I'm putting this here because it applies to all of Virginia Regionals. Call it "la petite" version of funding expansion: subsidizing intrastate trips to fill unsold seats.
In a nutshell, VA proposes putting up a small amount of $ to "win back" the customers who'd previously used the AAA and Student discounts for Intrastate and VA-DC trips. This makes perfect sense.
- On the one hand, Amtrak can keep prices and revenues high on the crowded NEC
- On the other VA can discount for "its share" of the train's operations where Amtrak wouldn't care if it were running empty, but where it is bad for voters and drivers for VA to not be running its trains fuller.
So Virginia will shift a tiny % of its commitment to make sure that "intra VADC" trips have lower walk-up fares, and Amtrak can still get its high yields north-of-WAS, and VA-NEC.
http://www.nbc12.com/2018/12/05/boost-a ... rginia-dc/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
In a nutshell, VA proposes putting up a small amount of $ to "win back" the customers who'd previously used the AAA and Student discounts for Intrastate and VA-DC trips. This makes perfect sense.
- On the one hand, Amtrak can keep prices and revenues high on the crowded NEC
- On the other VA can discount for "its share" of the train's operations where Amtrak wouldn't care if it were running empty, but where it is bad for voters and drivers for VA to not be running its trains fuller.
So Virginia will shift a tiny % of its commitment to make sure that "intra VADC" trips have lower walk-up fares, and Amtrak can still get its high yields north-of-WAS, and VA-NEC.
http://www.nbc12.com/2018/12/05/boost-a ... rginia-dc/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
State transit officials are considering cutting the price of Amtrak tickets for trips within Virginia [and to/from DC] in a bid to increase ridership.
A market study estimated that a 15 percent fare reduction would lure an estimated 51,000 additional riders onto trains every year — a roughly 7 percent increase. The move would cost the state $683,000 annually, which represents about 1.3 percent of what the state collects in ticket revenues.
[…]
With the new Virginia discount, a trip from Roanoke to Union Station in Washington would be reduced from $49 to $41. Amtrak’s saver fare, which is not calculated on top of the Virginia discount, would still be cheaper for people who can plan trips in advance.
"Trying to solve congestion by making roadways wider is like trying to solve obesity by buying bigger pants."--Charles Marohn