Student ID

joerules

Has there been a change at CIE regarding student ID? On their site they mention a "Student travelcard". If so, will my current ISIC card still be valid (I`m no longer a student but my card is valid till the end of the year)?

As a side point. My return train ticket from my town here in Japan to Kyoto (about 500 miles away) is gonna cost 284 quid. Maybe CIE aren`t so bad ;-)

Joe

maxheadroom

Not quite as dramatic, but in sweden, it can be cheaper to fly internally than get trains... Notice I said CAN, it depends on a lot of things.

dmeehan

in ireland its cheaper to fly internally than to get the train

Dublin to Cork
Single Irish Rail: €48 (~2-3 hours)
Single Air Wales: €42 (~50 mins)

tough choice!:D

John R

Dublin to Cork RETURN:
Irish rail: €58
Air Wales: €108

dmeehan

i gotta return with air wales for €84 incl. tax

even so, €58 is a rip off for the "service" irish rail provide
i suppose i still wish i had a student card
:-(

John R

€108 was the fare quoted on their website. Even still most people make return journeys and the return fares do not support your statement that it is cheaper to fly.

Comparing rail and air journey times without including airport procedure times and the relative inconvenience of airport location to the cities is also unfair.

What exactly is your problem with IE service? I used to be a regular traveller on the Dublin - Cork route and never had any bad experiences, the odd delay now and then but nothing terribly inconvenient.

John R

joerules, your ISIC card will still be valid.

From Irish Rail website: "Current ISIC cards with the Travelsave stamp valid until 31st Dec 2003 will continue to be honored for this period. "


Basically this travelcard will replace the travelsave stamp, an ISIC card is still needed for international travel discounts and other ISIC specific discounts.

Epitaph

WTF?! You mean the ISIC card, which is perfectly good for every other country's transport network in Europe isn't good enough for the sh1tehawks in CIE??

Unbridled rage

So they want us to pay more for using the railways? What was wrong with the ISIC card? CIE wanting a bigger piece of the pie?

:mad: :mad: :mad:

maxheadroom

Originally posted by Epitaph
WTF?! You mean the ISIC card, which is perfectly good for every other country's transport network in Europe isn't good enough for the sh1tehawks in CIE??

Its not good enough in Finland, you need a Finnish student card. The difference is that their railways are good.

dmeehan

Originally posted by John R
€108 was the fare quoted on their website. Even still most people make return journeys and the return fares do not support your statement that it is cheaper to fly.

Comparing rail and air journey times without including airport procedure times and the relative inconvenience of airport location to the cities is also unfair.

What exactly is your problem with IE service? I used to be a regular traveller on the Dublin - Cork route and never had any bad experiences, the odd delay now and then but nothing terribly inconvenient.

my statement was for single journeys where it is cheaper to fly.
plus I would still rather pay more and "suffer" the "airport procedure times and the relative inconvenience of airport location "

the problem withthe irish rail "service" is that it is not much of a service. if you ever had to stand all the way to mallow while some scumbag insisted on smoking on a non smoking carriage you would agree too.

Not too mention sitting in a dark, cold carriage for over an hour in the middle of nowhere in december, only to be told by the cie (after a letter of complaint) that heat and light are not part of the customer charter

customer service at its best!

John R

Originally posted by Epitaph


WTF?! You mean the ISIC card, which is perfectly good for every other country's transport network in Europe isn't good enough for the sh1tehawks in CIE??

Unbridled rage

So they want us to pay more for using the railways? What was wrong with the ISIC card? CIE wanting a bigger piece of the pie?

:mad: :mad: :mad:

Will it cost any more? The ISIC card will be cheaper without the travelsave stamp.

If you only use Bus Eireann it's good news, an ISIC or a college ID card is all they require now, no extra payment at all. http://www.buseireann.ie/site/your_journey/college_services.asp

maxheadroom

Originally posted by John R
Will it cost any more? The ISIC card will be cheaper without the travelsave stamp.

IIRC, the travelsave stamp was €7. The nationwide card will be €15. That's more than double the price

And, if you plan on going abroad at all, you still need an ISIC. Nowhere else will accept this CIE card...

joerules

It sounds like a money-making scam to me. the 15 quid CIE get is pretty much pure profit compared to the 7 quid they used to charge (of which a certain percentage went to Usit I'd say). It's also awkward having to carry around 2 ID cards, when one used to suffice.

Joe

dmeehan

most european railways dont need a student ID, you just need proof that you are under 26. (well belgium, lux, holland and germany anyway)

parsi

Originally posted by Epitaph


WTF?! You mean the ISIC card, which is perfectly good for every other country's transport network in Europe isn't good enough for the sh1tehawks in CIE??

Unbridled rage

So they want us to pay more for using the railways? What was wrong with the ISIC card? CIE wanting a bigger piece of the pie?

:mad: :mad: :mad:

Mnay years ago I was in U.L. when the students voted to leave the USI. An immediate problem was raised in that since we were not in USI we weren't eligible for the ISIC card and the TravelSave stamp. We had negotiations with Bus Eireann & Iarnrod Eireann and they agreed to let persons with UL id cards get the same rates as persons with Travelsave Stamps.

Perhaps the situation is the same here - Iarnrod Eireann want to be the final arbiter of who gets student travel - this helps those colleges that are not members of USI (if any exist) and perhaps allows IE to extend the eligibility and more importantly stops the business weher you could have an ISIC card with travelsave stamp for years after college.

Imposter

Originally posted by dmeehan
most european railways dont need a student ID, you just need proof that you are under 26. (well belgium, lux, holland and germany anyway)

Not true about germany. They wouldn't accept my Austrian <26 railcard (with the european under 26 sticker thingee) just last week. You must have a DB railcard to get a discount there.

Epitaph

more importantly stops the business weher you could have an ISIC card with travelsave stamp for years after college.

It's an U-26 card, isn't it? Don't think that you have to be a student to claim it.

maxheadroom

Originally posted by parsi
Mnay years ago I was in U.L. when the students voted to leave the USI. An immediate problem was raised in that since we were not in USI we weren't eligible for the ISIC card and the TravelSave stamp. We had negotiations with Bus Eireann & Iarnrod Eireann and they agreed to let persons with UL id cards get the same rates as persons with Travelsave Stamps.

You don't need to be a member of any student union to get an ISIC - all you need is to be a student in full time education. USI has absolutely nothing to do with it - in fact, they tried (and are still trying, AFAIK) to introduce a competing student discount card for their members.

From: http://www.isic.org/sisp/index.htm?fx=static&page=isic_how_to_apply#Para1
If you are enrolled in full-time studies at a recognised institution and are at least 12 years old, you are eligible for the International Student Identity Card (ISIC). You can be in secondary school or in post-secondary studies and there is no upper-age limit for the ISIC. Full-time students of all ages can benefit from their special status. Bear in mind, however, that some businesses and airlines may have their own rules that restrict discounts to a certain age group.

Perhaps the situation is the same here - Iarnrod Eireann want to be the final arbiter of who gets student travel - this helps those colleges that are not members of USI (if any exist) and perhaps allows IE to extend the eligibility and more importantly stops the business weher you could have an ISIC card with travelsave stamp for years after college.

You cant legally have an ISIC if you're not a student. The eligibility requirements for the ISIC and this new card are exactly the same. You can have an under 26 youth card if you aren't a student, but you couldn't get a travelsave stamp for it.

eclectichoney

it's pretty unfair having to pay €15 just for a CIE card - the dublin bus discounts are rubbish as well.
the website's gonna be www.studenttravelcard.ie

but last time i checked it wasn't up and running yet.

plus having to get it stamped by your college and needing 2 passport photos (costing about €3!) is a massive hassle and waste of time.

Imposter

Originally posted by maxheadroom
You can have an under 26 youth card if you aren't a student, but you couldn't get a travelsave stamp for it. [/B]

I'm not sure about the physical stamp on the back but travel discounts are probably the only reason for having one of those under 26 id's. Usit and up to now Irish rail used to give discounts to all cards with the pink <26 thing on the back (European wide symbol).

parsi

Originally posted by maxheadroom
You don't need to be a member of any student union to get an ISIC - all you need is to be a student in full time education. USI has absolutely nothing to do with it - in fact, they tried (and are still trying, AFAIK) to introduce a competing student discount card for their members.]

Well.. as I said it was many years ago - around 1989 in fact so things have probably changed since then. Back in those days USI used have a stranglehold on all things studenty..

You cant legally have an ISIC if you're not a student. The eligibility requirements for the ISIC and this new card are exactly the same. You can have an under 26 youth card if you aren't a student, but you couldn't get a travelsave stamp for it.

Despite its illegality it was a trivial task to go to your SU (which had re-affiliated) and get a new card.

maxheadroom

Imposter: I think there was something called a farestamp that went on the <26 cards, but I could be wrong. AFAIF, it was only for Irish Rail, you couldn't buy cheap Dublin Bus tickets on it.


Parsi: It would probably be as trivial to get someone you know to get the new form stamped for you. My point was that they haven't changed the requirements at all, so they can't claim to have made the change to stamp out non-students using student fares.


This is really going to hit foreign students who used to be able to come over, pay their €7 for a travelsave and get all the studenty discounts on travel. If you're over on a one term exchange, you won't be eligible under the new rules. Not to mention students over for summer hols.

Imposter

Originally posted by maxheadroom
Imposter: I think there was something called a farestamp that went on the <26 cards, but I could be wrong. AFAIF, it was only for Irish Rail, you couldn't buy cheap Dublin Bus tickets on it.

As I said I dunno about whether or not there was a stamp on it but you are nearly correct. You could also get cheaper flights with USIT using it. Back in the days when flights could not be got a cheaply on the internet this was very useful.