Staying on Track in Germany

Today is my 11th day in Germany, and I have noticed many differences between here and the United states. One of my favorite things here is the public transportation infrastructure, because it is so reliable. Most of the trams typically come every ten minutes on weekdays, making commuting very convenient.  According to the Deutsche Bahn website, the trams on my line should come every ten minutes, but that is not always the case. Whenever I need to go to school I am able to just go to the station and catch the next tram, even if I need to wait for 8 minutes or so. Even traveling to other cities is relatively easy with the infrastructure that the Germans have set up. When we were coming back from an excursion, our bus got a flat tire, so we just got on another bus and took trains back to where we needed to be.

The systems in place are all very impressive and also work exceptionally well. You need to purchase a ticket or a pass to ride, but they are not often checked. It would bog down the system so much if every ticket needed to be checked for every train, due to the sheer number of people who use these services. The way that they ensure people purchase a ticket is by randomly checking passengers, and they will be fined for not having a ticket for the ride. This is typically more common on longer commutes, as people are on the trains for longer periods of time. The punctuality is also very impressive, as trains and buses can sometimes be delayed, but for the most part, they are on time. I have yet to have a train be more than 20 minutes late and overall I feel very satisfied with the system that they have.

I am constantly shocked by how much better the infrastructure is here than in America, because something like this is pretty much impossible in the United States. People in America would rather be alone in their car and sit in traffic, than be surrounded by strangers on public transport. Not only is it more efficient, but it is better for the environment because more people are traveling for the same amount of emissions.

-Owen Burry

Sources:

https://int.bahn.de/en/trains/local-transport