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Comment by twiss | Hacker News Reader

> I arrived in Lyon recently and figured, hey, this is Europe, why not try the European app again, and used Bolt.

A bit off topic but IMHO your first thought should instead be: "hey, this is Europe, why not try the train?"

In Lyon, the train from the airport to the city takes half an hour, same as a car. My guess is that you'll have a vastly better experience than taking the train in North America, and also a better experience than at least the OP had when taking a Bolt.

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The problem isn't Bolt. The problem is Lyon and the turf wars between taxis and we-pretend-we-arent-taxis like über and bolt.

https://france3-regions.franceinfo.fr/auvergne-rhone-alpes/r...

https://www.ledauphine.com/faits-divers-justice/2025/01/24/t...

https://actu.fr/auvergne-rhone-alpes/lyon_69123/voitures-bru...

In Chiangmai the main ones are Grab, Bolt, and Maxim, and Bolt is pretty good, works well, well priced.

In most major European cities I have been in the airport to train connection is pretty subpar unless traveling light.

There is typically no integration of the airport baggage handling with the train baggage handling. So you need to move everything with carts that you can't take on the train.

An international trip to Europe for a longer duration is also a significant trip and not something you want to "one bag". Add in jet lag, multiple young kids, car seats, stroller etc. and it quickly becomes easy to see why the train is cumbersome for the initial airport to lodging connection.

I assume young kids, car seats, etc. change the equation. As an adult doing basically urban travel, a few weeks with carryon is perfectly doable in my experience,

Depending on where you are going, ridesharing provides much better point to point service. Also, if you are not familiar with a city or it's language, sometimes trying to understand the public transit on your first day can be a nightmare.

I love taking public transit, but also, after a really long flight I can understand not wanting to think really hard about getting to the hotel.

Apple Maps, Google Maps, and I’m sure anything else under the sun will tell you specifically which train to take, in which direction. Usually, also with platform information, and in some cases even pricing/ticketing information.

Yes, traveling is a skill. It gets easier (and more comfortable) the more you practice it.

> "hey, this is Europe, why not try the train?"

I have two people and four items of luggage plus a personal bag each. City trains are poor for this and subways are worse, but I am here for two weeks - I do need clean clothes.

That sounds like a huge amount of luggage for just two weeks.

My wife does not pack light either. She loves giant suitcases. It is always an argument that I rather bring four carry on size suitcases so I can manhandle them up the many stairs in Europe. Instead of two jumbo suitcases.

That's still a fair bit of luggage, however subdivided. Can't always be avoided but still hard to navigate on trains, etc.

It is her chance to dress up. She packs ten different outfits…

I can handle the FrecciaRossa and SNAV with all that the luggage. Can’t do it on local bus or train. I was pleasantly surprised by Rome’s buses. Now I tap my credit card. No more having to go to a local shop to buy a ticket or pay by cash.

You have never met my wife.

However, it’s not that much. Two weeks in one carryon is tight for me; she has trouble doing a weekend in one, and that doesn’t include hanging clothes.

Well, what do you carry for two weeks and two people across variant climates? I will be impressed if you can do it in one each.

I’ve done it with one luggage and one small backpack each, with no discomfort. If it’s a single warm-ish climate it can even be done with one backpack.

The key is to plan on washing clothes.

Washing is not always nor easily available.

Pack two weeks in one carryon. No washing.

I've done that too, but it is indeed harder in winter.

It does mean you have to plan for wearing everything you bring, no extra fancy clothes you may or may not wear. But it doesn't require other sacrifices.

In general, a lot of luggage doesn't work well on public transit on any continent. I've generally moved towards packing lighter but it isn't always possible. For two weeks in cities I can mostly do carryon. If I'm hiking/camping, yes, I may need more.

> two people and four items of luggage plus a personal bag each

Well, there's you problem. I have traveled the world, including many trips of 6 weeks or more, with only a single. carry-on. Laundromats exist everywhere.

Snark aside, a bit of planning and organization w.r.t. packing pays off handsomely in terms of flexibility when traveling.

Spontaneous weekend trip to a remote island when carrying only a backpack - sure. Add two heavy suitcases, and it becomes an impossibility.

Please don't tell other people how they should live.

Personally I love travelling light (<10kg carry-on pack for 2 months last year to South America) but it isn't for everyone.

> Laundromats exist everywhere.

Only if you value your time at nearly $0. They are incredibly annoying when travelling - too often a 10 or 15 minute walk each way to one. Great for backpacking, but a complete waste of time if you only have a limited amount of time for your holiday.

Having just got back from a 8 week European vacation, with a wife+kid+me.

There's also the small issue of it being was 95F degrees outside at 75% humidity (southern France). This means 1 outfit isn't lasting more than a day (sometimes only 1/2 a day) before becoming unbearably stinky. x3 this means laundry needs to be done every other day or packing a ton of stuff.

Having a train from the airport isn't a given in most US cities.

Lyon is not in the US.

True, but I think we can be charitable and forgive Americans for defaulting to "apps" versus actual infrastructure, given the poor state of public transportation in the US and the lack of exposure to quality publicly funded infrastructure.

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