It was one of the most anticipated promotional campaigns on the transport side in May, and the influx was such that access to the OUIGO site was impossible for a good number of Internet users for a long time.
The 10,000 initial tickets having been sold out, OUIGO is now offering 10,000 additional tickets!
Between chaos and success, the morning was hectic at OUIGO
May 23, 2023 must have given OUIGO and the transport company’s many potential customers a few cold sweats. Indeed, for several weeks now, OUIGO has announced that it is celebrating the first anniversary of its “classic trains” with no less than 10,000 tickets at a symbolic 1 euro. The problem, as almost always in such circumstances, is that the servers of the website concerned do not last long. Launched as planned this Tuesday, May 23, 2023 at 7 a.m., the promotional campaign quickly generated anger and frustration among many people who were unable to get their ticket.
These tickets were available on the Paris-Lyon and Paris-Nantes axes, which are not the only ones, moreover, to be served by OUIGO “classic trains”. This “new” low-cost formula, halfway between the TER and the Intercités, has made it possible to connect various cities between them (for example Lyon and Melun) at a reduced price for a year now, hence this anniversary event. The trains operate at the same maximum speed as TERs, i.e. 160 km/h, and therefore make it possible to travel, in theory, cheaper, but slower, with for example a journey time of 5 hours for a “classic train” OUIGO between Lyon and Paris, compared to around 2 hours for an OUIGO TGV between Paris-Gare de Lyon and Lyon Part-Dieu.
If the formula has sometimes led to skepticism, it nevertheless seems to be attractive, judging by the large number of simultaneous connections and the impossibility of accessing the online ticket sales page which occurred on Tuesday morning. The 10,000 tickets nevertheless found takers in a few hours, to the chagrin of those who did not manage to get their precious sesame.
10,000 new tickets put on sale immediately
Was it planned by OUIGO, or is it a reaction to morning breakdowns? The company decided, this Tuesday, May 23, 2023 around noon, to put 10,000 additional tickets on sale, under the same conditions as for the previous campaign. So if you want to have a chance of getting these 1 euro tickets, it’s better not to hang around too much.
Around 1:30 p.m. in any case on Tuesday, the operation of the official OUIGO site was normal, with no particular latency or loading error. So here’s a new chance to go on a weekend or even on vacation at a low price, without further server failure… or train!
Sources: France info , BFM TV
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