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Re: I don't get it . . .
Author: mook
Date: 07-11-2013 - 18:07
A few other things to think about ...
Motel 6/Super 8 etc. give you an occasionally clean room for $50-100/nite (depending on where you are). The Dennys next door will cost you $40-50/day for 3 meals. Hardly first-class; beds aren't much better than Amtrak coach seats (which are better than 1st class on most airlines).
The Builder or Zephyr or the like, end to end, involve 4 nites on the road (if all goes reasonably well). The 'hotel' fare for 1st Class gives you 4 nites in a bed and 12 or so meals for about $1500. Motel 6/Super 8 + Dennys would be about 1/3 of that. But if you compare to a business-class motel/hotel (more comparable in character - Comfort Inn, Fairfield, mid-level Best Westerns, etc.) the rate goes into the $100-200 range most places bringing it up to more like 2/3 of Amtrak. And you still have to drive to the next one (though that's what the basic fare covers on the train of course). If you want to compare to the Big Hotels where you get all the services (with a substantial tip or extra fee required for each, even some like in-room coffee that are free in the lower-priced places ... figure probably doubling the room rate for tips and fees if you do any more than just sleep there) then forget it - Amtrak is less expensive. Room service - pay for it at top price and a 20-25% mandatory service charge at the hotel! So I really don't think the Amtrak sleeper charges are extravagant given the situation, and the staff certainly have more to do more often than the typical hotel service staff do, considering the number of rooms (1 car is similar to a whole wing or floor of a hotel).
My main gripe is that Amtrak fares (and, I think, room charges) are per person. You can comfortably put 2-4 in even a modest motel room, for one 'fare', and any kind of 'car poool' cuts the travel cost per person a bunch. That kind of prices groups/families out of the rail market. Even counting worst-case parking, bridge toll, etc, for 2 of us it's break even to Amtrak for a day run to the Bay Area. For a longer trip or with more people, the car looks even better despite the driving hassle. Something for HSR to think about as well.
Motel 6/Super 8 etc. give you an occasionally clean room for $50-100/nite (depending on where you are). The Dennys next door will cost you $40-50/day for 3 meals. Hardly first-class; beds aren't much better than Amtrak coach seats (which are better than 1st class on most airlines).
The Builder or Zephyr or the like, end to end, involve 4 nites on the road (if all goes reasonably well). The 'hotel' fare for 1st Class gives you 4 nites in a bed and 12 or so meals for about $1500. Motel 6/Super 8 + Dennys would be about 1/3 of that. But if you compare to a business-class motel/hotel (more comparable in character - Comfort Inn, Fairfield, mid-level Best Westerns, etc.) the rate goes into the $100-200 range most places bringing it up to more like 2/3 of Amtrak. And you still have to drive to the next one (though that's what the basic fare covers on the train of course). If you want to compare to the Big Hotels where you get all the services (with a substantial tip or extra fee required for each, even some like in-room coffee that are free in the lower-priced places ... figure probably doubling the room rate for tips and fees if you do any more than just sleep there) then forget it - Amtrak is less expensive. Room service - pay for it at top price and a 20-25% mandatory service charge at the hotel! So I really don't think the Amtrak sleeper charges are extravagant given the situation, and the staff certainly have more to do more often than the typical hotel service staff do, considering the number of rooms (1 car is similar to a whole wing or floor of a hotel).
My main gripe is that Amtrak fares (and, I think, room charges) are per person. You can comfortably put 2-4 in even a modest motel room, for one 'fare', and any kind of 'car poool' cuts the travel cost per person a bunch. That kind of prices groups/families out of the rail market. Even counting worst-case parking, bridge toll, etc, for 2 of us it's break even to Amtrak for a day run to the Bay Area. For a longer trip or with more people, the car looks even better despite the driving hassle. Something for HSR to think about as well.
