Amtrak On Its Latest Fare Hike
Northeast tickets among those up 5 percent
Last week, I griped about Amtrak's latest fare increase, particularly in the Northeast. Amtrak got back to me today in an email. It turns out it's not just in the Northeast; and it is partly due to higher fuel costs. From the email:
On July 8th, we increased the fares on the following routes by 5%. This was done as a result of our recent labor agreements as well as the rising cost of fuel on those routes that are powered by diesel locomotives. Our fares are set by supply and demand so the continued high demand and constrained capacity we are experiencing were also factors in the increase.
Northeast Regional (Washington, DC - New York - Boston)
Maple Leaf (Toronto - Niagara Falls - Syracuse - Albany - New York)
New Haven to Springfield Service
Empire (Niagara Falls - Syracuse - Albany - New York)
Pennsylvanian (Pittsburgh - New York)
Adirondack (Montreal - Albany - New York)
Ethan Allan Express (Rutland - Albany - New York)
Vermonter (St Albans - Springfield - New York - Washington)
Keystone (Harrisburg - Philadelphia - New York)
Hiawatha (Chicago - Milwaukee)
Wolverine (Chicago - Pontiac, MI)
Pere Marquette (Chicago - Grand Rapids, MI)
Blue Water (Chicago - Port Huron, MI)
yea, I noticed this, too -- my $69 tickets went to $76, and my $84s went to $92.
The cheapest Accela I've seen is $101, but that's for only a partial trip (NY's Penn to Providence, one stop shy of Boston)
I went ahead and got a AAA membership -- it only cost $33 a year to add me onto my family's plan, and though it seems ridiculous to join an automobile association if you live in Manhattan, it saves me 10% on every ride. Basically, it paid for itself in just two roundtrips.
Jesus Christ, get over it. Transportation costs have gone up across the board for everyone, and every shipper.
If you're bitching about $92, I wonder what you'll be saying two years from now when airfare to go anywhere domestic will start at $400, and the trains won't be far behind.
RocketScience, not all transportation costs have gone up. The Chinatown buses are still $15 between New York and Boston.
pgisch, you didn't need to add yourself to the AAA plan -- you could just input your family's membership number into the Amtrak website. Unless, of course, they ask to see the AAA card on the train, but I've never heard of that happening.
Pretty good how they throw in the labor as part of the reason cost went up. Maybe if they don't wait 10years between contracts it wouldn't have been too bad.
I HAVE been asked to show my AAA card when picking up tickets at the station from the clerks, and if memory serves, in the conditions of travel, the conductor does have the right to ask to see your card. Small price to pay and a minor inconvenience for the savings you get, I'd say.
But where in the universe does it make sense for a 2-day trip from Philadelphia to Baltimore for 3 people to cost $720? If we are ever to shift from automobiles to train travel in this country, shouldn't a train ticket be more reasonable?