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The Acela is a pricy ride.  Few ordinary Americans can afford to ride it.  But they help support it directly and indirectly.  Outlined below are some fares for Wednesday, April 27th stated in average price per passenger mile.  The miles between the locations shown and the fares were rounded.   Of course, Amtrak's fares change daily, depending on demand.  April 27th is more than three weeks away, so the prices shown are probably near the low point. The Acela (average) fare from Washington to Boston is 37 cents per mile, whilst the average fare on a Northeast Regional train is 21 cents.  Between Washington and New York the Acela fare is 64 cents and the regional fare is 25 cents.  The Acela fare from Philadelphia is $1.04 and the regional fare is 40 cents. From Providence to New York the price of an Acela ticket is 51 cents, whilst the regional ticket bills out at 23 cents.  First class on the Acela is even pricier:  $1.75 per mile from Philadelphia to New York and 88 cents from Providence to New York as examples. Who really pays to use the Acela?  What a silly question, Sam.  The passengers!  Not necessarily!  If my observations based on ridding the Acela between Philadelphia and New York are accurate, most of the Acela passengers are executives, high level managers, senior professionals, lawyers, consultants, etc.  The majority of them are probably riding on an expense account.  Accordingly, in most instances the cost of the ride will be passed through to the customers who buy the goods and services of the business, government agency, law firm, consulting firm, etc.  So, at the end of the day, except for the relatively small percentage of passengers who pay the fares out of their pocket, the Acela's premium service is subsidized by non-users.  Of course, most of them don't have a clue that they are doing so.  And it should not be forgotten that part of the cost of the Acela service is underwritten by federal, state, and local taxpayers.  All aboard!  It's a heck of a deal if you can afford it or someone else is paying the tab. The classes of people who ride the Acela are also the folks who frequently fly business class.  And as is the case with the Acela, ultimately the premium business class fare, as well as first class, as is the case with the Acela, is subsidized by the people who buy the goods and services of the sponsoring organization.  Again, without their knowing it! The subsidy, in my mind, is the difference between the peasant fares and the patrician fares.
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