In the cost-cutting frenzy that is
sweeping Washington, Amtrak is a prime target. Contrary to what many people
think, Amtrak is not an arm of the government – like the Postal Service, it is
a separate corporation created by legislation, with some federal and state
input and funding. It’s safe to say that if passenger rail had stayed
profitable in the U.S. in the 1950s and ’60s, Amtrak would not have been
created.
The most recent threat to Amtrak service
comes in the Midwest, where Indiana has balked about continuing to fund the
Hoosier Express linking Indianapolis and Chicago. And because Amtrak often
shares its route with private freight railroads, performance on many lines is
“iffy.” For example, I once waited for an hour and a half in Amherst, Mass.,
for a train to New York. When I called the Amtrak help number, I was told that
our train had to wait until a huge freight train cleared the tracks.
Despite
the problems, Amtrak’s ridership is growing rapidly. According to a
Brookings Institute report that was released this year, Amtrak went from
carrying 20.1 million riders in 1997 to 31.2 million today. However, the
Boston-to-Washington segment provides 44 percent of the traffic for the entire
system (it also provides enough of a surplus to pay for most of Amtrak’s other
short routes). Some of Amtrak’s long-distance routes, according to the study,
only operate at about 20 percent of capacity. Indeed, the great majority of Amtrak’s
ridership increase comes from people who travel less than 400 miles.
Some politicians have talked about
cutting Amtrak down to its highly-traveled East Coast and, to a lesser extent,
West Coast corridors. However, before we try that, maybe we should take a look
at the way Amtrak is promoted.
Government proponents of Amtrak say that
it costs less per person to subsidize passenger rail than it does to subsidize
bus lines, that passenger rail creates less pollution, that it promotes “green”
energy, and that if Europe and Japan can do it, so why can’t we?
While these arguments all have merit,
they’re all somewhat abstract and won’t necessarily move the average American.
Many people have never been to Europe or Japan, don’t care about green energy,
and don’t spend time thinking about pollution unless it hits their immediate
neighborhood.
If you want more people to take Amtrak,
focus on the train experience itself. Show people that it’s much more
comfortable to travel by Amtrak than by bus, that you can move around in a way
you can’t on a long-distance bus, that you can look out the window at scenic
sights such as the Rockies like you can’t on a plane, and that you can’t get
food on a bus or (nowadays) a plane—but you can on Amtrak. Tell them that being
in the train stations, many of which are historic buildings, is a pleasing experience,
unlike the seedy atmosphere you find in many bus stations and the confusion you
find at airports.
Make rail travel itself into an
adventure. If you do so, you’ll definitely increase ridership.
