The May Day holiday is just around the corner, and the train ticket rush has already begun.
At this high-profile moment, I thought that I could successfully grab a ticket home through the official channel of 12306, but I never thought that a "ticket war" gave me a deep headache.
Overview of things
Every time I open the 12306 website, the constantly refreshing pages and empty ticket information are simply desperate. What's even more puzzling is that the official channels show no tickets, but some third-party platforms can always "magically" grab tickets, what is going on?
In the face of my confusion, the 12306 customer service center gave a clear response: "We have never authorized any third-party agency to sell train tickets on our behalf. This is a powerful statement, but in the eyes of me, an ordinary consumer, it is more like a pale defense.
In fact, it has long been an open secret that third-party platforms sell train tickets on behalf of others. The train ticket sales business on travel apps such as Ctrip and Qunar has long been blatant and grandiose. And the official denial of 12306 is more like covering up and stealing the bell, deceiving oneself.
In my opinion, the problem of the source of tickets in the official channel of 12306 is no longer as simple as a simple contradiction between supply and demand. On the one hand, there always seems to be some kind of "metaphysical" law in the ticketing system of official channels, which is unpredictable, and on the other hand, third-party platforms can easily grab tickets, and the reason behind this is probably not just a technical advantage.
Take my personal experience as an example, I have tried to buy tickets through the official channel of 12306 many times, but each time it has failed. And when I switched to a third-party platform, I was able to grab a ticket without any problems. There was an extra fee, but at least it allowed me to get home without a hitch. The difference in this made me deeply suspicious of the ticketing system of 12306.
I'm not standing for a third-party platform. In fact, I know very well that their use of technology to earn the difference is not honorable. But the crux of the problem is that the official channel of 12306 does not provide us with sufficient opportunities and guarantees to buy tickets. What can we do in such a situation?
The existence of the phenomenon of "scalpers" in train tickets has long been more than a day or two. From the early offline queuing to buy tickets, to the current online ticket grabbing, scalpers can always find room to survive. And their existence has undoubtedly exacerbated the chaos and injustice of the train ticket market.
As ordinary consumers, we also need to be rational and calm. Don't blindly trust the promises and guarantees of third-party platforms, and don't choose illegal channels because of temporary convenience. We should firmly believe that only a fair and just market environment can allow us to truly enjoy convenient and efficient ticket purchase services.
I also think that the railway authorities should increase their publicity and investment in general-speed trains. Although high-speed trains are fast and convenient, normal-speed trains are also an affordable and reliable way to travel. If the railway authorities can provide more diversified travel options, it may be able to alleviate the shortage of high-speed rail tickets to a certain extent.
I would like to say that although the train ticket rush war is a headache, it is also a microcosm of the progress and development of our society. In this process, we need to pay attention not only to the individual ticket purchase needs, but also to the fairness and order of the entire market. Only in this way can we jointly create a better and more harmonious travel environment.
The author's concept
In the face of the train ticket rush war during the May Day holiday, we need to remain rational and calm, and we also need to actively seek ways and means to solve the problem. Only in this way can we truly enjoy the fun and convenience of travel.
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