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  • Ticket Office and Station Closings

  • Discussion related to Amtrak also known as the National Railroad Passenger Corp.
Discussion related to Amtrak also known as the National Railroad Passenger Corp.

Moderators: GirlOnTheTrain, mtuandrew, Tadman

 #1402273  by Noel Weaver
 
Boston is a bit unique, it has two major stations with a good reason for being within a mile or so of each other and both very heavily used. As Tom points out the services at North Station exist for one reason, the trains to Portland. South Station and Back Bay have 20 Amtrak departures during the day and with all trains reserved they need agents where they might not need them as badly if the trains did not require reservations. Many hotels and much business is in close to Back Bay and although there is plenty of commuter trains between the two stations, who in their right mind wants to ride inbound to South Station to change a reservation or get last minute transportation? I know there are not many other points where Amtrak has two stations within the same borders but this is the NORTHEAST CORRIDOR which is Amtrak's MOST IMPORTANT line by far. I do not think it is a good idea to have no ticket agents at Back Bay given the neighborhood and area that Back Bay serves on a daily basis. I have always considered the requirement of reservations for NEC trains to be a terrible situation for the public but given that it is what it is, the need for an Amtrak Agent at Back Bay is still there.
Noel Weaver
 #1402279  by JimBoylan
 
electricron wrote:Never-the-less, Boston is the only city Amtrak services with three stations. :(
Correct, The City of Los Angeles has 5 Amtrak stations: Chatsworth, Van Nuys, Burbank Airport, Glendale, and Union Station
 #1402294  by Gilbert B Norman
 
Mr. Boylan, according to Mr. Rand, Mr. McNally reports that both Burbank and Glendale hold their own charters as municipal corporations with the governmental structure of a city. Chatsworth and Van Nuys are communities within the City of Los Angeles.
 #1402328  by Ridgefielder
 
electricron wrote:And Boston should move their convention and hotels closer to downtown.
And how do you propose that the City of Boston go about forcing the owners of the Fairmont Copley Plaza, Marriott Copley Place and Westin Copley Place to move their hotels from Back Bay to the Financial District?
 #1402343  by electricron
 
In all the conversations about staffing Back Bay, no one has mentioned why Amtrak pulled them!
A simple look up at Wiki found one reason unmentioned so far, very bad air pollution.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Back_Bay_station" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Back Bay Station has suffered for some time from poor air quality, and people with lung conditions have been advised to avoid the station. A study conducted in 2006 and again in 2008 showed that "The air was many, many times below air-quality standards," due to trapped diesel exhaust and soot. Much of the commuter rail platforms at Back Bay are covered and enclosed, and so fumes cannot escape quickly to the outside air. An earlier study showed elevated levels of carbon monoxide, formaldehyde, particulates, and oxides of nitrogen, though it noted that there is no regulated standard to meet for indoor air quality in public spaces.
In 2010, the MBTA announced that it had secured $3.0 million to improve the ventilation in the lobby as a result of federal stimulus money. While MBTA spokesman Joe Pesaturo said there was no health threat, a scientist at the Clean Air Task Force, a Boston-based nonprofit pollution research group stated, "Honestly, down on the platform it was some of the worst air quality I’ve measured." Additionally passengers and clerks working in the station have complained. The MBTA said then that it would complete an improved ventilation system by 2012.
On October 8, 2014, Amtrak removed its customer service and ticketing agents from the station due to the persistent air quality issues. Back Bay was to be an unstaffed station "until further notice" as improvements are made. Amtrak personnel returned in 2015, but the station again became unstaffed effective October 1, 2016.
A $10 million ventilation project, funded equally by MassDOT and Boston Properties, will be bid in 2016 and started in early 2017. The work will improve ventilation at the platform level and add "air curtains" to prevent exhaust fumes from reaching the concourse.
I'll leave my comments on that to myself.
 #1402416  by BandA
 
So there was/is a ticket agent but no baggage service at BBY? When did they discontinue baggage at BBY? Is there baggage service at RTE 128?

I would think "special agents" could be dispatched to unmanned stations for large groups, or seat assignments/boarding directions could be communicated electronically as a text message. Going from BBY to South Station to catch a reserved train would add an unacceptable amount of time.
 #1402438  by TomNelligan
 
BandA wrote:So there was/is a ticket agent but no baggage service at BBY? When did they discontinue baggage at BBY?
My recollection is that checked baggage service has never been offered at the current Back Bay station, which opened in 1987 as part of the Southwest Corridor rail/transit reconstruction. Remember that the only trains on the Boston end of the NEC that carry baggage cars are overnight trains 66 and 67, so it's not like there would be much business anyway. Aside from the cost of providing the service, baggage loading/unloading increases station dwell time, which would lengthen schedules to the detriment of the majority of customers.

Route 128 does have checked baggage service according to Amtrak's timetable, although I don't remember ever seeing any bags come off #66 there.
 #1402444  by gokeefe
 
Setting aside the change at Back Bay, which appears to be temporary, I think these modifications are good signs. The new technologies that Amtrak has deployed have truly made staffed stations obsolete. Communities that wish to provide volunteer "station hosts" can always do so through an organization such as the local Chamber of Commerce.

The primary role of ticket agents is sales, reservations and schedule inquiries. Amtrak's online platforms and customer service in their national call center are now more than capable of making up the difference. Many stations do in fact have Quick-Trak machines and as a last resort there's always the ability to purchase a ticket on board from the conductor (credit cards accepted).

You basically have to be living off the grid (no telephone landline, no credit card) for none of these solutions to work for you.
 #1402453  by Gilbert B Norman
 
gokeefe wrote:The primary role of ticket agents is sales, reservations and schedule inquiries. Amtrak's online platforms and customer service in their national call center are now more than capable of making up the difference. Many stations do in fact have Quick-Trak machines and as a last resort there's always the ability to purchase a ticket on board from the conductor (credit cards accepted
Commercial transportation and lodging presents difficulties for the "unbanked" segment of society. I would guess you can buy an airline ticket for cash, but that certainly attracts TSA attention. Some "bottom feeding" airlines have made arrangements with currency exchanges to sell tickets, but those airlines are not likely to have ground services staff employees covered by Agreement ("in the Union"). Who knows to what extent such transaction "raises the TSA eyebrow".

I think you had best have a credit card to stay at a major brand hotel, and when checking out if you're paying cash, and I'm standing behind you, I'll wonder what you are hiding and from whom.

You must have a credit card to rent an auto; to my best knowledge, that's a period.

All told, I concur with Mr. O'Keefe. Amtrak clearly with their pricing points is taking a pass on the "bottom", and reasonably expects that their passengers have established credit.
 #1402508  by gokeefe
 
Gilbert B Norman wrote:All told, I concur with Mr. O'Keefe. Amtrak clearly with their pricing points is taking a pass on the "bottom", and reasonably expects that their passengers have established credit.
I would note that "established credit" in this case could constitute as little as a Pre-Paid VISA/Mastercard Debit Card.

Regardless, I agree there is absolutely no desire on the part of Amtrak to handle walk-up inquiries and cash transactions. The volume simply isn't there anymore and the savings are far too great to ignore.
 #1402589  by Gilbert B Norman
 
Mr. O'Keefe, by no means do I infer that Amtrak should deny passage to someone with less than an 800 credit score. I think that their position is, as you note, simply that they are not set up systemwide for the walk up passenger paying cash.

Of course, bottom feeding municipal transit systems are no longer set up for the passenger hopping aboard and paying cash - let alone expecting change.

For myself, I find myself asking for help when boarding the CTA Blue Line to navigate their Ventra card system. Last using the NYCTA, my Niece gave me a fully charged Metro Card. and I just paid her for the two rides I used and gave her the card back. I have also had help in Atlanta and Miami, but those two are trips from the Airport, where there are attended fare booths.