Recently, the topic of "why no seat and second class seat have the same price" has attracted a lot of attention. According to surging news reports, 12306 customer service said: "At present, the price of no seat is the same as that of second-class seats. The current pricing is based on the spirit of the NDRC document, and the railway transport enterprises set the price themselves. According to the price law, railway law and other laws and regulations, at the same time, according to market conditions, a multi-grade floating fare system will be implemented. ”
Some netizens suggested that the fare without a seat when taking the high-speed train is the same as the fare for a second-class seat, which is not very reasonable. People who often take high-speed trains will see that on some high-speed rail lines with tight capacity, there are often seatless passengers standing in the corners of the carriages. It is really unacceptable that they pay the same fare and not be able to enjoy the same service.
Behind the controversy over "station ticket price" is actually the strong desire of passengers to have a more comfortable and fair travel experience. Passengers buying tickets is also a way of consumption, consumers' rights and interests should be protected, and the "user experience" of high-speed rail passengers should also be valued. In February 2016, the National Development and Reform Commission issued the Notice on Reforming and Improving the Fares Policy for High-Speed Rail EMUs, which stipulates that from January of the same year, the fares of high-speed rail EMUs will be liberalized, and the railway headquarters will set their own prices, and the fare of EMUs will be subject to market-regulated prices, which will be independently determined by transportation enterprises according to market competition. In other words, the fare of high-speed rail is not static, and the fare should be reasonably adjusted according to the actual situation of the market and the actual needs of the majority of passengers.
As early as 10 years ago, there was a voice on the Internet that "calling for a train ticket without a seat should be half price", but many passengers' wishes have never come true. There is a saying that in the era of green trains, the experience of riding without a ticket and a hard seat was similar, and the passenger flow in the carriage was frequent, and even passengers with "station tickets" had many opportunities to "rub seats". However, these situations are not common in the era of high-speed rail. The riding experience of the second-class seat of the high-speed rail is much better than the hard seat of the general speed train, and the experience of the "station ticket" is still not comfortable. In other words, seatless passengers cannot experience the same or similar travel experience as second-class passengers, and they should not receive very different "consumer products" at the same price. In this sense, the people's demands behind the high-speed rail "station ticket price" dispute cannot but attract the attention of the railway department.
With the development of the times, people have higher requirements for consumer experience. How to price high-speed rail tickets and how to make fares more cost-effective is related to the travel experience of the people. For relevant discussions and suggestions, relevant departments may wish to listen patiently and formulate more scientific and reasonable pricing schemes according to the real demands of consumers and the market. Whether this question can be answered well will test the wisdom and ability of the railway department.
Huang Shuai Source: China Youth Daily