I discovered the following service that should give fans of train service pause:
http://www.redcoachusa.com/
These guys run first-class motorcoach service between various points in Florida. The service includes buses with 27 seat capacity (vs. ~50 in usual intercity coaches), 2X1 seating, free wi-fi, etc.
I priced a journey for tomorrow from Orlando to Miami. They have two departures, with 4.5 hour scheduled time and a fare of $45. Amtrak offers a 5.75 hour ride on the Meteor and a 7.5 hour ride on the Star and a fare of $53.
At that, I rode the Silver Star last week and was amazed at the number of passengers riding intrastate in Florida. The crowd looking to board at Tampa for Miami and intermediate points looked like what you see on the NEC. Even though I prefer to ride trains, with faster cheaper first-class bus service, I'm not sure... Certainly opponents of passenger rail could easily say that people who don't like to fly could be well serviced by quality motorcoach services, with first class coaches for those who want the extra room. I had heard such services were widely available in Mexico, but this is the first time I've heard of them in this country. Is this the future of intercity ground transportation? What can Amtrak do to meet this challenge?
http://www.redcoachusa.com/
These guys run first-class motorcoach service between various points in Florida. The service includes buses with 27 seat capacity (vs. ~50 in usual intercity coaches), 2X1 seating, free wi-fi, etc.
I priced a journey for tomorrow from Orlando to Miami. They have two departures, with 4.5 hour scheduled time and a fare of $45. Amtrak offers a 5.75 hour ride on the Meteor and a 7.5 hour ride on the Star and a fare of $53.
At that, I rode the Silver Star last week and was amazed at the number of passengers riding intrastate in Florida. The crowd looking to board at Tampa for Miami and intermediate points looked like what you see on the NEC. Even though I prefer to ride trains, with faster cheaper first-class bus service, I'm not sure... Certainly opponents of passenger rail could easily say that people who don't like to fly could be well serviced by quality motorcoach services, with first class coaches for those who want the extra room. I had heard such services were widely available in Mexico, but this is the first time I've heard of them in this country. Is this the future of intercity ground transportation? What can Amtrak do to meet this challenge?
Last edited by a moderator: