This is a recurring complaint. Given the overwhelming weight of SNCF Connect in the online sales of train tickets, competitors consider the rules of the game to be unfair. In particular, Trainline, the railway company’s biggest rival, believes that market conditions do not allow it to be viable and fully express itself.
The main complaint is that the commissions paid by SNCF Voyageurs for the sale of each ticket are considered too low. Another criticism is the limited access to railway data. In addition to requests for regulatory mechanisms, these alternative players have now decided to join together in an association to have their say.
“Hindered ability to innovate”
Trainline, Kombo and Omio are therefore launching the ADN Mobilités partnership, in particular to develop the legal framework for online ticket sales.
“ADN Mobilités aims to overcome these obstacles by enriching the regulatory framework for the benefit of the railway sector and its users,” says the invitation to its first round table.
These actors are calling in particular for a legislative framework that “guarantees fair conditions of competition”. It should include “real-time, up-to-date and quality access to mobility data, effective access to train tickets and subscription cards offered by railway companies”.
With a clear orientation, SNCF Connect underlines that “as a travel agency and mobility distributor with SNCF Connect, we have the same commercial and technical conditions for accessing the data of SNCF Voyageurs and its carriers, as any other distributor.”
Source: BFM TV
