In the rush to grab tickets during the return rush hour, some netizens fell into the early morning waiting notice of 12306.
Recently, a topic about "12306 midnight waiting list is successful and the 1,700 yuan ticket is invalid" has become a hot search topic, triggering heated discussions across the Internet. During the peak period of the return trip, a netizen was asleep and did not check the waiting list success notification sent at 3 a.m. when he woke up. The train had already departed. The nearly 1,700 yuan ticket could not be fully refunded. He could only change the ticket and bear the 40% handling fee and price difference.
The person involved said that because he failed to get tickets, he submitted a waiting order for multiple trains. There was still no ticket near departure. He had no choice but to increase the price and "buy a few more stops" before successfully purchasing the ticket. However, he did not expect that the system would suddenly honor the previous waiting order in the early morning. What makes it even more difficult for her to accept is that the itineraries of the two tickets are highly overlapping, the system did not effectively intercept them, and the loss of nearly 1,700 yuan was entirely borne by the individual.
As soon as this incident came out, netizens immediately became angry and complained that the rules of 12306 were "too cold".
Many netizens said that 3 a.m. is the time for deep sleep. It relies only on text messages and APP push notifications. There is no phone reminder or forced pop-up window, so it is easy to miss it. Some netizens questioned, "Why not block itinerary conflicts?" Since the system can identify itinerary conflicts, why can't it automatically terminate waitlisted orders with overlapping itineraries, or at least give a second confirmation reminder? It's all up to the passengers themselves to keep an eye on it, and any carelessness can lead to heavy losses.
In the face of the controversy, 12306 customer service gave a response. It can be summed up in one sentence: This is the rule. Passengers have to take the initiative to cancel redundant waiting orders. The system only acts according to the rules.
First of all, we need to make it clear that the rules must be formulated with the interests of the majority of people in mind.
We are not trying to overturn the rule, but we just hope it can be more user-friendly. For example, can we optimize the notification logic so as not to send out standby success notifications in the early morning or late at night, or add phone reminders and APP forced pop-ups to ensure that passengers can see it.
Another example is to improve conflict detection. If a ticket for a certain train has been purchased, the system will automatically terminate the waitlist order with overlapping itineraries, or at least give a second confirmation reminder. If the order is successfully placed on the late night waiting list, can you give more time so that passengers have time to confirm and cancel? Don't cancel it immediately if it is missed.
The waitlist mechanism was originally designed to solve the difficulty of grabbing tickets. The original intention of the 24-hour redemption rule was to increase ticket utilization. However, due to the unlimited redemption time, loopholes in the itinerary interception mechanism, and single reminder method, many passengers suffered losses and increased anxiety about grabbing tickets.
It is the passenger's obligation to abide by the ticket purchase rules, but as a public service platform, the design of 12306's rules should take into account both efficiency and temperature. It is expected that the railway department will optimize the waiting system and use more refined services to make people traveling during the Spring Festival less troublesome.
