Amtrak Planning Big Fare Increase on NEC

[AlanB]

Amtrak is preparing to announce a significant increase in fares that will push up the monthly cost of commuting for thousands of train riders in the Northeast by as much as 50 percent, according to railroad industry officials, commuter advocates and Congressional staff members.
Some commuters who travel regularly on Amtrak trains between Washington and Boston said ticket agents had warned them of an impending increase that could add hundreds of dollars to the cost of their monthly passes. By yesterday afternoon, people who work on Capitol Hill said Amtrak employees had told them an announcement about a big rise in fares was imminent, probably coming next week.

The full story from the NY Times.

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[jccollins]

Brilliant. Amtrak provides a lousy service (no Acela Expresses for the last few months) that can't run on time, and then when the Acelas finally return Amtrak decides to gouge its most loyal passengers. Chalk one up for the airlines that will be carrying more passengers than ever due to Amtrak's stupid decision.

 

[Sam Damon]

I can somewhat understand the fare increase, given the spike in diesel prices.

Only thing is, the NEC is electrified. I don't think electricity prices have spiked, although in Pennsylvania, which has deregulated electricity supply, anything's possible.

Even so, this is bad timing on Amtrak's part. Very bad.

I think the time has come to start the national campaign to get rid of Secretary Mineta. It could be part of the FEMA housecleaning... yah, that's the ticket!

 

[Midland Valley]

With all the trouble the administration is in right now, watch out for a scorched earth policy.

 

[gswager]

Or to show Mineta that raising fare will pick one of two options- making profit or declining riders (repeating of 1950s). He'll have learn in a very HARD way!

 

[jmc]

I just saw the news release from Amtrak over on Trainorders. The average fare is increasing on 9/20 by 5-7%, which they say is about $3.00 nationally ($4.00 in the NE corridor).

I usually just lurk at these forums, but I had to post this. 50% increase! Nonsense... I wonder who provided that bit of misinformation??

 

[jmc]

I should mention they say the discount on monthly tickets is dropping from as much as 70% to 50%. So you could say that's a 20% increase for some people, but that's stil a long way from 50%. The 10 ride tickets are now going to be discounted 20%, I don't know what the discount was before.

 

[PRR 60]

I should mention they say the discount on monthly tickets is dropping from as much as 70% to 50%. So you could say that's a 20% increase for some people, but that's stil a long way from 50%.

Your math is off. Reducing the discount from 70% to 50% is much more than a 20% increase. A $100 fare discounted 70% is $30. Reduce the discount to 50%, the new fare is $50. The fare increase is for that example $50/$30 or 67%.

 

[Sam Damon]

Or to show Mineta that raising fare will pick one of two options- making profit or declining riders (repeating of 1950s). He'll have learn in a very HARD way!

Regrettably, Mineta will be long gone from DOT before the effects of his lack of railroad experience become apparent.

 

[AlanB]

Or to show Mineta that raising fare will pick one of two options- making profit or declining riders (repeating of 1950s).  He'll have learn in a very HARD way!

Regrettably, Mineta will be long gone from DOT before the effects of his lack of railroad experience become apparent.

Well there is an question here that we're not mentioning and that sadly we don't know the answer to, nor are we likely to ever find out.

That question being, does Mr. Mineta truly believe that he has the answer for Amtrak (oblivion) or his he simply doing what he's been ordered to do?

 

[PRR 60]

Blaming this fare increase on Secretary Mineta is a stretch. As of today, Amtrak does not know what the level of federal support will be for FY2006. It is pretty certain that it will not be zero and most likely it will be something like this year’s number (which I hasten to add is about twice as high as Amtrak received in the later years under Clinton). So, how can a fare increase be blamed on a Mineta and a lack of subsidy when no one knows the number?

Mr. Mineta has absolutely nothing to do with this fare hike except for his “suggestion” that Amtrak start acting like a business and seriously consider its cash flow problems. This fare increase is Amtrak’s decision alone. They looked at the market: they looked at their current revenue and costs: they considered the impact of gasoline cost on driving: and they opted to boost the income side of the ledger by raising fares.

Particularly with regard to the huge hike in commuter fares, they are betting that most riders have no reasonable alternative and will pay up and stay on the trains. Even if 20 or 30% of the monthlies leave, they will still have a net gain in revenue and more single seats to sell. They might be right: or they might be wrong. Time will tell. But Mineta has nothing to do with it. This is Amtrak’s call and the credit or blame goes to Amtrak.

 

[Guest_Gingee]

Am I missing something? Is the $3 on a long distance train or just commuters? If so, $3 is nothing on a long distance train.