing doesn't apply. They're quite happy to accept different currencies at exorbitant rates.
This is important to remember in circumstances like having to refuel the car in Switzerland - they'll accept euros. You should not pay in euros. You should pay in Swiss francs. If you're paying with a debit card, it will prompt the payment currency. Select Swiss francs - your banks conversion rates will almost certainly be lower than those offered by the payment provider.
Also the high-speed trains (ICE, thalys, etc) will not switch crews at the border.
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@pleegwat said in Commuting WTF Thread:
@stillwater @dfdub In my experience in (western) Europe, the currency thing doesn't apply. They're quite happy to accept different currencies at exorbitant rates.
True in general, but not inside trains operated by the company I'm complaining about. Even though the train crosses the border into a € country and is operated by a train company from that country. Yes, it makes zero sense.
Also the high-speed trains (ICE, thalys, etc) will not switch crews at the border.
I wish you were right, but in this case you're not.
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@dfdub My direct experience is only with British pounds and Swiss francs. Other local countries use the euro. The lack of 2 hours of customs in your complaint does suggest this is a Schengen area travel.
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@dfdub said in Commuting WTF Thread:
The price of a reservation is also conveniently lower than the minimum amount you need be owed to get a refund.
Small correction: This is no longer true since the last price increase for reservations. TIL. (I thought the minimum amount was 1€ higher than it actually is.)
If I had found out earlier, I could have afforded two additional restaurant meals last year.
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@stillwater In the US the trains show up, have seats, and are reasonably reliable. But everybody flies because they're slow as fuck. (The exception being short commuter rail lines. Those are usually well-used.) Unless you're broke, then you take the Greyhound which is cheaper than the train and the plane. (And, naturally, also takes forever.)
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@stillwater double post alert
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Having lived in London, which pretty much has a system of tap-in/tap-out ticketing I'd have to say transport anywhere else looks confusing. You buy a ticket, but it's not the right ticket because it's not your native language and apparently holiday language skills don't extend to bus tickets, and also how is it not easier to get a bus ticket away from the airport without wasting £20 on the wrong ticket and missing the last bus anyway. Fortunately I managed to get a taxi with a nice portuguese guy.
@atazhaia said in Commuting WTF Thread:
Trying to carry oversized luggage onto the bus.
Mostly this doesn't bother me much because unless I'm also carrying oversized luggage I can be practically a gymnast for short journeys. You're welcome to the mental image.
However I'm usually carrying something, which means I can't simply slip between people like something out of a terminator sequel. This particular I occasionally see exacerbated when the amount of time required to get off the train (everything being slowed down by luggage/pushchairs/oversized novelty trombones/etc) is larger than the amount of time given to us by the train driver, who proceeds to shut the doors without warning while people are still trying to get off.
Speaking of people being in the way, I felt like I hit a kind of minor paragon event recently when I was behind two (yes two) slow people who both reached the only two available ticket gates, stopped, reached into their bags, rummaged around, and pulled out their oyster cards. They could have stood to one side while they got their shit together. They could have got their shit together while walking up to the gate. Somehow not only were two people pulling this shit, they were doing so at exactly the same time, blocking the only two exits.
@luhmann said in Commuting WTF Thread:
Hammer Time!
I feel like this should be more of a Mallet Time.
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@shoreline said in Commuting WTF Thread:
Having lived in London, which pretty much has a system of tap-in/tap-out ticketing
It works that way in the Snohomish, King, Pierce county areas of Washington State. (Aka, Seattle, Bellevue, Redmond, Tacoma, Everett.)
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"Attention passengers, this train will be standing by due to an unauthorized person on the track ahead of us."
PRO TIP: Watch out for the third rail!
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@dkf said in Commuting WTF Thread:
Let's see if those shit-kickers fuck it up in the evening or if we'll manage two-for-two…
Well fuck me sideways, travel worked as it was supposed to both ways today. That makes this week automatically better than last, even if the rest of the week is terrible.
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@pleegwat said in Commuting WTF Thread:
The lack of 2 hours of customs in your complaint does suggest this is a Schengen area travel.
Yup. Thank $deity.
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@dfdub said in Commuting WTF Thread:
@dragnslcr said in Commuting WTF Thread:
PRO TIP: Watch out for the third rail!
?
Only for very specific fetishes.
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@dragnslcr said in Commuting WTF Thread:
Only for very specific fetishes.
I honestly had no idea what you meant. Now, after looking it up, I retract my question. Keep that thing far away from me, please!
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Is there a similar thread but for driving? So much nonsense happens on that front.
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@dfdub I looked it up, and I can't figure out where the is.
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@pie_flavor said in Commuting WTF Thread:
@dfdub I looked it up, and I can't figure out where the is.
Me neither. Run of the mill dick joke?
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@stillwater said in Commuting WTF Thread:
@jaloopa said in Commuting WTF Thread:
Thread looks half necroed.
Only half? It's right in the title.
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In the trams, buses, and the metro, there is a voice announcing the current and next stop.
On Friday it's Children's Day so this week the messages have been replaced by children reading the names of the stops/stations.
Sadly, they seem to have either chosen children who don't speak Polish, kids who live in a completely different city and have never previously seen the places they're delineating, or kids from the middle of nowhere who've never seen a street sign.
It makes the already hard job of understanding vowel-less 30-letter-long street names even harder.
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I'm still waiting for someone to tell what's the appropriate response to a kid in the backseat kicking your seat for the entire ride ( > 7 hrs). Do you whack the kid or the parent or try to pass out to escape hell?
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@stillwater said in Commuting WTF Thread:
Do you whack the kid or the parent
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@stillwater said in Commuting WTF Thread:
I'm still waiting for someone to tell what's the appropriate response to a kid in the backseat kicking your seat for the entire ride ( > 7 hrs). Do you whack the kid or the parent or try to pass out to escape hell?
The correct response, I believe, is to loudly ask them why they had to reproduce. This is usually followed by the whole train clapping. Or at least that's what reddit told me…
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@dfdub And then you wake up from your dream (because of said kid kicking your seat), and cower back in your seat grumpily while dreaming again of actually having the courage to speak up.
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@coldandtired That reminds me of when I was living in south Sweden, and insted of getting someone speaking plain Swedish they had got someone with a heavy local dialect to do the voice. Not helped by the low-quality bus speakers either. Made me wonder how the hell it helped the visually impaired if they'd not be able to hear the names of the stops clearly. The worst I heard was "Transformatorvägen" which just ended up a garbled mess.
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@atazhaia said in Commuting WTF Thread:
"Transformatorvägen"
does it transform into a highway at some point?
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@timebandit Not quite that kind of transformer, and normal residental street is a bit far from even getting close to a highway...
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@remi Every once in a while, I actually speak up when people blatantly ignore the "no cellphone" signs in the quiet cars. Most of the time, they actually apologize and respect them afterwards.
I've still mostly given up (just like most of my fellow commuters), it's just too exhausting to do that every time. I now own noise-cancelling headphones. Some people are loud enough that I still hear them, but at least I can actually rest now.
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@stillwater said in Commuting WTF Thread:
I'm still waiting for someone to tell what's the appropriate response to a kid in the backseat kicking your seat for the entire ride ( > 7 hrs). Do you whack the kid or the parent or try to pass out to escape hell?
Give the parent your best and most authentic crazy-person stare, one of those really uncomfortably long ones that meth heads do, during which you let your gaze flit once or twice to the kid, and then just matter of factly state that the kid looks like he's tasty. :P
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@coldandtired Hungary does the same. As a foreigner living there, I despise it.
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@dfdub I can remember at least one occasion where I snapped. The train car I was in was full of high-school students (going on a foreign exchange trip, probably), screaming and running around like pre-schoolers, and the teachers were just sat in a corner. I needed to use that trip to read some legal documents, so I really needed to focus. After a couple of mild remarks to those around me (with no effect), I got up and bellowed at the full train car to shut the fuck up (using about these words, and a few more). After that the teachers did maintain a minimum of calm.
But most of the time, yeah, it's too exhausting to fight it every single time...
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@remi said in Commuting WTF Thread:
I got up and bellowed at the full train car to shut the fuck up
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@remi said in Commuting WTF Thread:
I got up and bellowed at the full train car to shut the fuck up
Can I borrow you for a few weeks?
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@dfdub said in Commuting WTF Thread:
@remi said in Commuting WTF Thread:
I got up and bellowed at the full train car to shut the fuck up
Can I borrow you for a few weeks?