It seems to Me the only way to save amtrak now is a major fare increase. There was talk of a $30 per person expense the government will not cover. I would add $30 to My ticket price to ride amtrak. Sure beats the bus or plane. And…the one thing amtrak could do that NONE of the competition could do is offer auto service on the long distance trains. (for an additional cost, of course) but I feel that the time may be near for amtrak… I sure would like to get a look at the books and see where all the money has gone!-- I know running trains is expensive…but I bet there is massive waste too.
Gentlegiant, to say “running trains is expensive” is an understatement. The Superliners are essentially a hotel on wheels, with all the expenses of a hotel and a train put together. I’ve found Amtrak’s fares to be more than reasonable and personally would have no objection to raising them to cover expenses.
Of course, since it’s a federally supported corporation, I wonder if there’s some fare setting authority in Washington that controls this?
What’s the old saying? If you try to satisfy everybody, you will probably make most people dissatisfied in the process? I’ve always felt Amtrak has somewhat of an inferiority complex. They always seem to feel unworthy when it comes appealing to the upper income types. Maybe that’s just them responding to the political demands made on them for a cheap transportation option… Or maybe they themselves are victims of their own bad press. (ie: Leno type jokes) But whatever it is, it doesn’t seem to work for them. Typically in business, you either need to focus on selling a lot of something cheaply, or a little of something at high prices. The cheap version, you get what you pay for… The expensive version, you get more. Amtrak always seems to be divided on this matter. Do we run a alternative transportation that’s cheap (like Greyhound), or do we run a transportation alternative that’s better, and more money? It still doesn’t seem like they’ve decided, and I personally don’t think anything will change until they do.
Dave
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