SNCF Happy Card

[mrmartin]

http://www.liberation.fr/video/2017...es-jeunes-la-sncf-lance-sa-happy-card_1540348

La société ferroviaire s’apprêterait – selon nos confrères du Parisien – à lancer le 19 janvier prochain une «Happy Card», un abonnement au train en illimité à destination des 16-27 ans. Si l’offre est séduisante sur le papier, son prix de 79 euros par mois et les différentes contraintes imposées aux voyageurs (abonnement de trois mois minimum, nombre de places limité en période de pointe) pourraient s’avérer être de sérieux freins à son succès.

The railway company is preparing - according to our colleagues of the Parisian - to launch on January 19 a "Happy Card", an unlimited train ticket for 16-27 year olds. If the offer is attractive on paper, its price of 79 euros per month and the various constraints imposed on travellers (subscription of at least three months, number of places limited during peak periods) could prove to be serious obstacles to its success.

Looks like SNCF is offering unlimited TGV travel for 79eur/month for 18-27 year olds? Bit of a strange offer, can't see young people like that needing to travel that much for work etc?

 

[CC 72100]

The SNCF has history with this - idTGVMAX, which can only be used on idTGV services (a low-cost SNCF sub-brand) was launched a couple of years back: https://www.idtgvmax.com/

From a customer point of view it was only partly successful - lack of places on trains (ie. trains may have a quota of iDTGVMAX places) was the main complaint. It featured on the consumer show "On n'est plus des pigeons" as part of a feature on expensive rail fares. (Sound familiar?)

 

[Gordon]

Bit of a strange offer, can't see young people like that needing to travel that much for work etc?

Not all that strange IMHO. Traditionally students that age group in France have travelled extensively on SNCF, for example to and from the family home to their place of study, often every week. These journeys can be long, such as Rodez - Paris.

Making the journey every weekend means on average 8 journeys a month, and the article states that this is SNCF's 'answer' to car sharing and low cost coach services, so I can see why it would be attempted by SNCF.

However, the point the journalist is making is that most trips of this type would be at peak times when they might struggle to get the cheap allocation.

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