L’opacity of train fares denounced by UFC-Que Choisir. The consumer association published a study this Tuesday 1is October, where she believes that “the obstacles to the use of rail transport remain numerous”, in particular due to the lack of price transparency of reservation platforms. In its press release, UFC-Que Choisir assures that “access to information, reservations, transparency of pricing and guarantees of safe arrival at the dock are too often lacking”. The quality of the TER service was recently highlighted by the Court of Auditors, which described it as “worrying”.
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To support its point, the consumer association compared the offers of different booking sites for 24 national and international routes. “While we might expect the available train offering to be identical on all of these different booking platforms, the consumer has variable geometry information,” denounces UFC-Que Choisir.
According to the association, travelers do not see all the train options depending on the reservation site they choose. For example, on the SNCF Connect application or site, it is not possible to buy a ticket for a company other than SNCF. “The consumer cannot know from this application either the existence of a journey with a connection abroad, nor that of a Paris-Lyon train operated by Trenitalia,” estimates UFC-Que Choisir.
“Information fog”
In addition to the offer, the vagueness also lies in the price level. According to this survey, prices can diverge for the same train depending on the reservation platform used. “For example, a consumer wishing to book a Paris-Stuttgart journey – a connection jointly operated by SNCF and Deutsche Bahn – will find that the prices displayed on SNCF Connect and on the Deutsche Bahn (DB) website are different,” explains the ‘association.
On this subject, SNCF Voyageurs has acknowledged, to Agence France-Presse, price differences which may appear on cross-border journeys operated by two operators. “On its distribution channels, SNCF Voyageurs only offers part of the DB tariff offer. This can therefore lead to price differences, particularly on the various SNCF Voyageurs distribution channels. [dont SNCF Connect fait partie] “, indicated the company.
Up to 85% price differences
Then according to the UFC, “the fog persists at the time of booking”. According to the study, several booking platforms are not sufficiently clear about the choice of first or second class tickets. “When the 2e class is full, the price displayed is that of 1rewithout this being clearly mentioned”, it is written, denouncing a “lack of harmonization”.
“Concretely, a consumer who wishes to travel at the lowest price on a given day will be offered very different prices depending on the platform used,” states the consumer association, which measured a difference in minimum prices of the order of 85%. To which can be added additional service costs, of which the traveler is only aware at the time of payment, a “misleading interface which has also been banned for marketplaces”.
ALSO READ SNCF singled out for its management of so-called “complete” TER trains Based on these findings, UFC-Que Choisir calls on public authorities to “guarantee” price transparency and urges platforms to display service fees “much more clearly”.
