The DB was great (albeit a little bureaucratic), while it still was the Bundesbahn, a public institution, run by public servants like every other government office. But when they became the DB AG, a shares based for profit company (still held by 100% by the government), they became a shitshow, because now their mission of providing reliable public transportation changed to making maximum profit and paying their C-suite (typically former politicians or their buddies) ever increasing bonuses for doing fuck all or even less than that.
That’s the way many German public institutions went thanks to rampant privatisation caused by all mainstream parties adopting the neoliberal agenda. They are now a shadow of their former self, delivering sub par service for outrageous prices while making a few individuals very rich.
The long term effects of privatization and decades of car centric politics.
That sucks. I saw the DB as a model of envy.
The DB was great (albeit a little bureaucratic), while it still was the Bundesbahn, a public institution, run by public servants like every other government office. But when they became the DB AG, a shares based for profit company (still held by 100% by the government), they became a shitshow, because now their mission of providing reliable public transportation changed to making maximum profit and paying their C-suite (typically former politicians or their buddies) ever increasing bonuses for doing fuck all or even less than that.
That’s the way many German public institutions went thanks to rampant privatisation caused by all mainstream parties adopting the neoliberal agenda. They are now a shadow of their former self, delivering sub par service for outrageous prices while making a few individuals very rich.
Sad, but unsurprising, that right-wing grift is universal.
Sadly a thing of the past…