When there are many alternatives to get from A to B, routeRANK is especially helpful. As an example, we show how Konstanz citizen Moritz Rellmeier can get to Paris.
Departure airport
First, Moritz sees that routeRANK has computed routes through three departure airports: Zurich, Stuttgart and Friedrichshafen.
Moritz ignores Friedrichshafen even though it is the nearest airport – there is no direct flight and it doesn’t make sense to Moritz to travel via Frankfurt am Main.
This leaves him with Zurich and Stuttgart, as well as train and car.
Train journey
The most eco-friendly option is traveling by train, where only approximately 21 kilograms of CO2 will be emitted.
The journey starting 10:38 AM in Konstanz lasts just short of six hours and contains three legs, meaning that Moritz has to change trains two times, once in Offenburg and once in Strasbourg; Moritz finds these details by clicking on the link to the Swiss Federal Railways site. Cost: approximately 100 Euro (prices in italics are estimated).
Traveling by car
Another option is traveling by car.
The journey by car to Paris lasts about seven hours and would produce approximately 161 kilograms of CO2, almost eight times as much as the train ride. Besides, Moritz doesn’t want to pay parking fees during his stay in Paris and renting a car is not an option for him. According to routeRANK, driving from Konstanz to Paris costs approximately 156 Euro with a medium petrol-driven car.
Flights
Going by plane and getting to the airport with public transport is by no means a good option. For a flight from Stuttgart, Moritz would have to travel over three hours from Konstanz to Stuttgart, wait one and a half hours for his flight and would arrive in Paris Charles de Gaulle within one hour and 20 minutes. Total travel time: seven and a half hours. Cost for rail transfer to the airport and the flight ticket: 680 Euro. CO2 emission for this connection: 103 kilograms.
A flight from Zurich is also expensive. Although Moritz could get to the airport in 80 minutes and would land in Paris Charles de Gaulle in less than five hours, it would cost him over 780 Euro.
CO2 emissions for going by plane and transferring by public transport are around 100 kilograms for both Stuttgart and Zurich and both flights have roughly the same emissions.
Conclusion
After considering all his options, Moritz decides to go by train. It appears to him to be the optimal solution concerning convenience, price and emission of CO2. Moritz clicks the links and buys his tickets directly on DB, and he also finds a nice hotel by following the hotel link at the top of the routeRANK results page.
Watch out Paris, Moritz is on his way!