Curious to know where you get that $12 figure from.

Different market, but Zone2-1 (a perfectly common commute) is £5.80 return = AU$10.18 in London.

Considering Zone2 is aspirational for many, not to mention those who'd rather live in the home counties (i.e. 'suburbs' I suppose) and get a certainly much more expensive train in (and then the tube) I don't find $12 questionable at all. But markets do differ! Interested to hear if that really is outrageous sounding in Australia.

Hah. East SF Bay to South Bay is $38 for one day, or $320 per month (Berkeley to San Jose on Amtrak).

Also, it takes 1.5 hours on the train each way. This is only 42 miles platform to platform. Also, no public transit syncs with the train on either end.

Not at all outrageous. I live in Melbourne, zone 1, and paid AUD$9.20 return yesterday.

In Stockholm a 70km distance by train is about 1h20m, 8.5 USD for two trips in one day or 100 USD per month. On the old commuter trains that makes about 18 stops.

For me that’s right on the money. $6 each way for me to visit the city on the train. I’m at the end of the line though, but not super far out of the city.