empty amtrak buses

[yarrow]

we just got back from a great amtrak adventure spk-sfc on the eb,cs and bus. have a buch of questions, comments and trip reports to post which hopefully i can get done over the next few days. first question/comment: we were on the bus from klamath falls to pasco to meet the eb from the cs as there is only an hour between the time the cs gets to portland and the eb leaves and the cs generally doesn't make it.

the bus trip was actually quite enjoyable but on a full size tour bus there were 9 people including the 3 of us. the bus drops us at pasco and returns empty to klamath falls. amtrak is losing a lot of money doing this. i know they have to guarentee connections but it was almost silly riding a nearly empty bus that would make the return journey totally empty. i know we were travelling in the off season but still if an amtrak critic had been on the bus he would have had plenty to write about. i was glad the service was available but it almost seemed a waste of tax dollars to me. i don't see restoring the connection in portland soon as it is so close between the 2 trains. is there a more cost effective way to do the cs-eb connection?

 

[TransAtlantic]

the cost of a r/t bus, even empty, is still less than what Amtrak would have to shell out for overnight accommodations or, worse, refunds if the connection couldn't be made - it's actually American pragmatism at its best, making the best of a bad (UP slowing the CS) situation...

 

[sechs]

I suppose that the other option is to break the same-day connection.

Is that better?

 

[yarrow]

actually i might favor breaking the connection. it seems incredibly expensive and wasteful as it is done now. although it would be difficult, maybe impossible, it would seem that changing the cs to run a couple hours earlier so it would make the connection in portland would be a solution.

 

[AlanB]

actually i might favor breaking the connection. it seems incredibly expensive and wasteful as it is done now. although it would be difficult, maybe impossible, it would seem that changing the cs to run a couple hours earlier so it would make the connection in portland would be a solution.

It's way more than a couple of hours that are needed. Last summer Amtrak would have needed to move the 10AM LAX departure to about 1 or 2 AM in order to have maybe a 75% chance of making the connection.

 

[yarrow]

actually i might favor breaking the connection. it seems incredibly expensive and wasteful as it is done now. although it would be difficult, maybe impossible, it would seem that changing the cs to run a couple hours earlier so it would make the connection in portland would be a solution.

It's way more than a couple of hours that are needed. Last summer Amtrak would have needed to move the 10AM LAX departure to about 1 or 2 AM in order to have maybe a 75% chance of making the connection.

i know up was doing track work last summer. i think the cs has been doing somewhat better since then. i don't know what a solution would be but the empty bus would seem a prime target for someone wanting to do away with amtrak's subsidy. it's a drop in the bucket compared to how planes and trucks are subsidized but still it seems a glaring waste.

 

[PSurfliner]

Moving up the Starlight a few hours so it can sometimes make the 14-28 connection unfortunately would sever a very reliable and well-traveled 3-14 connection at LAX. <_<

 

[George Harris]

As the cost of running things go, the cost of contracting a tour bus to handle this connection, even if the average load is 9 people that would otherwise have a 50 - 50 or better chance of having to be put up in a hotel instead is a bargain. While this item may be obvious, it is not a major cost issue.

George