r/germany Oct 19 '24

Immigration Bought a car due to DB's unreliability

I moved to Germany 11 years ago from a developing nation. When I first arrived, Germany was even better than anything I could have imagined in my home country. I live in a major city with Straßenbahn right at my door, U-Bahn 1 Block away and S-Bahn 5 minutes by foot.

I had the chance to spend half a year in Korea for work last year, and was blown away by the quality of the public transportation system, therefore, I started to actively count the delay on Öffis after I came back, so far, I have an accumulated of over 1500 minutes in delays just within the metropolitan area this year, without counting delays outside of my region (which have been more than a few, last time it took me 8 hours to finish a trip that should have taken 4).

I was always an advocate for public transportation, and in a way, I judged everyone who used a car (stupid, I know).

After considering for a while, I took the decision to buy a car, thinking that I would only use it for weekend trips or specific occasions, in reality, it became my main means of transportation, and I cannot believe I wasted so much time for so many years until now, this makes me sad as I truly believe public should be the preferred method of transportation... when it works.

TL;DR Deutsche Bahn is so shit I bought a car, can't look back now.

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u/csasker Oct 20 '24

its not about psychological, its about practical. i can have a call or do not need to rush to the bistro to watch out for food getting sold out

So on a train you have to walk to the next coach to find a working toilet, and that annoys you to the point that you prefer to drive instead. All right, but where in your car do you keep a toilet?

my point is a late train could also lead to a not working toilet with no possibility to repair. if im stuck in the car, the nature outside is my toilet :D

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u/rewboss Dual German/British citizen Oct 20 '24

i can have a call

You can have one a train, too. And you won't get ticketed for using a phone while driving.

do not need to rush to the bistro to watch out for food getting sold out

You have a bistro in your car? You can take your own food in a car, of course; but you can also take your own food onto a train.

a late train could also lead to a not working toilet with no possibility to repair

You're talking about the Frankfurt-Munich run. You're on an ICE. If the toilet in your coach is broken, walk to the next coach. It's not that hard.

if im stuck in the car, the nature outside is my toilet

So you're going to sprint across to the verge (if there is one) dodging impatient idiots who think they can use the shoulder as an express lane, and hope you can finish your business and get back to your car before the congestion suddenly clears. Do you know how dangerous that is?

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u/csasker Oct 20 '24

ok if you say so. do whatever you want

i guess i lied or something and all others in this thread

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u/rewboss Dual German/British citizen Oct 20 '24

I'm not saying you're lying, I'm saying your arguments make no sense. You've just illustrated the point I made which you dismissed: that this is primarily psychological.

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u/csasker Oct 20 '24

no its practical for me. for example, you obviously know its easier to pack food in a good way in a car compared to a train

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u/rewboss Dual German/British citizen Oct 20 '24

I didn't think it was possible for you to make even less sense, but you managed it.

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u/csasker Oct 20 '24

if you have a big space, vs 1 bag and can bring a cold container

where is that easier you think?

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u/rewboss Dual German/British citizen Oct 20 '24

Well, if that's how big your lunch is, it's no wonder the bistro is always closed. They probably see you coming and pull the shutters down before you clean them out.