DB information

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DB Information in Frankfurt Central Station (2018)

As DB information indicating German Bahn AG the central Tour of Germany's major railway stations. The starting in December 1994 as Service Point (translated as: service point ) introduced focal points will be renamed gradually since June, the 2011th

In addition to information about train connections, numerous other services are also offered depending on the location. There are currently over 80 of these information desks at Deutsche Bahn stations, all of which are operated by DB Station & Service .

history

prehistory

The Deutsche Reichsbahn already had officials who were solely responsible for providing information to travelers. They originally wore a yellow armband with the inscription "Information". In 1932 or shortly before, the armband was replaced by a yellow striped cap with the inscription "Information".

development

In December 1994 new, central information desks were introduced at 28 German train stations under the name “Service Point”, as a result of which 600 employees were initially trained for the new service concept. The plans initially envisaged setting up service points at 60 stations with a total of 2000 employees. The new service employees initially stood out from other railway employees by wearing new uniforms. In surveys on customer satisfaction, 89 percent of those questioned welcomed the introduction of the service points in all major train stations.

The services offered in the initial phase included a. Providing travel information, ordering porter services, loss reports for personal items and receiving complaints. Car keys could also be deposited for relatives or faxes could be sent. Up to four employees should always be available at each ServicePoint. Administrative staff should also be deployed to the new service stations one day per month.

After the offer had been introduced at 30 train stations by mid-1995, the train stations Dresden-Neustadt , Gera , Zwickau , Göttingen , Bochum , Saarbrücken , Osnabrück and Regensburg followed at the end of 1995 . In Berlin, the fourth service point was set up at Schönefeld train station (after the train stations Zoo , Lichtenberg and Ostbahnhof ). Technical and ergonomic improvements have been made at these second generation service points . It was also planned that the offices could be reached via a national telephone number.

The number of service points increased significantly in the following years. According to plans from 1998, the number of ServicePoints should be increased to 94 in 1999. According to DB, the number of ServicePoints was over 90 between 2005 and 2008.

The renaming of the service point to "DB Information" is to be seen as a result of a complaint by the CSU Bundestag member Ernst Hinsken about the designation "Kiss & Ride" for a short-term parking zone newly created by Deutsche Bahn at the train station in the Lower Bavarian city of Straubing . This led to a discussion about the use of Anglicisms in public life and especially in the area of ​​Deutsche Bahn. In response to Hinsken's complaint, the CEO of Deutsche Bahn, Rüdiger Grube , promised him that Deutsche Bahn would use fewer Anglicisms in the future. Johannes Ludewig , former head of the railway, received the title Sprachpanscher of the year in 1999 .

From June to December 2011, the information desks concerned were renamed. Since then, “Service Point” has only been used under the term “DB Information” in significantly smaller italics on pictograms and signposts in the station buildings.

"DB Information 4.0" was designed in spring 2016 in a workshop. Any knowledge gained by March 2017 should be incorporated into the tender. On October 17, 2016, the prototype of a newly designed DB Information was presented at Berlin Südkreuz station . He has been tested there ever since. The changeover began with the commissioning of a new DB information center at Nuremberg Central Station on November 23, 2017. By the end of 2017, the DB information at ten major train stations should be replaced by the end of 2020 all 82 DB information.

offered services

The primary function of DB Information is still travel information ; Rail customers can inquire about train connections here and get advice on current trips or trips planned for the future. The service employees deployed there can also use their computers to determine the current delay situation of the trains and pass it on to the passengers. However, information on ticket prices and the purchase of tickets are not offered; DB travel centers are responsible for this .

However, rail customers receive a number of additional services for their journey at DB Information. Various print media from Deutsche Bahn and the individual transport associations are available at DB Information , e.g. B. topic-related flyers on regional excursion destinations, night train trips or information about current construction work. Since March 2005 it has also been possible to book hotels near the location of the respective information desk.

In the context of passenger rights, the employees are obliged to give entitled travelers of participating railway companies compensation in the form of hotel or taxi vouchers in the event of correspondingly high train delays or cancellations, provided that the travelers can no longer reach their destination by midnight, contrary to planning, due to irregularities in the train traffic reachable. They can also release special tickets from restrictions such as train connections and extend the time frame if there is a corresponding train delay or cancellation. In the event of delays and train cancellations, passenger rights forms and certificates of delay are issued.

After prior registration, offers from DB Carsharing and DB Call-a-Bike can be used at many DB Information locations . Those not familiar with the area can request information about the associated city. At DB Information, information about local public transport and directions are given. DB Information is also the central point of contact for questions about the implementation of the mobility service of Deutsche Bahn, which is offered for people with reduced mobility at the most important passenger stations.

Upon request, people can be called out from the information desk over the station's loudspeaker system. In the event of the loss of personal items on the train or at the station, you can obtain a corresponding notification form free of charge at the ServicePoint, which you can use to place an inquiry with Deutsche Bahn. At the same time, items found at train stations or on Deutsche Bahn trains are accepted. Depending on the location, a selection from the range of goods in the railway shop 1435 is also available at the DB Information on site. At some locations, ic courier shipments are also accepted and issued.

Locations

In the last few years before the name was changed to "DB Information", the number and opening times of the service points were significantly reduced. There are currently locations at almost all price class 1 train stations, which currently include 20 train stations operated by DB Station & Service AG. In addition, the information desks can be found at many train stations in price class 2, and in isolated cases at a few train stations in price class 3.

In addition, some stations in the train station halls or on the platform have small, mobile information counters that were previously also called "Service Point" and since 2011 have been known as "Brief Info". There you can only get information from the service staff, the entire number of services offered at DB Information is not available there.

literature

  • Andreas Schorsch u. a .: What are you actually sitting here for? Stories from the DB Service Point . Goldmann, Munich 2015. ISBN 978-3-442-15845-4
  • Andreas Schorsch: I can walk right away! New stories from the DB Service Point . Goldmann, Munich 2016. ISBN 978-3-641-18355-4

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Bahn demands: More German, less English , In: Bild, February 17, 2010, accessed on October 20, 2011.
  2. ↑ Deutsche Reichsbahn-Gesellschaft (Ed.): Official Gazette of the Reichsbahndirektion Mainz of March 19, 1932, No. 12. Announcement No. 168, p. 62.
  3. ↑ Meeting point at Silberkugel . In: ZUG , No. 1, 1995, without ISSN, pp. 12-15.
  4. ↑ a b Bahn offers faxing on the platform. In: Süddeutsche Zeitung No. 286, 1994, ISSN  0174-4917 , p. 11.
  5. ↑ a b Second generation service points. In: TRAIN. No. 9, 1995, without ISSN, p. 16.
  6. ^ Deutsche Bahn AG: Annual Report 1998 , p. 49.
  7. ^ DB Personenverkehr GmbH: Rail travel. Deals. Services. , April 2005 edition, p. 121.
  8. ^ Deutsche Bahn AG, Marketing-Kommunikation (Ed.): Simply and cheaply travel. The mobility offers of the railways , May 2006 edition, p. 137.
  9. ^ Deutsche Bahn AG, Marketing-Kommunikation (Ed.): Simply and cheaply travel. The mobility offers of the railway , edition June 2007, p. 146.
  10. ^ Deutsche Bahn AG, Marketing-Kommunikation (Ed.): Simply and cheaply travel. The mobility offers of the railway , December 2007 edition, p. 151.
  11. ^ Deutsche Bahn AG, Marketing-Kommunikation (Ed.): Simply and cheaply travel. The rail mobility offers , April 2008 edition, p. 151.
  12. ↑ Never again “Kiss & Ride” with Deutsche Bahn; Bahn demands: more German, less English. In: Tagesspiegel February 17, 2010, accessed online on October 20, 2011.
  13. ↑ a b c Easier to hear, see and inform at the train station . In: DB World . No. 3 , March 2017, p. 11 .
  14. ↑ a b Better customer information at the train station: New DB information presented in Berlin. (No longer available online.) Deutsche Bahn, October 18, 2016, archived from the original on November 12, 2016 ; Retrieved November 9, 2016 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.deutschebahn.com
  15. ↑ German premiere : New DB information is available in Nuremberg Central Station. (No longer available online.) In: deutschebahn.com. Deutsche Bahn, November 23, 2017, archived from the original on November 27, 2017 ; Retrieved November 25, 2017 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.deutschebahn.com
  16. ↑ Deutsche Bahn AG (Ed.): Annual Report 2005, p. 24.
  17. ↑ DB Station & Service AG: Price sheet of DB Station & Service AG for personal-operated services that go beyond the basic services of the station price system . Ed .: DB Station & Service AG. ( PDF; 54 KiB ). PDF; 54 KiB ( Memento of the original from January 31, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.deutschebahn.com