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WASHINGTON — For Amtrak, the coronavirus pandemic has not only slashed ridership and any chances of breaking even, it has also forced its leaders to face an existential choice: act like a for-profit airline or a government-subsidized entity.The first observation I have is that Mr.
Since March, ridership on the national rail agency has fallen by 95 percent and projected revenue for 2021 has declined by 50 percent. In response, Congress has bailed out the rail network with $1 billion in emergency funds.
But Amtrak’s leadership says it needs more money. Otherwise, it will have to cut costs by decreasing its work force by 20 percent and curtailing service on long-distance routes that serve areas where Amtrak is often the only mode of public transportation. The rail agency receives federal funds but is independently run.
“Operating trains with very few passengers on them at all, during a time of constraint — capital constraint, cash constraint and uncertainty around funding — doesn’t make a lot of sense,” William J. Flynn, Amtrak’s chief executive, said in an interview.
Gilbert B Norman wrote: ↑Wed Sep 02, 2020 8:22 am Now the advocacy community, along with their friends on The Hill, notes LD ridenship is down 62% compared with 80 for the whole system. They further try to compare such with the Postal Service and brcause of the "underserved" rural communities should be continued. But one little difference - the Postal Service has a constitutional mandate to exist, and the last time I checked Amtrak only has enacted legislation.To further the differences, I doubt Congress has dropped the retirement pre-funding mandate for the Post Office. Amtrak only has a "must run service" mandate.
Rail advocates have pushed back, noting that as of July ridership on long-distance routes across the country is faring better than it is on those that were more popular before the virus hit — including shorter routes like those in the Northeast Corridor.Wow, ONLY DOWN 62% is nothing for "rail advocates" to brag about.
Long-distance ridership is down 62 percent compared with the same period last year, while ridership on those relatively shorter routes through more urban areas is down more than 80 percent, according to an analysis by industry experts.
8th Notch wrote: ↑Wed Sep 02, 2020 11:47 pm The numbers are not final and have been discussed as being over aggressive, I fully expect them to scale back significantly in some areas.This right here is the difference between Amtrak and an airline. Amtrak straddles the line between business and agency so the profit/loss statement isn’t the sole ruling factor; it can keep some extra staff on payroll and ask Congress to make up the shortfall. The airlines would prefer to cut deep and hire back after COVID; they are leaving as many workers as possible in the care of unions and unemployment insurance.
Long-distance ridership is down 62 percent compared with the same period last year, while ridership on those relatively shorter routes through more urban areas is down more than 80 percent, according to an analysis by industry experts.So it would appear, Mr. Charles River, that you are correct reciting the facts, but I could hardly agree with the conclusion the advocacy community might draw from such.
Gilbert B Norman wrote: ↑Fri Sep 04, 2020 11:32 am So it would appear, Mr. Charles River, that you are correct reciting the facts, but I could hardly agree with the conclusion the advocacy community might draw from such.While I know we are not in agreement about Amtrak's future as I don't support the across the board cuts, I tend to agree with you that the advocacy community needs to be cautious about using this argument and I think other arguments are better/more appropriate (Such as the idea that cutting to 3x and using the metrics Amtrak announced will make it harder to restore service and bring ridership back down the road.) That number is nothing to brag about and before using this argument about long distance trains not being down as much against Amtrak it's important to look at each individual train and see how much each one is down because it may not be the same across the network. Some trains may be down way more than hours. For example the Auto Train was definitely a train that held on to some level of ridership throughout, but that train isn't slated for cuts. And also for the Silvers many stations will maintain daily service. How far are the individual trains down being cut to 3x a week?
Gilbert B Norman wrote: ↑Wed Sep 02, 2020 8:22 am
Now the advocacy community, along with their friends on The Hill, notes LD ridenship is down 62% compared with 80 for the whole system. They further try to compare such with the Postal Service and brcause of the "underserved" rural communities should be continued. But one little difference - the Postal Service has a constitutional mandate to exist, and the last time I checked Amtrak only has enacted legislation.
west point wrote: ↑Sat Sep 05, 2020 12:44 pm. It can be argued that since most RRs by the beginning of the 20th century were interstate the post road constitution mandate does apply to RRs. Interstate road construction certainly has been included. Not a far streach to apply it to RR freight and passenger services.Pray tell, what passenger system these days is handling even palletized bulk mail?
