If 39 Million people depend on rail transport in the USA (Amtrak and Commuter) thats one voting block you cant ignore. Amtrak should not only count revenue but each new rider is a new voter for rail transit. 19 Million new voters for Amtrak since the 1990s when ridership was 20,000,000.
If it were only that simple, that black and white. Many commuters have no affinity for long distance or even intercity trains and many Amtrak riders have never ridden a commuter train. So their thoughts, needs, desires, and political sway are not compatible.
That hardly translates into 39 million voters, since the ridership is composed of total rides. Many of those rides are by the same person, especially commuters.
On March 5 Joe Boardman testified to the Congress that in 2012 Amtrak had almost 32 million “riders.” These people voted with their feet and with their dollars for Amtrak.
By way of comparison, to put in a realistic perspective, according to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics, a total of 631,939,829 passengers boarded domestic flights in the United States in the year 2010. This averages to 1.73 million passengers flying per day. So every 18.5 days, the airlines board what Amtrak boards in an entire year. Amtrak is a good starting point, but it has a long way to go.
The Highway Trust Fund became insolvent about five years ago. Ergo, they now get to feed at the trough just like NRPC to make up for monetary shortfalls. There are around 200 million drivers in the United States who will not be ignored. Guess where the money is going to go?
What if we could gain 10M new riders by abandoning 5M? That would make that “voting block” 44M. Even better, right?
If we can get Amtrak, Congress, states, and advocates to focus on where passenger rail works best by developing corridors, particularly NEC extensions, we might be able to do just that. There is some Federal money available for investment. We have to help make sure it goes for corridor development and not more Viewliners and baggage cars.
We need a National transportation policy which includes all modes of travel and all state DOT’s participation. Determine efficient and safe use of each mode and apply it to a program to provide for the transportation needs of the local communities, local regional communities, state communities, state regional communities, and interstate and national communities. Air, highway, rail, water for freight and people. And taxpayers and businesses.
The long march begins with the first step. Amtrak can do some positive changes and avoid doing other foolish things right now on its own without a major reconfiguration of national transportation policies. The latter would be a great idea, but in the current climate in DC, passing a bill even to honor mothers would provoke a partisan death match.
D. Carlton,
Many people make your argument. I find it curious that a guy who regularly writes about Amtrak would accept it so uncritically.
No doubt our 200 million drivers are a powerful voting block. The very fact that there is a Highway Trust Fund shows how powerful it is. Insolvent or not, all of our motor fuel taxes are still paid into the fund and no one in Congress questions that. And, as you point out, highways get the lions share of general revenues for transportation besides.
But you of all people have to realize that Congress has for a great many years found money for other kinds of transportation. For water transportation, for air transportation and, since 1970, for rail passenger transportation. The mood of the Congress these days makes me pessimistic about the continued funding of Amtrak even at today’s relatively low levels. But Amtrak’s situation may not be totally hopeless.
I do not see an us vs them situation where lobbyists for roads seek to shoot down Amtrak. Rather I see a situation where lobbyists for roads realistically point out to the needs for maintenance and repair of our roads and bridges for both automobiles and the trucks which carry so much of our freight.
All of our infrastructure needs repair and upgrading. Don’t you think that, perhaps, focus on one to the exclusion of others overly simplifies the problems?
There’s the rub. The highway funding is all about investment in infrastructure. The Amtrak funding is about half direct operating subsidy. It’s pretty easy and natural to be able to draw a bright line between the two. Not that it’s totally fair, but we’ll never win the “fair is fair” argument - for a variety of reasons (which we’ve debated here ad naseum).
So, we have to change the argument. The best way to do that is to show the operating subsidy is steadily decreasing, that new services don’t require any Federal operating subsidy, that existing “biggest losers” are being dealt with. And, the action needs to come from inside Amtrak, not thru Congressional meddling ala PRIIA. That shifts Amtrak from being a purveyor of the status quo, “Soviet style railroading” with $15 hamburgers to a trusted and useful partner.
Some progress has occurred and Amtrak is slowly starting to hammer some of these points home, but let’s hope and push for more change, faster.
Unfortunately I don’t think we will ever see what Amtrak is capable of. If the government would of invested in railroads like they in highways and airports in the 40s and 50s we could potential have high speed rail similar to what is available in Europe across the northeast, California and possibly some coming of Chicago to St. Louis, twin cities and possibly a line running all the way to New York. Even seeing trains running at 100-150 between Chicago and the west coast.
Except that those who accuse Amtrak of “Soviet style railroading” would never ever allow it to have the kind of autonomy it would take to make any real change. I think the best Amtrak can hope for with the present House of Representatives is to simply survive. Perhaps – I hope – in time the mood of the Congress will change. But unless and until it does at best Amtrak will have to struggle along as it is.
Everyone on all sides of the debate ignore the real solution. Deregulation. Deregulation saved freight railroads. Deregulation can save passenger rail. At this point just get rid of the FRA and FTA the AAR does a better job. The FRA is just a legislative busybody there to satisfy lobbyists and to justify its own existence.
What “regulations” are there on passenger rail? Right now, really, none, nothing that would affect anything as we know it in the US today. The heavy loading gauge to absorb accidents and signaling systems which could help keep trains moving and apart (PTC) are the two things which could be called regulation maybe. But aside from commuter rail and what little Amtrak has out there, there is nothing to regulate. Deregulation saved railroad companies but not necessarily railroads…we have fewer lines and fewer companies…they may be better of but it could be argued we as a population are not.
www.ebbc.org/rail/fra.html
Also there is the pointless EIS
So loosing a few lines is that bad. The companies were going bankrupt so without the deregulation there would be NO railroads of any kind. Government unions also impose inflexible work rules.
Bonas,
Where do you get your statistic about the number of commuters? I don’t suggest you are wrong; I’m just curious.
Also, one thing polls often ignore is the depth of people’s feelings. A person may commute by train. Clearly, he believes trains are good things because he rides one. But he may not think about it all that much and it may not influence his voting.
The good part of that is that among drivers support for roads may well be equally shallow.
John
And how do you propose to get rid of government?
People get private and common carrier transport mixed up. Try watching a movie and working on your computer and driving at the same time. What do people use when they “Leave the driving to US”
I also heard that if Amtrak were a airline it would be the top 10 in “passenger miles” which is a industry standard.
For 2010, Amtrak would rank #9 before Allegiant Air. Amtrak had 6.420 billion (revenue) passenger miles and Allegiant at #10 had 5.486 billion RPM. But all US airlines (domestic services) had 555.8 billion in 2010. So comparing apples to apples, Amtrak had only 1.16% as many RPMs as the airlines, or 1.14% of the total passenger miles for air and intercity rail combined. As Paul M. has pointed out several times before, in the total picture, Amtrak is a minor player. In the NEC, it is a major player, and using that high speed corridor model, it could become one in other markets as well.
Some folks seem to think Amtrak is growing a lot. However, in 1991 it had 6.273 billion RPM compared to 6.420 in 2010, an increase of only 2.3% over a 20 year period, while the population increased by 24%.