Why are flights cheaper than trains in Europe? (www.euronews.com)

submitted 1 year ago by soyagi@yiffit.net to c/green@lemmy.ml

12 comments fedilink hide all child comments

One of the main reasons for the disparity is the lower taxes that the aviation industry benefits from.

If you fly from Paris to Barcelona the airline not only pays no VAT, but is also exempt from kerosene tax. If you make the same journey by train, the rail company will pay an energy tax and passenger VAT. This means higher costs for the company which are usually reflected in ticket prices.

Archived version: https://archive.ph/7Zrur

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments

[-] stevehobbes@lemmy.world 4 points 1 year ago

So wait, is the free market bad or good? Is the argument to nationalize the airplanes too? Or is it to nationalize the rails but not the train companies and let trains compete like planes?

[-] CookieJarObserver@sh.itjust.works -1 points 1 year ago

In short, yes.

In long, the problem is very complex and i don't know how to solve it, having infrastructure in general be run by the government is a good idea, but what is infrastructure and what service? In general rails should be treated like Road, so public property, but of the train company should be a government institution or not is a hard question, there are many pros and cons to that.

Is capitalism bad? No. It needs to be run on a well oiled system and have restrictions, so a social media economy is probably the best option.

this post was submitted on 11 Aug 2023

68 points (98.6% liked)

Green - An environmentalist community

5234 readers

1 users here now

This is the place to discuss environmentalism, preservation, direct action and anything related to it!

RULES:

1- Remember the human

2- Link posts should come from a reputable source

3- All opinions are allowed but discussion must be in good faith

Related communities:

Unofficial Chat rooms:

founded 5 years ago

MODERATORS

theloneforager@lemmy.ml

Chloe@lemmy.ml