On the below link in the third paragraph the Downeaster director states that Amtrak will actuall count each rider on all trains starting in October . Evidently Amtrak has been counting monthly pass riders as riding 20 times a month but with the electronic methods now in place only each time a pass rider rides will he be counted. Those persons who do not ride 20 times a month will no longer be counted as riding 20 times in the month.
One has to wonder if all commuter agencys count riders this way. However revenue may be a better indication of ridership and separate single rides & pass riders.
http://www.trainridersne.org/
Ridership on the Downeaster is up for their FY which ended June 30th with the old counting method that continues till October.
A month can have up to 23 weekdays, although I would guess the average is about 21. Also could someone use that monthly pass for weekend trips? Both the actual number of riders and ticket revenue are important figures, although I am sure rail advocates will highlight the ticket sale numbers, and rail opponents will tout the decline statistical artifact.
A monthly ticket on the Downeaster between Boston and Portland costs $299. For 40 rides this is about $7.50 per ride. A regular one way ticket brought in advance cost $20. A 4 week month with no holidays has 20 work days; most months have more than 20 work days.
Regular tickets to travel 2 days a week would cost $320 per month. For the 2 day a week commuter a monthly ticket would be a better buy than daily tickets.
I've never used one of Amtrak's monthly tickets. Ordinarily, a monthly ticket is good for travel on any day within the month; that is it is good on Saturdays, Sundays and holidays.
My own commuter agency, New Jersey Transit, really has no way to know how many days a month a commuter uses a monthly ticket. I doubt there is a strong reason to know. However, now Amtrak will know.
MidlandMike A month can have up to 23 weekdays, although I would guess the average is about 21. Also could someone use that monthly pass for weekend trips? Both the actual number of riders and ticket revenue are important figures, although I am sure rail advocates will highlight the ticket sale numbers, and rail opponents will tout the decline statistical artifact.
261 work days a year less roughly 10 holidays and 10 vacation days and 5 sick/personal days leaves an average of 19.7 work days a month - if the person never drove some days. So 20 would be a high side estimate.
-Don (Random stuff, mostly about trains - what else? http://blerfblog.blogspot.com/)
John WRA monthly ticket on the Downeaster between Boston and Portland costs $299.
Don't you wish NJT's monthly pass for the same trip distance was that cheap!
oltmannd John WRA monthly ticket on the Downeaster between Boston and Portland costs $299. Don't you wish NJT's monthly pass for the same trip distance was that cheap!
In FY12 The Downeaster lost $3.2 million before depreciation, interest and miscellaneous charges. The loss/revenue ratio was 26.9 per cent compared to 27.8 per cent for the state supported trains as a group. The average load factor was 38.4 per cent compared to 43 per cent for the state supported trains as a whole.
oltmanndDon't you wish NJT's monthly pass for the same trip distance was that cheap!
I sure do, Don. NJT's fares are so high that many people find driving to work alone is cheaper than the train. This is particularly true of people who live and work in New Jersey. A few years ago NJT abolished its off peak fares. Now many occasional riders find NJT is a luxury they simply cannot afford.
NJT has one of the highest, if not the highest, fare structure in the nation. It is able to do this because New York City commuters have very few options. But their fares really add to the overcrowding of New Jersey roads. And, since many New Jersey commuters would reverse commute, they run trains with empty seats that could be filled. I don't suggest all empty seats on reverse trains could be filled but some could and every extra seat sold is pure profit for them.
But NJT will not consider filling the empty seats on their reverse trains.
oltmannd MidlandMike A month can have up to 23 weekdays, although I would guess the average is about 21. Also could someone use that monthly pass for weekend trips? Both the actual number of riders and ticket revenue are important figures, although I am sure rail advocates will highlight the ticket sale numbers, and rail opponents will tout the decline statistical artifact. 261 work days a year less roughly 10 holidays and 10 vacation days and 5 sick/personal days leaves an average of 19.7 work days a month - if the person never drove some days. So 20 would be a high side estimate.
The problem with averages is the exceptions. Some months when you take vacations you work less than half the month, and then other months you may work 23 days. Back in the 60's on the NYC, I had a monthly student ticket that had 46 punch squares which the conductor punched each trip.
blue streak 1Evidently Amtrak has been counting monthly pass riders as riding 20 times a month but with the electronic methods now in place only each time a pass rider rides will he be counted. Those persons who do not ride 20 times a month will no longer be counted as riding 20 times in the month.
Then the number of rides if someone used the pass only 15 days would be 30 trips.
C&NW, CA&E, MILW, CGW and IC fan
With Metra and most other suburban operations, a monthly ticket costs the same whether you use it for 30 rides or 40+ rides per month. Anybody who buys a monthly ticket for only 20 rides a month is wasting money as most monthly tickets are priced at 28-30 times the one-way fare.
MidlandMike oltmannd MidlandMike A month can have up to 23 weekdays, although I would guess the average is about 21. Also could someone use that monthly pass for weekend trips? Both the actual number of riders and ticket revenue are important figures, although I am sure rail advocates will highlight the ticket sale numbers, and rail opponents will tout the decline statistical artifact. 261 work days a year less roughly 10 holidays and 10 vacation days and 5 sick/personal days leaves an average of 19.7 work days a month - if the person never drove some days. So 20 would be a high side estimate. The problem with averages is the exceptions. Some months when you take vacations you work less than half the month, and then other months you may work 23 days. Back in the 60's on the NYC, I had a monthly student ticket that had 46 punch squares which the conductor punched each trip.
Again, if a person who uses an Amtrak monthly pass uses it an average of 19.7 days of the month, it means between 39 and 40 boardings. So if anything, the new electronic capture may increase passenger rides on the NEC, not decrease it.
schlimm MidlandMike oltmannd MidlandMike A month can have up to 23 weekdays, although I would guess the average is about 21. Also could someone use that monthly pass for weekend trips? Both the actual number of riders and ticket revenue are important figures, although I am sure rail advocates will highlight the ticket sale numbers, and rail opponents will tout the decline statistical artifact. 261 work days a year less roughly 10 holidays and 10 vacation days and 5 sick/personal days leaves an average of 19.7 work days a month - if the person never drove some days. So 20 would be a high side estimate. The problem with averages is the exceptions. Some months when you take vacations you work less than half the month, and then other months you may work 23 days. Back in the 60's on the NYC, I had a monthly student ticket that had 46 punch squares which the conductor punched each trip. Again, if a person who uses an Amtrak monthly pass uses it an average of 19.7 days of the month, it means between 39 and 40 boardings. So if anything, the new electronic capture may increase passenger rides on the NEC, not decrease it.
The article refers to "20 roundtrips" a month. Is this an Emily Litella moment?
That was lost in the initial comments. My error. It does pay to closely examine the original source, whether history or these threads.
schlimm That was lost in the initial comments. My error. It does pay to closely examine the original source, whether history or these threads.
You're supposed to say, "That's very different. Never mind."
I would question even using averages to figure monthly ticket usage.
Vacations are not standard. Some people get no vacation at all. Others, for example those who teach in universities generally get 3 months. People with long vacations often time their vacation so they will not need to buy any ticket at all or only one or two daily tickets for the months they are on vacation. Medical care can take a lot more than 5 days a year. If you need surgery you can be out of work for one or two months and that happens occasionally. And again, you can time most surgery so it will involve full months and then you don't need a ticket at all.
On the other hand there can be periods when over time is needed and you work Saturdays. That can add 4 days a month.
And, as I said before, once you buy your monthly ticket it doesn't matter if you ride one day a month or 27 days a month.
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