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Re: Amtrak expensive now???? Yeah really?
Author: mook
Date: 08-29-2015 - 15:57
> Now, just imagine what the demand would be, if we actually funded and ran even a "good" quality passenger rail service......?
That has been answered, in part. Capitol Corridor ridership grew faster than the number of available seats did as the number of trains grew, some years ago. As the number of trains got to where you didn't have to plan your whole day around their schedules (or extend your day drastically due to inconvenient schedules), more people used them.
Amtrak in general can't grow capacity due to constraints (including but not limited to budget, equipment, and train slots), so they have to manage ridership. The easiest way to do that is to charge what the traffic will bear, plus a little. As with the airlines, if your schedule is flexible and you can buy well ahead of time, and can live with some restrictions, you can often get a discount. If you buy closer to your travel time or have rigid schedule requirements or require flexibility to reschedule, you will pay, dearly. If you like to live dangerously and buy right when it's time to go, you can sometimes score big on discounts (filling the last few seats) but that's rare on Amtrak. Welome to variable pricing - all transportation does it.
Finally, looking at the original post, if the issue is the cost of first class travel, remember that 1) it's FIRST CLASS; and 2) there's a transportation portion (roughly, the coach ticket price) and a hotel portion (the rest). For departure from Emeryville on 9/27, Amtrak just showed me 3 coach prices ranging from $69 ("only 3 at this price") to $168 ("Flexible"), and 3 "Premium" prices for sleeping accommodations ranging from $402 (Roomette) to $904 (Superliner Bedroom). None of those is the $500 complained about originally - prices change, sometimes even when refreshing the screen (just like the airlines and Greyhound and Amazon). Assuming that the $168 coach price is close to the actual cost of transportation, that means the "hotel" charge for sleeping quarters, services, and meals for the one night en route ranges from $234 to $736. The former isn't bad for room & meals for a night, which you likely would need to pay for if you drove, too, in some side-of-the-road establishment. The latter is pretty high for one person, and should come with some luxury perks - unless you have enough people to fill the bedroom and they give you a multiple-occupant discount. So ... there are many things to consider, but at modern hotel (or even motel) prices a roomette from the Bay Area to Portland for $400-500 including transportation actually isn't bad.
That has been answered, in part. Capitol Corridor ridership grew faster than the number of available seats did as the number of trains grew, some years ago. As the number of trains got to where you didn't have to plan your whole day around their schedules (or extend your day drastically due to inconvenient schedules), more people used them.
Amtrak in general can't grow capacity due to constraints (including but not limited to budget, equipment, and train slots), so they have to manage ridership. The easiest way to do that is to charge what the traffic will bear, plus a little. As with the airlines, if your schedule is flexible and you can buy well ahead of time, and can live with some restrictions, you can often get a discount. If you buy closer to your travel time or have rigid schedule requirements or require flexibility to reschedule, you will pay, dearly. If you like to live dangerously and buy right when it's time to go, you can sometimes score big on discounts (filling the last few seats) but that's rare on Amtrak. Welome to variable pricing - all transportation does it.
Finally, looking at the original post, if the issue is the cost of first class travel, remember that 1) it's FIRST CLASS; and 2) there's a transportation portion (roughly, the coach ticket price) and a hotel portion (the rest). For departure from Emeryville on 9/27, Amtrak just showed me 3 coach prices ranging from $69 ("only 3 at this price") to $168 ("Flexible"), and 3 "Premium" prices for sleeping accommodations ranging from $402 (Roomette) to $904 (Superliner Bedroom). None of those is the $500 complained about originally - prices change, sometimes even when refreshing the screen (just like the airlines and Greyhound and Amazon). Assuming that the $168 coach price is close to the actual cost of transportation, that means the "hotel" charge for sleeping quarters, services, and meals for the one night en route ranges from $234 to $736. The former isn't bad for room & meals for a night, which you likely would need to pay for if you drove, too, in some side-of-the-road establishment. The latter is pretty high for one person, and should come with some luxury perks - unless you have enough people to fill the bedroom and they give you a multiple-occupant discount. So ... there are many things to consider, but at modern hotel (or even motel) prices a roomette from the Bay Area to Portland for $400-500 including transportation actually isn't bad.
