Thanksgiving travel...so mad!!

[Jolt]

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!

[Irulan]

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

[ny biker]

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.

[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!

[ny biker]

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!

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...

[indysteel]

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.