Quote:
Originally Posted by Raja
LOL I studied abroad in Berlin in 2009, and one week I validated my weekly pass at 23:57 on a Tuesday. The following Tuesday at like 8 in the morning, one of the fare officers cited me for an expired pass. Apparently the 3 minutes between 11:57 PM and midnight Tuesday night counted for an entire day; sure enough, it was there in the fine print on those stupid rinky dink kiosks.
That was, however, the first time I had an argument with somebody entirely in German. I was so proud and also so annoyed.
It also goes to show how important punctuality, frequency, and cleanliness are to a well functioning transit system. I still regard Berlin as one of the best--up there with the Tube--despite its totally antiquated purchasing system.
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I often wonder if people who manage these systems/interfaces/experience ever think about how people interact with them. Particularly when they're not familiar with the system.
I travel a lot for work internationally. Not as much now as previously, but more than the typical person for sure. As an international traveler, you get used to certain things and when they're not available, it can cause downright panic.
The first time I flew to Shanghai for work, I landed late at night (like 1 AM local time). Because my flight wasn't originating in China, I did not have any physical Renminbi (Yuan) on me. I figured, no big deal. I can just stop at an ATM when I land (wrong, there were no ATMs in the international arrivals terminal), I can take an Uber (no Uber or Lyft in China), or I can figure out the trains (As I recall, I figured out there were trains but they either weren't direct to where I was going or they were running that late, either way).
So I figured out where the taxis were and took a cab to my hotel. No big deal, right? Wrong. All the taxis were Cash only. So...at 1AM through Google Translate I had to lie to the cabbie and tell him I had cash and where I was going. Then...when I arrived in front of my hotel at like 3AM, I had to explain to the cab that he had to wait because I indeed did not have cash and needed to find an ATM to pay him. Of course, I had to run around the block. A few of the ATMs I tried weren't synched with my banking system so I couldn't withdraw cash etc etc. I finally found one that was and remedied the situation, but the entire ordeal (him waiting for me) probably took 20 minutes.
It was one of the most stressful travel experiences of my life, and one that I have to assume is experienced by a very high percentage of people that land in Shanghai for the first time, given how at every turn the most basic expectations weren't met. I mean, I was in Shanghai. Not Outer Mongolia. It shocked me that whomever it may be that manages those touch points (airport officials, tourism officials, etc) never advocated to create a seamless experience that undoubtedly most international travelers who arrive would expect.
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