[ghaff]

I often say that train and transit travel often seems to assume that you're a local who knows what they're doing rather than a potentially first-time visitor who doesn't speak the language.

[bombcar]

Most transit systems (and leaking into trains) are oriented toward commuters, because that's the vast majority of the ridership.

The most common "concession" to visitors is often a (slightly overpriced) day or week pass that lets you ride anything anytime.

[ghaff]

Oh, I understand the reason.

At least with transit, just tapping a credit card is becoming more common which generally reduces the need to dig into how payment works.