The extension of train ticket pre-sale has caused complaints from the public, and experts say it shows more scientific freedom

With the introduction of a new policy for train ticket sales, the pre-sale period for railway Internet ticket sales and telephone ticket bookings will be extended to 60 days. Many people are worried that a long pre-sale period will lead to high refund rates, rising air ticket prices, and ticket scalpers snatching tickets. On the 26th, reporters interviewed several experts who said that an early pre-sale period is conducive to scientific diversion and gives people more time to make their own choices. At the same time, they suggested that relevant departments improve supporting measures.

This year, the Spring Festival travel rush is approaching, and many people working and studying away from home often have difficulty getting a ticket to go home. In order to alleviate the "difficulty in traveling" problem that people worry about every year, a new policy has been introduced for train ticket sales.

Recently, China Railway Corporation announced that starting from December 1 this year, the pre-sale period for railway Internet ticket sales and telephone ticket bookings will be gradually extended from the current 20 days to 60 days. This means that passengers can snap up train tickets for the first day of the 2015 Spring Festival travel rush as early as December 7.

In response, China Railway Corporation stated that the extension of the pre-sale period to 60 days was mainly based on three considerations: first, the railway believes that many passengers hope to extend the pre-sale period; second, it is to grasp the passenger flow situation early and have relatively ample time to allocate capacity and add trains; third, after extending the pre-sale period, the peak period of ticket sales and the peak period of travel can be staggered.

However, after the announcement of this move, it caused heated discussion among the public, but people had mixed opinions on it.

"The school's exam schedule won't be released until one or two weeks before the exam. It won't be good if you buy it too early, and it will be annoying if you buy it too late, and I'm even more afraid that I won't be able to buy a ticket." Because Spring Festival travel tickets are in short supply, Zheng Lin, who studies at a university in Zhejiang, pays attention to ticket information early every time he returns to his hometown in Heilongjiang. However, he still has doubts about whether the extension of the pre-sale will make it easier for him to buy a ticket.

Many people working outside the city also said that their units’ Spring Festival holiday times have not been determined, and their schedules may change at any time. If they grab tickets 60 days in advance, the refund rate may increase, and scalpers may even become rampant.

"Refunding a ticket is both time-consuming and expensive," said Zheng Lin. According to regulations, if a passenger cancels a ticket less than 24 hours before departure, a refund fee of up to 20% of the ticket price will be charged.

In addition, some ticket agencies revealed that since many passengers are worried that train tickets will be sold out, the rush to buy air tickets will also appear in advance.

While people were complaining about the new policy on train ticket sales, Wu Weiqiang, a professor at the School of Politics and Public Administration of Zhejiang University of Technology, expressed his appreciation.

"Problems such as ticket refunds and scalpers actually have no direct relationship with this new initiative." Wu Weiqiang believes that advance sales are very scientific, which is conducive to diluting and refining passenger flow and promoting advance scheduling by relevant departments. The longer the advance time, the freer the public will be when buying tickets.

Yang Jianhua, director of the Institute of Public Policy at the Zhejiang Academy of Social Sciences, also agreed. Objectively speaking, the China Railway Corporation aims to make travel more convenient for the public, but it still needs to strengthen supporting measures to make it more convenient for passengers to refund and change tickets, thereby reducing passenger losses.

In addition, Fan Bainai, a professor at the School of Public Administration of Zhejiang University, also suggested that relevant departments investigate whether ordinary people can afford the 20% ticket refund fee. He also encouraged schools and units to organize group ticket purchases for students and migrant workers to ensure that foreign students and workers can return home smoothly.

As a winner of Toutiao's Qingyun Plan and Baijiahao's Bai+ Plan, the 2019 Baidu Digital Author of the Year, the Baijiahao's Most Popular Author in the Technology Field, the 2019 Sogou Technology and Culture Author, and the 2021 Baijiahao Quarterly Influential Creator, he has won many awards, including the 2013 Sohu Best Industry Media Person, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Beijing Third Place, the 2015 Guangmang Experience Award, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Finals Third Place, and the 2018 Baidu Dynamic Annual Powerful Celebrity.