Amtrak gets a 1.3mil boost
- Thread starter crohakon
- Start date
Captain_Collins
Clovis Sub Fan
Don't you mean $1.3Billion?
I suppose I did...Oh yeah, less expensive because I help pay the fare for every passenger that rides it. The average taxpayer subsidy per Amtrak rider is $100, and for New York-Los Angeles riders the subsidy exceeds $1,000. The estimated round trip subsidy per passenger for a Denver-Chicago trip is $650. 20 years of operation, always promising to become selfsufficient next year. Now, after $13 billion in subsidies Vice Pres Biden wants them to get $1.3 billion more. Beam me up Scotty!
Bob
Bob
illinoiscentral
SARM Volunteer
I think this is pushing politics a bit don't you guys think?
johnwhelan
Well-known member
OK but then what about the cost of your highways both initial and ongoing? You have to take into account the cont of new highways to cope with increased population. The cost of pollution from aircraft and cars? Ever see smog in parts of California, there is a huge health cost involved, and also doesn't Amtrack rent most of its rail routes so that is a subsidy? for all freight carried in the US?
Does lower demand for fuel which lowers the cost of your gas for your car count? Depends a lot on what you count as costs.
Cheerio John
If you are going to complain about giving money to the rails, don't complain about giving money to build airports and highways. I cannot cite this, so if I am wrong please correct me, but I heard that the average airport receives almost 90% funding from the fed in construction coasts.
Not to mention the bail out money for the auto industry and the airlines after 911.
Not to mention the bail out money for the auto industry and the airlines after 911.
A zero here, a zero there, pretty soon you're starting to talk about real money...
--Lamont
As soon as the price of fuel went down because the population learned to use...I mean waste less of it, the politicians started jacking up the taxes, because those taxes pay for many things, including highway construction! We can't win!
Ah, there's been big debates over which is more efficient, the Northeast Corridor, or the other runs that Amtrak makes, and it could go either way, depending on how you crunch the numbers. There's always a relationship between air and rail travel and when you get to the 3 hours point with Air usually rail can compete with it. Air travel has suffered since 9/11, mostly due to the extra efforts in security and increased check in times for travelers. I'm sure the current administration will address that, (you can carry on plastic explosives and C4, but the dynamite and grenades must be checked...)
With everything going "Green", I'm sure rail travel will increase here, because it takes an awful lot of batteries to get a 737 off the ground!
With everything going "Green", I'm sure rail travel will increase here, because it takes an awful lot of batteries to get a 737 off the ground!
Well I do hope that rail travel will increase in the USA. When you look back at the halycon days it is rather sad in comparison. I just wish i could find what i did with a National Assoc of American RR's given to me. It was for the 1950's and listed tons of small and large companies along with system maps not just the US but Canada, Mexico, Cubal (before the Revolution). The book was nearly 3 inches thick. Haven't visted the US for some time but several years back I picked up a rather thin booklet on Amtrak here in Glasgow and slim pickings to the old days.