In article ,
Roland Perry wrote:
The fact that they're suddenly providing all these new discounted options
proves that HEx lacks your deep insights into airport express services.

On the contrary, news of these price cuts are unlikely to make their way
through to their main target market, ...

Despite what that article said, HeX has been offering restricted
discount tickets for years. In 2015 I paid £16.10 for a ticket and
last year £14.30. I believe there were some exotic under £10 tix last
year if you knew 90 days ahead that you'd be travelling on a Sunday.

Seems to me that a sensible person books his train tix when he books
his flights, which for vacations and conferences can often be months
ahead. That's what I do and is how I got those (sort of) low fares.

It also seems to me that when Crossrail is running through trains, the
HeX time advantage will be a lost for many places Crossrail goes
beyond Paddington. It's not just the fares.

Perhaps we could have volunteer anti-touts saying "don't buy those silly
express tickets, just tap your credit card and take the cheap train."

--
Regards,
John Levine, , Primary Perpetrator of "The Internet for Dummies",
Please consider the environment before reading this e-mail. https://jl.ly

In message , at 22:52:34 on Sun, 3 Nov 2019,
John Levine remarked:
In article ,
Roland Perry wrote:
The fact that they're suddenly providing all these new discounted options
proves that HEx lacks your deep insights into airport express services.

On the contrary, news of these price cuts are unlikely to make their way
through to their main target market, ...

Despite what that article said, HeX has been offering restricted
discount tickets for years. In 2015 I paid £16.10 for a ticket and
last year £14.30. I believe there were some exotic under £10 tix last
year if you knew 90 days ahead that you'd be travelling on a Sunday.

Seems to me that a sensible person books his train tix when he books
his flights, which for vacations and conferences can often be months
ahead. That's what I do and is how I got those (sort of) low fares.

I don't think you are a very typical traveller. Most are very
unadventurous when it comes to foreign countries, and hence the race for
taxis (and HEx's mission to replace taxis).

I wouldn't expect to be able to understand how to pick up pre-booked
train tickets at a random overseas airport, and there's a limit to how
much we can say "trust us, it's easy in the UK".

As a result, and even as a more adventurous traveller (colleagues were
amazed I dared get a bus from Geneva to the airport, and didn't even
consider rail) I think I've only once got a train on first arrival at a
suitably equipped overseas airport.

That was Brisbane, which has the advantage of speaking (approx) English,
and I was going somewhere an hour away which happened to be on the same
line, rather than just the city centre.

Of course, having worked things out, I have a few times taken a train
*back* to the airport, or used one on a second or subsequent visit. I
was a bit put off by the difficulty of collecting a pre-bought TGV
ticket in Paris, though.

It also seems to me that when Crossrail is running through trains, the
HeX time advantage will be a lost for many places Crossrail goes
beyond Paddington. It's not just the fares.

How many of the Crossrail stations will have taxi ranks? I presume
they'll at least all have lifts to avoid having to haul baggage up
escalators.

Perhaps we could have volunteer anti-touts saying "don't buy those silly
express tickets, just tap your credit card and take the cheap train."

Or if it's a family holiday "find 4 credit cards between you, to tap".

And how widespread is contactless outside the UK? The USA is catching up
rapidly, but is probably still in single figure percentages.
--
Roland Perry

In article ,
Roland Perry wrote:
I don't think you are a very typical traveller. Most are very
unadventurous when it comes to foreign countries, and hence the race for
taxis (and HEx's mission to replace taxis).

Depends who the travellers are. I'm currently at an ICANN meeting (I know
you know who they are) whose travel department's phobia of public transport
that is not an airplane is just comic. But I don't think it's universal.

As a result, and even as a more adventurous traveller (colleagues were
amazed I dared get a bus from Geneva to the airport, and didn't even
consider rail) I think I've only once got a train on first arrival at a
suitably equipped overseas airport.

Huh, I do it all the time. I can think of Frankfurt, Paris CDG,
Munich, Barcelona, Narita, Haneda, Seoul (now permanently bustituted),
Hong Kong, and Singapore. And Gatwick and Prestwick, since I live in
the US.

I was a bit put off by the difficulty of collecting a pre-bought TGV
ticket in Paris, though.

Gee, it's easy to put your SNCF ticket on your smartphone. (Yes, I
know.)

It also seems to me that when Crossrail is running through trains, the
HeX time advantage will be a lost for many places Crossrail goes
beyond Paddington. It's not just the fares.

How many of the Crossrail stations will have taxi ranks?

I dunno. I was thinking that a lot of them will be within walking
distance of where one wants to go.

And how widespread is contactless outside the UK? The USA is catching up
rapidly, but is probably still in single figure percentages.

In the US and Canada I see lots of contactless cards, now that it's a
standard feature of new point-of-sale terminals.

--
Regards,
John Levine, , Primary Perpetrator of "The Internet for Dummies",
Please consider the environment before reading this e-mail. https://jl.ly

In message , at 22:54:23 on Wed, 6 Nov 2019,
John Levine remarked:
In article ,
Roland Perry wrote:
I don't think you are a very typical traveller. Most are very
unadventurous when it comes to foreign countries, and hence the race for
taxis (and HEx's mission to replace taxis).

Depends who the travellers are. I'm currently at an ICANN meeting (I know
you know who they are)

I'm vaguely following the proceedings from Montreal on social media.

whose travel department's phobia of public transport

I've been to about a dozen, even by train for Paris, Brussels and London
(although the latter is hardly surprising as there are no flights from
Cambridge to London). But never had any involvement from their travel
department.

Because it was my third or fourth trip to the City, I used public
transport to get to get from the airport to their meeting in Prague. I
know the RIR policy would be "you must be mad - we'll order you a limo".

that is not an airplane is just comic. But I don't think it's universal.

The RIRs are almost as bad!

As a result, and even as a more adventurous traveller (colleagues were
amazed I dared get a bus from Geneva to the airport, and didn't even
consider rail) I think I've only once got a train on first arrival at a
suitably equipped overseas airport.

Huh, I do it all the time.

Every *first* time you visit these places?

I can think of Frankfurt, Paris CDG, Munich, Barcelona, Narita, Haneda,
Seoul (now permanently bustituted), Hong Kong, and Singapore. And
Gatwick and Prestwick, since I live in the US.

You are much more travelled than average. And quite likely visit them
more than once, so you have a chance to come to grips with the local
peculiarities. For example, I've been to Seoul twice now, and the second
time I took an express coach back to the airport. The railway line
stopped short.

I was a bit put off by the difficulty of collecting a pre-bought TGV
ticket in Paris, though.

Gee, it's easy to put your SNCF ticket on your smartphone. (Yes, I
know.)

My experience with using foreign transport apps (and I *have* tried) is
that between them either not apparently working at all, and the steep
learning curve, if you are visiting for the first time it's easier to
just buy a paper ticket when you get there.

The HEx app scores an impressive 1.8 stars (almost all the scores are 1
- "terrible").

It also seems to me that when Crossrail is running through trains, the
HeX time advantage will be a lost for many places Crossrail goes
beyond Paddington. It's not just the fares.

How many of the Crossrail stations will have taxi ranks?

I dunno. I was thinking that a lot of them will be within walking
distance of where one wants to go.

The kind of airline passenger who would normally have got a taxi
door-to-door previously, but decides to give HEx a try instead, isn't
likely to be wanting to be wandering round London on foot in all
weathers with with their baggage trying to find heir hotel.

And how widespread is contactless outside the UK? The USA is catching up
rapidly, but is probably still in single figure percentages.

In the US and Canada I see lots of contactless cards, now that it's a
standard feature of new point-of-sale terminals.

There's a lot more issued so far in Canada than USA, apparently.
--
Roland Perry

"Roland Perry" wrote in message
...
In message , at 22:54:23 on Wed, 6 Nov 2019,
John Levine remarked:
In article ,
Roland Perry wrote:
I don't think you are a very typical traveller. Most are very
unadventurous when it comes to foreign countries, and hence the race for
taxis (and HEx's mission to replace taxis).

Depends who the travellers are. I'm currently at an ICANN meeting (I know
you know who they are)

I'm vaguely following the proceedings from Montreal on social media.

whose travel department's phobia of public transport

I've been to about a dozen, even by train for Paris, Brussels and London
(although the latter is hardly surprising as there are no flights from
Cambridge to London). But never had any involvement from their travel
department.

Because it was my third or fourth trip to the City, I used public
transport to get to get from the airport to their meeting in Prague. I
know the RIR policy would be "you must be mad - we'll order you a limo".

ISTR Prague Airport being a pretty awkward PT transfer even for the intrepid
traveller

tim





that is not an airplane is just comic. But I don't think it's universal.

The RIRs are almost as bad!

As a result, and even as a more adventurous traveller (colleagues were
amazed I dared get a bus from Geneva to the airport, and didn't even
consider rail) I think I've only once got a train on first arrival at a
suitably equipped overseas airport.

Huh, I do it all the time.

Every *first* time you visit these places?

I can think of Frankfurt, Paris CDG, Munich, Barcelona, Narita, Haneda,
Seoul (now permanently bustituted), Hong Kong, and Singapore. And Gatwick
and Prestwick, since I live in the US.

You are much more travelled than average. And quite likely visit them more
than once, so you have a chance to come to grips with the local
peculiarities. For example, I've been to Seoul twice now, and the second
time I took an express coach back to the airport. The railway line stopped
short.

I was a bit put off by the difficulty of collecting a pre-bought TGV
ticket in Paris, though.

Gee, it's easy to put your SNCF ticket on your smartphone. (Yes, I
know.)

My experience with using foreign transport apps (and I *have* tried) is
that between them either not apparently working at all, and the steep
learning curve, if you are visiting for the first time it's easier to just
buy a paper ticket when you get there.

The HEx app scores an impressive 1.8 stars (almost all the scores are 1 -
"terrible").

It also seems to me that when Crossrail is running through trains, the
HeX time advantage will be a lost for many places Crossrail goes
beyond Paddington. It's not just the fares.

How many of the Crossrail stations will have taxi ranks?

I dunno. I was thinking that a lot of them will be within walking
distance of where one wants to go.

The kind of airline passenger who would normally have got a taxi
door-to-door previously, but decides to give HEx a try instead, isn't
likely to be wanting to be wandering round London on foot in all weathers
with with their baggage trying to find heir hotel.

And how widespread is contactless outside the UK? The USA is catching up
rapidly, but is probably still in single figure percentages.

In the US and Canada I see lots of contactless cards, now that it's a
standard feature of new point-of-sale terminals.

There's a lot more issued so far in Canada than USA, apparently.
--
Roland Perry

In article ,
tim... wrote:
I've been to about a dozen, even by train for Paris, Brussels and London
(although the latter is hardly surprising as there are no flights from
Cambridge to London). But never had any involvement from their travel
department.

Because it was my third or fourth trip to the City, I used public
transport to get to get from the airport to their meeting in Prague. I
know the RIR policy would be "you must be mad - we'll order you a limo".

ISTR Prague Airport being a pretty awkward PT transfer even for the intrepid
traveller

Naah. There's an express bus to the central train station, and city buses
to the various metro lines depending on where you're going.

--
Regards,
John Levine, , Primary Perpetrator of "The Internet for Dummies",
Please consider the environment before reading this e-mail. https://jl.ly

"John Levine" wrote in message
...
In article ,
tim... wrote:
I've been to about a dozen, even by train for Paris, Brussels and London
(although the latter is hardly surprising as there are no flights from
Cambridge to London). But never had any involvement from their travel
department.

Because it was my third or fourth trip to the City, I used public
transport to get to get from the airport to their meeting in Prague. I
know the RIR policy would be "you must be mad - we'll order you a limo".

ISTR Prague Airport being a pretty awkward PT transfer even for the
intrepid
traveller

Naah. There's an express bus to the central train station,

yes

and city buses
to the various metro lines depending on where you're going.

hardly easy though, is it?

tim


--
Regards,
John Levine, , Primary Perpetrator of "The Internet for
Dummies",
Please consider the environment before reading this e-mail. https://jl.ly

In message , at 17:38:20 on Thu, 28 Nov
2019, tim... remarked:

Because it was my third or fourth trip to the City, I used public
transport to get to get from the airport to their meeting in Prague. I
know the RIR policy would be "you must be mad - we'll order you a limo".

ISTR Prague Airport being a pretty awkward PT transfer even for the
intrepid traveller

I don't think the metro to the airport has happened yet. One of the
issues with the shuttle bus to the metro railhead was the difficulty of
understanding whether that bus needed a ticket, and where you should pay
for it.
--
Roland Perry

On 28/11/2019 17:38, tim... wrote:


"Roland Perry" wrote in message
...
In message , at 22:54:23 on Wed, 6 Nov
2019, John Levine remarked:
In article ,
Roland PerryÂ* wrote:
I don't think you are a very typical traveller. Most are very
unadventurous when it comes to foreign countries, and hence the race
for
taxis (and HEx's mission to replace taxis).

Depends who the travellers are.Â* I'm currently at an ICANN meeting (I
know
you know who they are)

I'm vaguely following the proceedings from Montreal on social media.

whose travel department's phobia of public transport

I've been to about a dozen, even by train for Paris, Brussels and
London (although the latter is hardly surprising as there are no
flights from Cambridge to London). But never had any involvement from
their travel department.

Because it was my third or fourth trip to the City, I used public
transport to get to get from the airport to their meeting in Prague. I
know the RIR policy would be "you must be mad - we'll order you a limo".

ISTR Prague Airport being a pretty awkward PT transfer even for the
intrepid traveller


Relatively simple, bus to the nearest Metro station and you are away.
Clearly marked from the terminal. I gather the Metro will eventually get
to the airport.


--
Graeme Wall
This account not read.

In article , Roland Perry
writes
As a result, and even as a more adventurous traveller (colleagues were
amazed I dared get a bus from Geneva to the airport, and didn't even
consider rail) I think I've only once got a train on first arrival at a
suitably equipped overseas airport.

Working backwards through my travel log.

Vienna: caught the CAT train then the U-bahn to the hotel. No problem.
Possibly CAT is overpriced but it went to the right place and I could
buy a ticket right in the terminal.

Seoul: first trip I used the express bus that stopped outside the
company hotel rather than two or three (long) metro trips and then a 2
km taxi in a country where I can't even read the signs. Second trip,
just used the metro to the (different) hotel; both cheaper and faster
than the express bus.

Seattle: wasn't going anywhere on the tram, so rented a car (perhaps I
should have tried Uber, but I never have so far). In the past I've used
the tram. I forget what I did before there were trams.

Minneapolis St.Paul: wasn't staying near the metro, such as it is, and
wasn't staying close enough to the meeting place to walk, so rented a
car.

Perth: got picked up by relatives this time. Last time, rented a car
because I was going several hundred km. When I returned the car I took
bus+metro to my hotel. (I eventually left Perth by train.)

Sydney: train. Opal card. Trivial.

Cairns: no metro, rented a car. But did catch the train once.

Copenhagen: metro or train every time (including to Aalborg, Lund, and
Goteborg).

Atlanta: MARTA works fine. What's the problem?

Singapo metro, of course.

Madrid: metro.

AYQ: got the dedicated bus service.

Melbourne: bus to central area, then tram to hotel. Trams and local
trains thereafter (left Melbourne on a coach trip).

Hobart: rented a car because going to catch the Ida Bay railway then
drive to Launceston.

Cagliari: rented a car because was going all over the place. But did
ride the entire tram network while I was there.

Aalborg: no trams to hotel, so used a taxi.

San Francisco: always been going somewhere that needs a car, though I
have used the San Jose trams (and once acted as conductor on one).

Billund: no public transport and needed to get to Aalborg.

Hong Kong: metro and tram. Octopus card. Simples.

Amsterdam: train and tram.

Montreal: from memory, express bus to the city (Dorval train wasn't
workable) but metro in the city.

Calgary: rented a car because had to drive half way to Banff.

ACE: rented a car because going all over the place.

DFW: rented a car because it's nowhere near D or FW with no public
transport I can find.

Stockholm: train and metro.

That's 7 years; I think I'll stop there.

--
Clive D.W. Feather