The last time I saw a tram conductor? I can't recall I ever did, I did not travel by tram frequently either. The last time might be when I visited Scheveningen and took the tram from Den Haag (The Hague) CS (central station) to Scheveningen. It must have been in September so no beach weather and about 35 years ago. I assume trams still exist but I doubt conductors do, most likely they didn't back then trust the travellers to buy a ticket or better the "strippenkaart" (stripes card). Each stripe was a zone and you had to calculate how many zones you travelled. Next, you had to fold the card and stick it into a machine printing a timestamp and some code on it. Why using an easy system can be difficult too? The plus was this card could be used in all public transport vehicles so not trams only. I remember how I missed the old-fashioned ticket but also how expensive such a card was. Of course the larger the card was (the more stripes) the "cheaper" but the price of it... Today I might laugh about it considering how expensive public transport has become.
Public transport will soon be only affordable for the rich, those rich refuse to use it which shows since 1st class is always empty. I am not surprised people rather buy a car to arrive at work in time after an hour's drive instead of using public transport, waiting, standing, for three hours, and walking in the rain to arrive at work I'm time. Of course, the result of fewer people using public transport is deleting trains and buses everywhere in the country except in the western part where also all money (road taxes) is used for endless roadworks, more streetlights and and and while the rest of the country can stay in the dark.
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25-4-2024
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