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2008-02-19 00:16:44 UTC
by Tom Acitelli
I wrote in this week's Observer about New Yorkers moving to
Philadelphia. One of the statistics I dug up that didn't make it into
the story was the amount of daily Amtrak commuters between New York's
Penn Station and Philly's 30th Street Station. It turns out that
annual daily round-trip ridership along the line peaked in 2004 and
2005, and has dropped precipitously ever since.
Amtrak measures its ridership by fiscal years that run from October
to October. In fiscal year 2004 (October 2003-October 2004), 375,100
riders total made daily round-trips between the two cities. That was
more than in the three previous fiscal years. But, then, in fiscal
year 2005, daily ridership peaked at over 377,000.
It's dropped ever since, with fiscal year 2007, claiming an estimated
annual total of 220,800 Philadelphia-to-New York daily commuters.
(Note: These are not daily averages, but annual totals.)
There's a number of reasons for this, I'm sure, like the rise of
cheaper airlines such as JetBlue as well as cut-throat bus fares,
plus the introduction of so-called "luxury" bus lines. But my guess
is it's because Amtrak raised the fares between Philly and New York
significantly in late 2005 and into 2006, just when the drop-off in
ridership started.
Here's The New York Times covering the fare increase in September
2005:
For example, the price of a basic, one-way ticket between
Philadelphia and Pennsylvania Station in New York will rise to $56
from $53. But the cost of a monthly pass between those cities, which
allows unlimited travel on certain trains, will increase almost 60
percent, to $1,008 from $633. Commuters and their advocates expressed
shock at the increases, and some said they would have to find a less
expensive alternative.
The cheapest Philly-to-New York ticket that you'll find now on
Amtrak's Web site is $43 ($86 round-trip). Monthly passes for
unlimited rides on some train lines run as high as $1,080 (a daily
cost of roughly $36).
An Amtrak spokesman noted correctly that the railroad is not meant to
be a commuter rail; it instead connects cities and towns, just like
airlines and bus companies. And the fiscal-year amount of non-daily
round-trip riders between Philadelphia and New York increased from
2006 to 2007.
Still, you have to wonder: If Amtrak's fares dropped--and if the
speed of long-distance rail travel in the U.S. ever caught up to that
of Europe or Japan--would New Yorkers, already moving there in a
trickle, flood Philadelphia? A commute from a much cheaper home in
Philly to a job in New York would suddenly feel like a commute from
Long Island or Connecticut.
http://www.observer.com/2008/imagine-cheaper-new-york-philly-amtrak-service
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I wrote in this week's Observer about New Yorkers moving to
Philadelphia. One of the statistics I dug up that didn't make it into
the story was the amount of daily Amtrak commuters between New York's
Penn Station and Philly's 30th Street Station. It turns out that
annual daily round-trip ridership along the line peaked in 2004 and
2005, and has dropped precipitously ever since.
Amtrak measures its ridership by fiscal years that run from October
to October. In fiscal year 2004 (October 2003-October 2004), 375,100
riders total made daily round-trips between the two cities. That was
more than in the three previous fiscal years. But, then, in fiscal
year 2005, daily ridership peaked at over 377,000.
It's dropped ever since, with fiscal year 2007, claiming an estimated
annual total of 220,800 Philadelphia-to-New York daily commuters.
(Note: These are not daily averages, but annual totals.)
There's a number of reasons for this, I'm sure, like the rise of
cheaper airlines such as JetBlue as well as cut-throat bus fares,
plus the introduction of so-called "luxury" bus lines. But my guess
is it's because Amtrak raised the fares between Philly and New York
significantly in late 2005 and into 2006, just when the drop-off in
ridership started.
Here's The New York Times covering the fare increase in September
2005:
For example, the price of a basic, one-way ticket between
Philadelphia and Pennsylvania Station in New York will rise to $56
from $53. But the cost of a monthly pass between those cities, which
allows unlimited travel on certain trains, will increase almost 60
percent, to $1,008 from $633. Commuters and their advocates expressed
shock at the increases, and some said they would have to find a less
expensive alternative.
The cheapest Philly-to-New York ticket that you'll find now on
Amtrak's Web site is $43 ($86 round-trip). Monthly passes for
unlimited rides on some train lines run as high as $1,080 (a daily
cost of roughly $36).
An Amtrak spokesman noted correctly that the railroad is not meant to
be a commuter rail; it instead connects cities and towns, just like
airlines and bus companies. And the fiscal-year amount of non-daily
round-trip riders between Philadelphia and New York increased from
2006 to 2007.
Still, you have to wonder: If Amtrak's fares dropped--and if the
speed of long-distance rail travel in the U.S. ever caught up to that
of Europe or Japan--would New Yorkers, already moving there in a
trickle, flood Philadelphia? A commute from a much cheaper home in
Philly to a job in New York would suddenly feel like a commute from
Long Island or Connecticut.
http://www.observer.com/2008/imagine-cheaper-new-york-philly-amtrak-service
***********************************************************
Stans Railpix railphotoexpress.com Store !!
http://www.cafepress.com/stans_railpix
Stan'S Railpix;-A-Rail-Photo-Gallery !!
http://www.trainweb.org/railpix
Will remain a FREE site with 2426+1/2 images posted.
***********************************************************