Ticket Office and Station Closings

[Ken W2KB]

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.

For the about half fare senior citizen rate in New York City, an occasional visitor has to purchase the Metro Card from a staffed ticket booth in order to present proof of age to the agent. More frequent users can choose instead to obtain a permanent reloadable card by filing a formal application with proofs.

[gokeefe]

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.

Very much agreed and no inference assumed. I believe that conductors may be able to accept cash on board and potentially could make change from the cafe car drawer. I do think Amtrak wants to become as "cash-less" as possible (especially in foodservice operations) with good reason. It's very low volume, low value and high potential for errors, waste and occasional fraud.

Perhaps the real question to ask is whether or not there is any role at all for a ticket agent in an e-commerce based passenger transportation agency. I wonder if Amtrak would get better value by eliminating station agents entirely and moving checked baggage staffing onto the trains. They clearly have a need for checked baggage service if they staffed the trains with dedicated baggage handlers they might see substantial savings in cost vs. staffing all the stations along a route for 10-12 hours (or less) per day.

[Arborwayfan]

Gokeefe, that's a seriously good question. It would be great to be able to check bags anywhere along the line. I think big stations would still need baggage staff because otherwise trains would have to dwell for too long while a bunch of people checked bags at the baggage car and then walked back to their boarding door. And of course transfer stations would need staff to transfer through bags.

Amtrak could do a trial of accepting checked baggage at unstaffed stations on a route that uses Superliner coach-baggage cars, where nearly everyone (even able-bodied sleeper pax) could board just a few feet from the baggage door.

[TomNelligan]

Perhaps the real question to ask is whether or not there is any role at all for a ticket agent in an e-commerce based passenger transportation agency.

Yes, there is, at least at the busiest stations. Some people (like many of my fellow over-65s) are technology adverse and/or confused by those smartphone things, and dealing in person with a live human being is helpful for them. It's a question of customer service. You can cut expenses to the bone by eliminating all ticket agents, but at what cost to customer relations? Do you really want Amtrak to go the way of the discount bus companies that have no on-site customer service people anywhere?

[gokeefe]

Here is my question to this very reasonable reply. If the trains are staffed with sufficient assistant conductors and technology would that be sufficient? I am assuming that no one over the age of 65 is averse to using the telephone (landline) to make travel arrangements. Perhaps if Amtrak provided a series of phone booths with telephones and direct connections to the National Reservation Center that might work. I completely agree that in the very busiest stations this would make perfect sense (as retro as it might seem ...).

[eubnesby]

I know that Virgin Trains, in Britain, has been trying to do away with standard booking office staff, seated behind ticket windows, instead having a few 'customer service assistants' who float around stations to help people, such as the technology averse and the elderly, use ticket machines.

[leviramsey]

Perhaps the real question to ask is whether or not there is any role at all for a ticket agent in an e-commerce based passenger transportation agency.

Yes, there is, at least at the busiest stations. Some people (like many of my fellow over-65s) are technology adverse and/or confused by those smartphone things, and dealing in person with a live human being is helpful for them. It's a question of customer service. You can cut expenses to the bone by eliminating all ticket agents, but at what cost to customer relations? Do you really want Amtrak to go the way of the discount bus companies that have no on-site customer service people anywhere?

Consider that adding a second frequency on, e.g. the Lake Shore Limited will probably cost (net of additional revenue) $15 million a year. An on-site customer service person almost surely costs (including benefits, taxes, etc.) more than $50k and less than $150k a year. If it's $50k a year, then eliminating 300 on-site customer service positions pays for that second frequency. If it's $150k, then it's 100 fewer on-site customer service positions. Split that difference and call it 200 fewer on-site customer service positions (between raising the thresholds for which stations need to be staffed and reducing staff at the the likes of NYP, PHL, WAS, BOS, etc.).

Which Amtrak is preferred? One with an extra frequency on, say, the LSL (or a Broadway Limited or a daily Sunset or...) and fewer on-site customer service people or the current Amtrak?

[electricron]

Here is my question to this very reasonable reply. If the trains are staffed with sufficient assistant conductors and technology would that be sufficient? I am assuming that no one over the age of 65 is averse to using the telephone (landline) to make travel arrangements. Perhaps if Amtrak provided a series of phone booths with telephones and direct connections to the National Reservation Center that might work. I completely agree that in the very busiest stations this would make perfect sense (as retro as it might seem ...).

The problem with the telephone transaction at the train station is providing the payment and receiving the ticket or proof of payment. I'm not inclined to give card numbers over a public phone because of the lack of privacy, and I'm not sure how Amtrak can provide a paper receipt or ticket by an old fashion analog phone. That's why there were ticket machines at stations in the first place. Of course, with digital phones there's lots of options and means to accomplish both parts of a transaction, payment and proof of payment. But not everybody has or wants a digital cell phone.

[gokeefe]

Interesting coundrum, put the reservation into the system as "payable upon boarding" and risk a non-paying no-show or find a way to collect payment at the station. Either way you just can't get around the inconvenience of requiring cash and thus cash handling facilities and provisions.

[Ridgefielder]

Speaking as someone who's spent most his life in the NY area- including 16 years in NY City itself- I think there are reasons beyond selling tickets to want a station to be staffed. Just having another human being around to keep an eye on things can both prevent unpleasant events (not just crime but major and minor vandalism) and reassure passengers using the station.

[bdawe]

Sure it's nice. But is it public-employee-salary-benefits-and-pension nice?

[CHTT1]

It's a good idea to have somebody around a station, to provide security and information, as well as baggage service and other passenger help. Turning all Amtrak stations into rapid transit facilities is a bad idea. Turning life into some kind of sterile, never dealing with a human being existence is a soulless endeavor, I'd rather stay at home.

[AgentSkelly]

A possible solution would be what Hertz uses in a few locations; they have a kiosk with a document scanner and video chat service that lets you rent cars; I'm sure something easier could be implemented for ticketing using the Amtrak Reservations folks...

[bdawe]

It's a good idea to have somebody around a station, to provide security and information, as well as baggage service and other passenger help. Turning all Amtrak stations into rapid transit facilities is a bad idea. Turning life into some kind of sterile, never dealing with a human being existence is a soulless endeavor, I'd rather stay at home.

You can have a human experience with the hundreds of human beings on the train, no?

[TomNelligan]

Amtrak is a service business. Part of that service is providing on-site agents to assist customers at busy stations. Some folks here seem to want Amtrak to join the discount bus lines in a race to the bottom as regards customer service, even though Amtrak's ticket prices are a lot higher. If the question is whether Amtrak can exist without live ticket agents, then sure, they can. But I view it as a question of whether they should, and to me the answer is a clear no. The higher price I pay for a train ticket versus a bus ticket between Boston and New York goes for amenities, and I would consider staffed station to be one of them. One-train-a-day stations in the hinterland are a different case. In those cases, a station host who opens up for an hour or so would be fine in most cases.

Turning life into some kind of sterile, never dealing with a human being existence is a soulless endeavor, I'd rather stay at home.

My thought exactly about an issue that goes well beyond Amtrak in society these days!