The whole network has been opened to protect rights, and plagiarism is not allowed, and offenders will be prosecuted. Thank you for your understanding and cooperation!
Recently, many netizens have reported that they need to pay a certain percentage of the change fee after purchasing tickets on the 12306 APP and website, which has sparked heated discussions. In the past, changes were basically free, but this new regulation was questioned and puzzled by some netizens. In this regard, the 12306 customer service staff said that the introduction of the new rules on rebooking fees is mainly to crack down on scalping tickets and prevent refund loopholes.
Background of the introduction of the new rules for rebooking
In the past, free changes after purchasing a train ticket have always been one of the services of 12306. However, in recent years, some scalpers and speculators have taken advantage of this loophole to hoard a large number of train tickets, and then change high-priced tickets to low-cost tickets before driving to reduce the loss of refunds.
Their behavior not only disrupted the order of the ticket market, but also occupied booking resources, made it more difficult for passengers to buy tickets, and aroused widespread concern in the society.
In August 2020, 12306 introduced a new rule for rebooking, adopting a tiered fee: changes made more than 2 days before departure are free of charge, and within 2 days, a change fee will be charged at the standard of 5% to 40% of the fare. This move aims to curb the hoarding and scalping of train tickets, and maintain the normal order of ticket purchases.
Change the details of the new regulations
According to the change fee regulations announced by 12306, the fee standards for changes in different time periods are as follows:
Changes made more than 48 hours before departure will be exempted from the change fee. Changes made within 48-24 hours prior to departure will be subject to a change fee of 5% of the fare. Changes made within 24 hours prior to departure will incur a change fee of 15% of the fare. Changes made within 24 hours of departure will be subject to a change fee of 40% of the fare.
In addition, if there is a difference between the new fare and the original fare after the change, the refund and exchange difference fee will also be calculated based on the fare difference. In order to prevent the problem of using changes to avoid refund fees.
Pros and cons of changing the new rules
Since the introduction of this new rule, it has sparked a positive discussion on the Internet. Proponents believe that this will help curb scalping and hoarding of tickets and protect the right of ordinary passengers to buy tickets. However, some people believe that some passengers need to change their tickets due to unexpected circumstances, and the new regulations have increased their financial burden.
Those who support the new rules believe that this move can put an end to the arbitrage of ticket refunds by scalpers hoarding high-priced tickets and then changing them to low-priced tickets, and maintain a fair and orderly ticketing environment.
At the same time, it can also restrain passengers from changing their tickets at will, resulting in a waste of resources. Opponents of the new rules point out that some travelers are forced to change their bookings, and that the new rules are not friendly enough for these groups and increase travel costs.
Future improvements to the new rules for rebooking
After the introduction of the new regulations, 12306 said that it would fully listen to the opinions of all parties and adjust and improve the relevant regulations in a timely manner according to the operation situation. Here are a few suggestions:
Further refine the circumstances under which change fees can be waived for emergencies to facilitate this part of passengers. Fees can be waived or waived for non-hoarded ticket changes within a certain number of consecutive ticket purchases.
The change fee can be used in part to improve the ticketing experience and optimize the change process. Strengthen the supervision of ticket sources and fundamentally curb the hoarding of tickets by scalpers.
Although there was controversy in the early days of the introduction of the new rules, on the whole, this move is conducive to curbing the hoarding and scalping of train tickets and maintaining a fair and orderly ticketing environment. 12306 also said that it would listen to the opinions of all parties and adjust the detailed rules in a timely manner according to the operation situation, in order to achieve a balance between standardizing the order of the train ticket market and protecting the rights and interests of passengers.
The whole network has been opened to protect rights, and plagiarism is not allowed, and offenders will be prosecuted. Thank you for your understanding and cooperation!