Common Sense Wrote:
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> Less than 1% of Amtrak trips result in a bus substitution for a segment.

It doesn't matter that it's "less than 1%".

What matters, is if YOUR train was cancelled/substituted, because that means Amtrak likely lost that rider for good, and we all know that each person with a negative customer service experience tells 8-9 people; while someone with a good experience likely tells just 1-2 people.

If you cannot do 100% of your job 100% of the time, it's time to rethink whether you should do the job at all. Because eventually you'll lose 100% of your customers. Just ask companies like Sears (Kmart), Toys R Us, and Radio Shack. It does no good to have a small fanboi base of dedicated Amtrak nuts that go apes--t crazy when anything happens to a long distance train, when overall the trains aren't attracting enough ridership to cover the basic costs, nor significantly attracting any new ridership.

[media.amtrak.com]

In ridership, Amtrak achieved year-over-year increases from FY 2016 for all of its service lines:

Northeast Corridor (NEC): 12 million riders – increased 1 percent and was the NEC’s highest ridership year ever
State Supported Services: 15 million riders – increased 2.1 percent
Long-Distance Routes: 4.6 million riders – increased 0.9 percent

Less than 1% is essentially a rounding error.