Thanksgiving travel...so mad!!

I am planning to visit my family in NJ for Thanksgiving since I have some time off, and because it is such a long drive I was going to take the train as I did the last time I went down there. Much less stress and better for the environment. However, the fares were double or more what they normally are, because it's a holiday weekend!! So I guess I will be driving after all, as long as it doesn't snow. Here is the letter I just sent off to Amtrak on their website expressing my unhappiness with the situation:

To whom it may concern:

I was on the website yesterday looking to purchase tickets from Wells, ME to Newark, NJ leaving on Wednesday 11/22 and returning Sunday or Monday 11/27 or 28 (going to visit family in NJ for Thanksgiving). It is a 6.5 hour drive from my residence in ----(town deleted for security purposes) to my family's home and I would much prefer to take the train and avoid the stress of that drive, in addition to that being better for the environment than driving by myself. And given the price of gas, the usual fare for that trip (Downeaster/NE Regional) is reasonable and I am happy to pay it to gain the advantages noted above. However, I was absolutely appalled yesterday at how high the fares were jacked up (more than double for some tickets) for those dates from what they normally are--I can only assume this is because it is a holiday weekend. Given these prices, I will be driving to NJ for that trip as the cost of the train tickets for that weekend is prohibitive. I am VERY disappointed in what appears to be a case of taking advantage of the holiday travel weekend--there will be a high volume of travelers that weekend which will be good for business without the price gouging and if I am representative of other travelers there would be more people traveling on Amtrak for Thanksgiving weekend if the fares were kept the same as the usual. I cannot be the only one who would otherwise take the train but will not be doing so due to the exorbitant fares being charged for that weekend. I realize the airlines etc. also do the same thing, but why is it necessary? It is just unfair and is not good for business.

Signed,
a disappointed customer

We'll see what kind of response I get, but I just couldn't let this go--I was mad!

I would do a letter to the editor, myself. (edited, shortened to be more concise)

It's supply and demand. Demand goes up, exceeds supply, prices rise.

And the extra revenue probably covers train trips that lose money at other times of the year.

When I used to take the train home for Thanksgiving, I paid extra for a club car ticket on the Metroliner. It was the only way to get a seat.

My family now celebrates ThanksMas. It has saved us all a great deal of money. This year ThanksMas is Dec 10-17th - so we can all fly on a Saturday and it's between peak. I saved 40% on my plane tickets over doing the same travel either the end of November or the end of December.
This bothered my mom the first couple of years - she missed me on Christmas, but she's used to it now and we just are a family in between the holidays.
I also much prefer to travel then - the airports are much quieter and my flights are often not full.
ThanksMas Rocks!

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Originally Posted by TsPoet

My family now celebrates ThanksMas. It has saved us all a great deal of money. This year ThanksMas is Dec 10-17th - so we can all fly on a Saturday and it's between peak. I saved 40% on my plane tickets over doing the same travel either the end of November or the end of December.
This bothered my mom the first couple of years - she missed me on Christmas, but she's used to it now and we just are a family in between the holidays.
I also much prefer to travel then - the airports are much quieter and my flights are often not full.
ThanksMas Rocks!

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The best time to drive from DC to NY is the middle of January. No traffic anywhere!!! Of course you do have to hope for no snow...

I understand your frustration, but given that Amtrak is currently running--even with federal subsidies--at a $500 million plus loss for the year, I imagine your complaint will fall on deaf ears.

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Originally Posted by indysteel

given that Amtrak is currently running--even with federal subsidies--at a $500 million plus loss for the year, I imagine your complaint will fall on deaf ears.

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It looks like you're right about falling on deaf ears...I got some BS form email in reply to my letter. I could see a certain amount of fare increase (like 25%) being reasonable for holiday travel, but doubling it is just totally out of proportion IMHO.

I don't think it's just the holidays - I *think* their fares automatically adjust in response to demand. When we took the auto train a couple of years ago, in the winter but not in a peak holiday travel period, the fares were different for every schedule we looked at.

Don't write Amtrak, write your representatives in Congress and ask for reasonable infrastructure support. Speaking of deaf ears. :rolleyes:

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Originally Posted by OakLeaf

Don't write Amtrak, write your representatives in Congress and ask for reasonable infrastructure support. Speaking of deaf ears. :rolleyes:

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Good point, given that Amtrak is government-run. Like I've said, it's my preferred way to travel for trips of a certain length (long enough for the drive to be a real drag but not so long that flying is the only practical way to go despite how much it sucks) but when the fares are ridiculously high it's just not going to work. I really think raising the fares that much is counterproductive given the decrease in ridership it is bound to cause. I'm surprised Amtrak hasn't started doing better now that flying has become more and more of a PITA...when you take the train you don't have to go through nearly the hassle you do at the airport, and the seating is much more comfortable/less cramped. Not to mention some trains (unfortunately not the Downeaster) have a quiet car...that means not having to listen to other people's loud conversations or screaming babies the entire trip, and even if one does have the misfortune of finding oneself seated near an annoying passenger, there is the option of moving to another car to get away from them! Try doing THAT on a plane... Maybe they need to do some sort of advertising campaign to talk up the advantages of taking the train vs. flying.

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Originally Posted by OakLeaf

Don't write Amtrak, write your representatives in Congress and ask for reasonable infrastructure support. Speaking of deaf ears. :rolleyes:

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The wisest advice here......

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Originally Posted by Jolt

Maybe they need to do some sort of advertising campaign to talk up the advantages of taking the train vs. flying.

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True! With all the environmental focus in the last decade, it would be prudent for them to hype this up and play that card in hopes of getting more people on board.

But yeah, that really sucks about the fares being so ridiculously overpriced! :(

And yes, our infrastructure is aging itself in scary ways. The last huge investment in our infrastructure development was with FDR in the 30's and 40's. Scary, scary! (ok, maybe not really- but have we really truly invested in major infrastructure work in the last 30 years??)

still, it's a chicken/egg scenario. Most people still aren't going to take the train until it becomes cheaper than flying or driving to do so. Or, in some cases more convenient. The Amtrak for my city, coming in from the other major hub, is two in the morning.

Or in a better area of town. The train station in Charlotte is not exactly in the a good area of town. I've dropped off and picked up a friend there (she was going back to PA to visit family and flying was way too expensive for her). I will leave my car at the airport for a trip, I would never leave my car parked at the train station for a day trip let alone one for longer. Now if they ever build that high speed rail they are supposed to be building between Charlotte and Raleigh that is a much better situation as the last I knew the train station for that train is going to be right near the airport. The original plan for that train line was supposed to be from Atlanta to Charlotte to Raleigh to Richmond to DC. I haven't heard anything lately about the Atlanta to Charlotte part, but I have heard the Charlotte to Raleigh part is getting closer to being ready to go and keep hearing things about the Raleigh to Richmond part.

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Originally Posted by Tri Girl

True! With all the environmental focus in the last decade, it would be prudent for them to hype this up and play that card in hopes of getting more people on board.

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Not only the environmental advantages, but the fact that it eliminates the stress of driving and dealing with traffic and is much more pleasant than flying. I'm envisioning a commercial with three people making a trip: one driving from Boston to NYC or something and sitting in a traffic jam, one dealing with all the hassles in the airport (parking, long security lines, etc.) and then getting stuck in a middle seat in a noisy section of the plane (where there is no opportunity to move to a better spot) and maybe hitting some good turbulence and spilling drinks for good measure, and one going into the train station, getting right on the train, and having a nice relaxing trip (maybe choosing the Quiet Car). It could be quite humorous and get the point across that there are alternatives to driving and flying.

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Originally Posted by Irulan

still, it's a chicken/egg scenario. Most people still aren't going to take the train until it becomes cheaper than flying or driving to do so. Or, in some cases more convenient. The Amtrak for my city, coming in from the other major hub, is two in the morning.

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You're still lucky. My Amtrak is a three hour drive away, leaving at two in the morning, and then a transfer within two hours with a two hour layover.

And even point to point, it still takes twice as long as driving. I really really want to take the train, but it's such a freakin' hassle ... when we drove 10 hours to the auto train there was a visit with relatives on the way, so it wasn't a total waste, but I don't think we'll do that again. It's more comfortable to sleep on a plane. In coach. Not kidding.

What we really need is commuter trains. Trains for long hauls probably won't happen any time soon and may never be practical in the USA, but I would LOVE LOVE LOVE to be able to hop on a train to go see my Bengals, or the Cleveland Orchestra, just f'rinstance. That shouldn't be as far-fetched as it apparently is in today's world.

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Originally Posted by OakLeaf

You're still lucky. My Amtrak is a three hour drive away, leaving at two in the morning, and then a transfer within two hours with a two hour layover.

And even point to point, it still takes twice as long as driving. I really really want to take the train, but it's such a freakin' hassle ... when we drove 10 hours to the auto train there was a visit with relatives on the way, so it wasn't a total waste, but I don't think we'll do that again. It's more comfortable to sleep on a plane. In coach. Not kidding.

What we really need is commuter trains. Trains for long hauls probably won't happen any time soon and may never be practical in the USA, but I would LOVE LOVE LOVE to be able to hop on a train to go see my Bengals, or the Cleveland Orchestra, just f'rinstance. That shouldn't be as far-fetched as it apparently is in today's world.

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Yuck to your Amtrak service...at least here in the NE it's halfway decent. I agree about the commuter trains and also think regional service (much like what exists in the NE, although even that could be expanded somewhat) is what they should focus on rather than the cross-country routes given how long the distances are. In other words, the trips that are a long drive but a short flight. The only way the longer-distance routes would replace flying would be if we had high-speed rail, which would be great but probably won't happen. Too bad, because flying stinks nowadays.

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Originally Posted by Jolt

I'm surprised Amtrak hasn't started doing better now that flying has become more and more of a PITA...when you take the train you don't have to go through nearly the hassle you do at the airport, and the seating is much more comfortable/less cramped.

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They are doing better!

A few days ago I read an article about this. In the most recent reporting interval (maybe fiscal year?), Amtrak had record ridership, ... and record losses. My take on the numbers reported is that fares only cover half the cost of the service.

When I rode it last XMas, I noticed that Amtrak varies fares just like airlines. Unfortunately, their website does not help balance ridership by promoting the cheaper days.

On my return trip, I noticed something strange: The train was supposedly sold out, all seats occupied. Instead it felt only about 2/3 full. I think Amtrak counts a pax riding Los Angeles to Sacramento and another one riding Portland to Seattle as taking up two seats for the entire trip from LA to Seattle. :confused: