[toothbrush]

France has the same weird credit card policy, and i, too, have been bitten by it. Luckily i got off with a mere telling off by a very surly conductor, when it became obvious i wasn't magically going to produce another credit card. The insanity is on two levels though; using the card as ID but also the fact that they're so damned serious about it. You've got actual, state-provided ID that matches, a valid ticket, but they still give you lip. It's incredible.

"Luckily", i'm caucasian and i speak French, but god help me if i had been of north African phenotype (and for the uninitiated: we're talking about French-speaking born-in-France natives who still get treated like shit) — that's the favourite scapegoat in this part of the world :/.

EDIT: In fact, the whole idea of identifying myself on public transport gives me the shivers. I much prefer the situation where you simply buy anonymous tickets that are valid to the bearer. IMHO the rail authorities have no business knowing who i am, especially since in most cases you're not even crossing borders. And even when you are, they're more likely than not Schengen, in which case there's theoretically no place for the shake-down either. Compare the case where you're sitting in a car — checks are very rare in my experience.

[expertentipp]

> using the card as ID

> You've got actual, state-provided ID that matches, a valid ticket, but they still give you lip. It's incredible.

So the identity check on the trains is more strict than on the planes (there one needs only national ID or passport with the name matching the name from the reservation). It seems to be the case in at least France and Germany. How come?