Fred Frailly has a fascinating column about Amtrak's Customer Rewards program. It seems all of the members who qualify for the top level are along the Northeast Corridor Line. This is because Amtrak gives you at least 100 points per trip no matter how short and if you commute 5 days a week you run up a lot of trips pretty fast.
Of course commuting by Amtrak is a little more expensive than using a commuter train. For example, a monthly ticket between Trenton, NJ and New York Penn Station is $440 from New Jersey Transit and $1044 from Amtrak. That comes to an extra $15 a ride on a month with 20 work days. What do you get for your money? First of all, you get a seat all the way home, something you often do not get on NJT. And it is a more comfortable seat. If you get stuck as the 3rd person in 5 across seating it is a lot more comfortable.
Would anyone pay this price? Up until several years ago Amtrak used to rent out a car to a private club that was formed to have their own private car. The cost over and above the ticket was over $1000 a month. Yes, I think there are people who would pay the price.
With the demarcation point between NCTD (Coaster) and Metrolink being Oceanside, anyone who wants to commute from points significantly south of Oceanside to Orange or LA county needs to ride Amtrak. The fare for the monthly pass between Solana Beach to Irvine is currently $340. The seat pitch on the California cars and Amfleet are about the same as the Coaster, though there's often one or two Superliners with the LD seating.
It appears that many people will ride Amtrak in preference to Metrolink, possibly due to faster trip time.
- Erik
Amtrak is in an awkward position here, since its legal mandate is for intercity passenger service, not suburban service. This goes a long way in explaining fares on the NEC that are appreciably higher than those posted by the various transit agencies. I would think that the number of daily riders willing to pay that premium are relatively small.
In my Ridewithmehenry trips we have ridden Amtrak out of NYP to Poughkeepsie and Stamford for time and the fun of it. Yes it costs almost double MNRR fare but it gives a different perspective in riding trains both in comfort, ambience, and speed. The problem I have with using Amtrak for Ridewithmehenry is the need to plan and reserve so far ahead to get the best price since the numbers in my party can be changed right up to train time. NYP to Philadelphia and south is much, much more expensive, especially Acela service, that we've not been able to try it....some of the timings don't match up to our scheduled connections, too. In the absence of club cars and bar car services on commuter trains now, I can see why those who can afford, need or want, or are used to such services, would pay the extra for Amtrak...I'm sure I would if I were in the position..
RIDEWITHMEHENRY is the name for our almost monthly day of riding trains and transit in either the NYCity or Philadelphia areas including all commuter lines, Amtrak, subways, light rail and trolleys, bus and ferries when warranted. No fees, just let us know you want to join the ride and pay your fares. Ask to be on our email list or find us on FB as RIDEWITHMEHENRY (all caps) to get descriptions of each outing.
I'm not sure how much "relatively small" is. 5 per cent, 10 per cent and 25 per cent are all relatively small. But I doubt Amtrak could ever pick up 25 per cent of NJT's riders. And I would think picking up daily riders for short rides on existing trains would be attractive to Amtrak.
Up to a few years ago Amtrak honored NJT monthly commuter passes on certain North East Regional trains. The trains were Clockers (which Amtrak no longer operates) and some Keystone Service trains. I rode Amtrak with my NJT pass for many months. And the train was extremely popular although I was able to find a seat at the rear of the train.
I can understand how it would be difficult for you to use Amtrak on your trips, Henry. If I by a North East Regional Ticket from NYP to Providence far enough in advance it costs $49 but at the last minute it can be over $100.
Also, if you ride a 3 and 2 flip seat train you can have 6 people facing each other.
There are a good chunk of folks who commute on Amtrak from Phila to NY everyday.
People who use Amtrak to commute on the NEC are generally not....er....part of "the 99%".
-Don (Random stuff, mostly about trains - what else? http://blerfblog.blogspot.com/)
oltmanndThere are a good chunk of folks who commute on Amtrak from Phila to NY everyday.
Having commuted from Princeton Junction to Newark by both Amtrak and NJT I can understand why.
The thing that must be realized is that the Amtrak Guest Rewards points for "Northeast Zone" tickets cost 2.7 times as many points as non-"Northeast Zone" trips do. It's right on the home page of AGR, "Coach Class - Northeast Zone 4,000 points" when everywhere else is 1,500 points.
So, in reality, the extra "benefit" is offset. Unless, of course, you use your rewards points for non-"Northeast Zone" travel.
Oh, and in case you haven't seen the discussion on Fred's piece, you actually do not get so many rewards points for monthly tickets, only single-ride tickets, so commuters aren't "gaming" the system as easily as Fred thinks. The comments below his piece addresses that as well so I won't go into that here. I expect a correction from Fred.
aegrotatio so commuters aren't "gaming" the system as easily as Fred thinks.
WHAT? Look, I can get an Amtrak monthly ticket between Newark and Metropark for $702. A lot of trains stop at Metropark. I figured I could ride back an forth at least 20 times a day and have my 20,000 points in 10 days. Now you are telling me I can't? It's not fair!!!!!
John WR aegrotatio so commuters aren't "gaming" the system as easily as Fred thinks. WHAT? Look, I can get an Amtrak monthly ticket between Newark and Metropark for $702. A lot of trains stop at Metropark. I figured I could ride back an forth at least 20 times a day and have my 20,000 points in 10 days. Now you are telling me I can't? It's not fair!!!!!
Oh, dear God, you have a point -- similar to those people who love to fly, fly, fly and have nothing better to do, and build up their frequent-flyer miles... if I remember correctly, though it has been many years, some frequent-flyer programs went from segments to miles just because of this kind of thing...
Question, of course: is it worth $702 for free drinks and the other amenities? We should bring this up to Fred -- there HAS to be a catch to it somewhere. (If not... Iselin, here I come...) :-)
OvermodQuestion, of course: is it worth $702 for free drinks and the other amenities? We should bring this up to Fred -- there HAS to be a catch to it somewhere. (If not... Iselin, here I come...) :-)
I never thought about that. I just saw it as a way of getting more for me.
If you check the VRE web site, it is possible to ride out of Fredericksburg and Quantico on Amtrak trains using VRE tickets in a way that I don't remember the details, but the VRE web site gives them. Also, there are people who live in Culpepper who apparently have figured out how to ride Amtrak to Culpepper instead of VRE to Manassa. Again, I don't know the details, but I've talked with them personally and I know it's done.
Dave
PhelpsIf you check the VRE web site, it is possible to ride out of Fredericksburg and Quantico on Amtrak trains using VRE tickets
Dave,
Back in the days when I rode Amtrak using my New Jersey Transit monthly ticket I never got any guest rewards points. Since I was paying less than half of the Amtrak fare I didn't complain.
Enjoy your ride, John
Don't forget a lot of corporations in the North East, and Federal and Local Governments will often subsidize or even cover the public transit fare/pass cost for many of their workers. This significantly reduces or eliminates the differences in price .
Such a subsidy is usually for a flat amount rather than a percentage of the fare. While this does reduce the commuting cost, it doesn't eliminate the fare differential between Amtrak and the local transit agency.
BtcaubDon't forget a lot of corporations in the North East, and Federal and Local Governments will often subsidize or even cover the public transit fare/pass cost for many of their workers. This significantly reduces or eliminates the differences in price .
I don't follow your point.
It is true that today many employers contribute toward the cost of a commuter ticket. This reduces the cost to the employee but I don't get your point about "differences in price."
I worked for the Federal Government and commuted between Newark and Trenton, My monthly commuter ticket was $300. I got the maximum subsidy, $60 per month. Had I commuted on Amtrak I would have paid about $1000 a month.
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