best regards

I am a university student from Jordan currently doing a year abroad in Germany. I find the public transport here amazing and very reliable! There was only one case in which a friend of mine was on a train that got delayed 80 minutes but that was a rare case. Otherwise, the transport here is great. I also think Germans who complain about a 5 Minute Verspätung should do a little reconsideration. Back home in Jordan the only choices of public transport we have are taxis and buses (the former being nicht so günstig and the latter, although very cheap, few people I know actually use -I don’t use buses either). The bus system in Jordan is not at ALL reliable, there is no timetable, and even the bus stops hardly qualify as bus stops. There was recently an attempt to design a Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system in the capital Amman as a reliable and affordable method of transportation for the public but unfortunately the project was stopped for reasons still not completely clear. The dismissal of the BRT was a huge disappointment for the general public (myself included) as it would have made many people’s lives easier and been a huge step towards urban progress in the capital. So until further notice, we will still have to use taxis (which are not easy on the pocket for the average citizen) and the old buses.

Getting back to the German transport system -my point is, Germans should be extremely grateful(and proud!)to have Deutsche Bahn. There are countries(not just Jordan)in which getting to work is a daily struggle and a constant source of aggravation. And unfortunately, something like Deutsche Bahn is often times not something that would be possible for years to come.

So, to wrap it up: meine liebe Deutsche who mumble under their breath that German public transport is intolerable: a 5 minute delay is not the end of the world . Gott sei Dank für Deutsche Bahn -believe me.