Let’s talk about transportation in Germany

I have been in Germany for a long time, and I have discovered that the traffic in Germany is somewhat different from that in China. I will tell you about it and discuss it with everyone.

Let’s talk about buses first.

Every time I take a bus in Berlin, I sincerely admire the design of their buses.

German buses are very user-friendly in design.

Passengers generally get on the bus from the front door and need to show their valid tickets to the driver or purchase tickets on the spot. Generally speaking, most passengers have bought monthly or half-year tickets. Students have student cards. Students have purchased semester tickets when registering and only need to show them when taking the bus.

There are relatively few passengers buying tickets on the spot, so on German buses, the driver is the conductor, and the conductor is the driver. It is completely handled by one person, which saves manpower and is more efficient.

Of course, judging from the actual situation in China, this does not work. On the one hand, the domestic ticketing mechanism is not so sound. You have to buy which ticket for which train you get on. There are so many people. If the driver sells tickets, , then you don’t have to worry about driving. On the other hand, having conductors on buses can create a lot of job opportunities. Otherwise, I don’t know how many people would be laid off.

Just now I said that ordinary passengers get on the bus from the front door, and some carry children, push strollers, and carry luggage. People with physical disabilities can get on the bus from the middle door. At this time, the German's humanized design comes into play. After the car is parked, it feels like a certain amount of gas support has been released. The car sinks a little, and at the same time, the car body tilts toward the roadside, so that the height of the door is almost the same as the roadside. The side walkways are of the same height, making it easier for these passengers to get on and off.

There is also a closed board on the ground at the middle door. If a disabled passenger's wheelchair cannot get in, this board can be opened and extended to the ground. This will make the slope very small, and the disabled passenger can completely Get on the bus in a wheelchair by yourself.

There is no seat in the middle door. It is a place specially designed for passengers to park wheelchairs or strollers. It also has relatively low handrails, which can be easily grasped by these passengers and is safer.

The name of each station will be displayed on the display screen in front of the car, and there will also be a voice announcement, which will be more clear to passengers.

There is another device on European buses that is not available in China. There is a red or green button on each handrail in the bus. When arriving at the stop, passengers who need to get off can press it. By pressing the button, the driver will know that someone needs to get off at this station. Otherwise, if there is no one at the station, the bus will not stop and continue driving. The button on the handrail for disabled people in the middle door is designed to be relatively low to facilitate the use of disabled passengers.

I have the impression that on buses in Shanghai, the conductor aunties shout at the top of their lungs "Someone is getting off the bus" at every stop. After receiving a positive or negative answer, they have to ask the driver It takes a lot of energy to shout "you" or "mo". It is estimated that foreign friends or foreign friends who are new to Shanghai will not understand it. They must have sat and stood before.

Germany’s rail transportation is relatively complete, including the subway (U-Bahn), urban light rail (S-Bahn), and various train lines, ICE, IC, RE, etc., which are based on the train Driving speed.

Except for some cities in the east, most cities in Germany have subways. And it is very convenient to transfer to various transportation stations. In Germany's rail transportation, including trains, there are no ticket inspectors outside, and there are no obstacles. You can enter and exit the station and get on and off at will.

Only on the train, there are occasionally ticket inspectors checking tickets. Most people will consciously buy tickets. If they are found not to have bought a ticket, the German railway department now stipulates that a one-time fine of 40 euros will be imposed.

When we were in the Ruhr area, the cities were relatively compact. It only took ten or twenty minutes to get from one city to the adjacent city. Since most German city train stations are near the city center, it was very convenient. Many students live in Essen or Dortmund and come to Bochum to take classes.

Berlin has 9 subways, 15 light rails, and 28 trams. The criss-crossing rail transportation shrinks the vast area of ??Berlin into a small one, making travel very convenient.

And basically every station is a intersection of several rail transit lines. Without leaving the station, just go up and down a few steps, or walk two steps next to it, and you will reach another rail line. It is very convenient to transfer.

Compared with Shanghai, it is indeed much more convenient to transfer from Line 1 to Line 2 at People's Square, which is a walking distance that even elderly people with poor health cannot maintain.

When I say this, I want to introduce German transportation while also hoping that our country can see the gap, learn from each other's strengths, and do better in terms of humanization of transportation facilities and convenience of transportation routes. Be truly people-oriented.