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[quote user="jeaton"] PA? to the west coast?  Say Pittsburgh to LA.  About 5000 miles driving round trip. At 20MPG and $2.60 per gallon gas would run about $650.  A round trip coach ticket on Amtrak in January is $386.  (Didn't check an air fare-could be less).  Add cost of food/lodging/maybe rental car/other out of pocket car cost (oil change?)/number of travelers?/ If I was traveling alone, I would probably take the train.  I figure my full my auto cost at about 50 cents a mile, because I keep them until they max out mileage wise rather than sit and grow old.  Of course flying takes much less time and might even be cheaper, but being retired, I have time. The bottom line though-these days, no travel is cheap.  (Except maybe on a bus?)[/quote] Putting a sharper pencil to the cost of driving compared to taking Amtrak from Pittsburgh to LA and back produced a result that I had not anticipated.    The fully allocated cost to drive my Toyota Corolla is 23.65 cents per mile.  Most people only consider the cost of the fuel when comparing driving to an alternative.  However, as accountants know, all costs are variable in the long run and, therefore, should be included for comparative analysis purposes.  According to MapQuest, it is 4,872 miles from Pittsburgh to Los Angeles and back.  The fully allocated cost to complete the trip in my Corolla would be $1,152.23.  Tolls are not included.  Factoring in fuel stops, meal stops, traffic slow downs, etc., I could cover comfortably 600 miles per day.  It would take me roughly eight days for the round trip.  It would require six nights in a motel, assuming that the fourth and eighth nights are spent in LA and back home in Pittsburgh.  At an average cost of $80 per night, the motel tab would be $480. My meals would run me approximately $32.50 per day, and I would have eight days of Enroute meal expenses to pick-up.  The cost of the meals would be $260, thereby bringing the total cost of driving to $1,892.23.  If another adult came along, the cost would be $2,152.23.  If two kids came with us, the cost would be $3,152.23, which includes two motel rooms as opposed to only one room for two adults. A round trip coach ticket on Amtrak would be $386, before any discounts, departing and returning Pittsburgh mid-week during an off-peak period.  I would eat 13 meals in the dinning car.  If I selected from the middle of the menu, it would cost an average of $11.21 per meal or a total of $145.73.  This includes a 15 per cent gratuity.  If I ate in the lounge car, the cost would be a less.  The cost of travel in coach for me would be $531.73 compared to $1,892.23 to drive.  If another adult accompanied me on the train, the rail fare would be $772 for the two of us, and the meals would be $291.46, bringing the total cost to $1,063.46, compared to $2,152.23 to drive.  If another adult and two kids went on the train, the rail fare would be $1,158, and the meal expenses would be $582.92, bringing the total cost to $1,740.92, compared to $3,152.23 to drive.  The cost advantage of the train over driving is $1,360.50 for one person, $1,088.71 for two, and $1,411.31 for four.  The cost of public transport and/or a rental car in LA could wipe out a significant amount of the train advantage.     A sleeper from Pittsburgh to LA and back would cost $1,148, $1,534, and $3,247 for one, two, or four compared to $1,892.23, $2,152.23, and 3, 152.23 to drive.  The cost advantage for the train is $744.23 for one, and $618.23 for two, but the car trumps the train for four people by $94.77.  Again, the spreads could be altered significantly by the cost of local transit and/or a rental car.     The outcomes for a shorter trip, say Pittsburgh to Philadelphia, is a different story.  The cost to drive for one, two or four passengers would be $181.37, $196.37 and $226.37.  Costs assume one lunch per person and tolls on the PA Turnpike.  The cost on the Pennsylvanian would be $109, $218, and $342.  For this trip the train beats driving for one person ($72.37), but the car is a winner for two or more people ($21.63 and $115.63).  Again, public transit and/or a rental car could wipe out most if not all of the train cost advantage in the first scenario.    A pricy SUV driven 10 to 15 per cent over the speed limits would change these scenarios significantly.  Nevertheless, I am surprised by the numbers for the long haul trips.  I thought that the train would only have had the advantage for one person.  And I never thought a sleeper would be competitive with driving.   It pays to do the analysis.  Amtrak's fares during the summer and other peak travel periods would be higher than the fares shown in this analysis.
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