FUD Wrote:
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> Roger is often a clown, but is also often right.
> He's very right here: trains in California are a
> real option for medium-length trips

By the time I buy FOUR round-trip tickets for myself and my family (of course at the inflated holiday prices), drive our car to the Amtrak station (due to the lack of decent local public transportation because of the anti-bus lobby), wait 45 minutes for the train IF it's on time (and longer if it isn't)...take the train that travels at an average speed LESS than the adjacent freeway...arrive at our out-of-the-way Amtrak platform only to find absolutely zero functioning public transit, try to find an Uber...pay surge pricing...

And hope NOTHING at all goes wrong with the journey because if even ONE thing breaks, there's no alternate transportation or detour. Again, thanks to the anti-bus lobby that destroyed Greyhound and most intercity transit.

I'd rather sit in traffic than be stranded by Amtrak. At least in my car I have functioning A/C, entertainment, drinks and snacks that I purchased at affordable prices... Any time Amtrak is more than 15 minutes late, the cafe car should legit be free - AND Amtrak should be required to stock that cafe car in anticipation of delays, meaning OVERSTOCKING. And frankly, Amtrak should be required to purchase its own fleet of backup buses and have them on standby 24/7/365.