Post by ReclinerPost by Roland PerryPost by ReclinerPost by Roland PerryPost by ReclinerPost by Roland PerryBut it has the "Airport Express" branding, which is what people who
otherwise would have caught taxis are looking for. In a strange city,
few of them will want to start messing with the commuter metro services.
Other travellers might, but they aren't the ones that HEx is trying to
attract.
I don't think there will be enough gullible tourists who've done zero
research on transport options to keep HEx going.
We'll see. And not gullible, just wanting the easiest/safest way to get
the next 20 miles having spend thousands on the airfare.
If they want to go 20 miles into London, the EL will be quicker, easier,
more convenient than HEx.
They don't know that, and will generally pick the "Airport Express"
branded train.
You patronisingly assume great ignorance among travellers.
I'm pragmatic about it, as are HEx, which is why they have a successful
business.
In any event, the "ignorance" is something resulting from a shortage of
time. Working out how to save a few tens of pounds by delving into the
usually impenetrable information provided for locals about their metro
system simply isn't worth the candle. Especially if you've just stepped
off a flight where the fare was typically £5k.
Post by ReclinerPost by Roland PerryPost by ReclinerPost by Roland Perry(Many of course will be business travellers, but admittedly those are in
shorter supply than before).
Business travellers who use the train rather than a car/taxi will mostly
prefer a line that takes them near where they want to go, quickly and
conveniently, and that will be the EL for most. Few business travellers
need to go to buildings adjacent to Paddington station.
I know you simply don't understand the way these travellers' minds work,
but HEx does, and they are the one with a successful business based on
it.
You're being patronising again. I probably did more business travel than
you did,
And on those travels did you ask people around you why they chose a
taxi, versus an airport express train, versus a commuter metro system?
Post by Reclinerand wasn't constrained by tight budgets like you were.
Who is being condescending/patronising now?
So you were one of the people taking taxis everywhere? In which case, I
expect your experience of researching the local commuter metro systems
was limited.
As it happens my clients preferred I took a limo (at their expense) but
this seemed to me an extravagance. Also somewhat disorientating, because
using at least some sort of public transport nails down a few fixed
points in the city. Hence my usual preference for train (not metro) or
an airport-express bus (not a stage bus), etc.
On a second trip (although I never went to Tokyo, Mexico City, Cairo, or
Moscow, twice) maybe nuance it slightly. That's what I did at Seoul and
Hyderabad. Best destination for train travel was Brisbane, where they'll
pay your costs if their rail delays mean you miss your flight. Not even
TfL will do that.
Berlin was a destination that on the second visit I was happy to take a
shuttle bus to the end of the metro line [like Lisbon, one suspects the
local taxi lobby had prevented that last-mile of construction] and
proceed from there, having used the underground system extensively
between my hotel in old West-Berlin to the venue in old East-Berlin on
my first visit.
Oslo (just one visit) I took the airport-express train: a quarter the
price of a taxi. At that point I didn't bother finding out what a
commuter metro train would have cost. [Looking just now it seems maybe
half, so a massive £10 saving; no, not worth the candle for one-off trip
arriving at 11pm when you really really don't want to be messing
around].
And of course there are cities where taxis aren't necessarily as safe as
London. The one in Cairo reeked of petrol fumes, and people are often
warned against them in Mexico City. Using any form of public transport
(including taxis) is generally advised against in Moscow, too (one of my
colleagues was mugged on the streets). The taxi in Istanbul tried to
over-charge me (and those I was sharing it with) by rigging the meter.
We paid what we owed and defied him to call the police, which was what
he was threatening to do. Istanbul was one of several destinations where
there were checkpoints outside hotels with people checking under the
vehicles for car-bombs, it's not just a Belfast thing.
Post by ReclinerPost by Roland PerryPost by ReclinerThey're probably frequent travellers and will soon learn the best way.
On that narrow point, I've travelled to a couple of dozen capital
cities, am reasonably good at research, but for the sake of £20 at the
end of a very long day, arriving somewhere I've never been before, I
won't risk getting lost in the commuter metro system. Most people in
that situation choose a taxi, but HEx has been successful in persuading
people to do at least the first 80% of the trip on their train.
That was before the EL offered a much better product from the same
platforms.
The EL is still perceived as a commuter metro system, and that's what
matters.
--
Roland Perry