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[quote user="KCSfan"][quote user="Samantha"] Setting fares is a challenge.  Amtrak has to consider competing air and bus fares, as well as the cost of driving.  Moreover, it has to consider time, convenience, and comfort factors.  And it has to consider its cost structure.  In a nutshell, if Amtrak raises its fares, it will drive some potential passengers to alternatives, i.e. planes, buses, and personal vehicles.  The trick, which is more difficult than most people realize, is to raise the fares without chasing off so many passengers as to result in lower rather than higher revenues.  Doing so is a big whoops! [/quote]I fully agree but think, in the case of the Eagle at least, coach fares could be increased by 15 percent and still be competetive. Forget the business travelers and those for whom time is the major factor. They'd still fly even if Amtrak gave free rides. Amtrak's market is those who don't want to fly or endure the rigors of a long bus ride and those who want to see the scenery. For these persons it pretty much boils down to a choice between train and auto travel. I've driven between Shreveport and Chicago many times and 15 hours is about the time it takes. You could make it in the stated 13-1/2 hours if you had either a catheter or carried a tin can in your car and brown bagged it or ate only at Mickey D's along the way. Even 24 hours on the train spent relaxing, quaffing a drink or two, reading, playing cards, etc. is far more pleasent than that kind of a car trip.Mark[/quote]Taking the Eagle from Texas to Chicago is an attractive alternative to the bus or driving.  I agree.  I take the Eagle two or three times a year to Chicago and beyond.  Whether the Eagle could tolerate a 15 per cent fare increase is problematic.  For the first three quarters of FY08, its occupancy rate was right at 50 per cent.  The loss per passenger mile increased over the first nine months of FY07.  Moreover, although I don't have the numbers for the occupancy rate south of St. Louis, based on my observations, the train carries a hefty load north of St. Louis, but the loads south of St. Louis are relatively light, and they are very light south of Fort Worth, except for the sleepers, in part because of its reputation for being tardy.  Thus, a 15 per cent increase in fares might reduce the load factor and, therefore, the revenues even more.
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