You’ve heard of these groups of more than 2 people called “families”, yes?
Yes of course! I was one of 7 myself. First of all, as you might expect, Amtrak maintains discounts for children 15 and younger, fully 1/2 off:
Child
2 – 15
50%
Up to two children per paying adult. Children must travel with adult.
1, 2
Infant
Under 2
Free
One infant per paying adult. Infants must ride on adult’s lap.
Also, as Steve points out in the comments, Amtrak maintains an off-season discount program from November to May which offers free companion travel (2 for the price of one) for trips from Seattle to Portland. Fully half the year! This ends on the May 23rd, but is something to keep in mind for your spring travel next year.
But my point extends to any number of people, discounts or no. It all comes down to how much your time, the environment, &c., are worth to you. Some are better off driving and some not, but in order to know who is which, it’s necessary to look at the numbers, to help overcome our natural biases.
I’ve extended the calculator to take these options into account here. Simply adjust the size of your party, the cost of tickets, or the MPG of your car, to get personalized information of what the costs are.
bellevue said…
I wish they would offer a multi person ticket rate, I like taking public transit but I’m never alone so the cost just does not work out.
See the above points about discounts and such.
Again, I’m not saying rail makes sense for everyone everywhere. I do think that people (even transit-savvy people) underestimate their options when it comes to Amtrak, though.
So even if you’re skeptical, please do check out the updated calculator and fill in your info, to get a real sense of the costs and how it compares to driving.
Your local ex-motorist finally had his first rail trip last weekend, down to Portland and back, and I’ve some thoughts on the process, which I’ll be sharing over my next few posts.
The first question, for the many who have never taken regional rail or thought much about it, is why take rail? What does Amtrak have to offer, compared to the other options: the road-trip or the short distance flight?
I’ll skip over flights here because they’re easy to dismiss, particularly if you’re paying for them. They’re almost 3x the cost ($159 vs. $56), and while they’re faster in flight, when you count travel to and from the airport and security clearance time, the advantage wears down.
Cars on the other hand, you may see as your old, trusted companion for these trips, when perhaps they shouldn’t be. It may seem obvious to you that the $60 round trip cost of a train ticket is more expensive than driving yourself, but it’s as often false as true. One of our natural human biases is that we often ignore costs which accrue over time, if we’re not confronted with them directly. For example, as I mentioned in an earlier post, depreciation costs thousands a year, but you think more about this cost if you’re confronted with it each year than if you buy the car outright. This is despite the fact that the salable price for your car continually declines, so the economic cost is the same. Likewise, a roadtrip may feel like a liberating, low-cost experience, while the cost of the Amtrak ticket may seem high, when in fact the out-of-pocket costs are the same (for a single traveller, with the fuel efficiency below). You might think differently because paying the cost of fuel isn’t a precondition to starting your voyage, the costs come up after you’ve committed to the trip, and are thus easier to dismiss.
I put together this calculator to quantify this point. Note that you can edit the calculator values to put in your own car’s fuel efficiency, for example.
Now, this shows Amtrak and driving costs (for the single traveler) are essentially equal, on average, but there are qualifiers on both sides of this comparison. First of all, fuel costs are by no means the full cost of the car trip. Other costs include depreciation from the mileage you’re putting on your car, the potential cost of an accident, and the cost of your time in the car. Just like busing it to work, in the train you can work, read, or watch a film, while you can’t do the same in a car, and this has real value, as we’ll see.
Finally, the train is much more fuel-efficient than your car. While it’s difficult to say exactly how much more, wikipedia puts the figure somewhere between 1.25x and a whopping 20x the efficiency in the train. Note too, that the unimpressive lower figure is dubious, and more likely to be in-line with other rails systems, at 6x or better. Naturally, a train which uses less fuel also emits less pollution, to a similar extent. Adding to this effect is that rail, as point to point transport, encourages walkable, dense cities, rather than the highway system’s sprawl, so your use has long-term effects even beyond the benefits of the ride.
On the other hand, to be fair, cars do offer you greater flexibility, in timing, destination and route, and, importantly, the fuel and depreciation costs are fixed, while the rail costs are per-person. So you can pile 5 people into a car and travel at a fraction of the cost of the multiple rail tickets you’d need to buy. So there are legitimate reasons that it may be reasonable or necessary to take a car.
But even these points may not be as clear as they seem. While 5 people splitting the costs may be a clear win, 2 people is much more common scenario, and isn’t necessarily clear-cut. Even though the rail costs are now twice as much, this extra $60 over the cost of fuel has to then be weighed against the value of your free time. That $60 works out to just $5/hr of time ($60/(2 people * 6hrs round trip)), and as I mentioned, rail time is computer/book/movie time, while car time is often just that. Now, I’m not saying one is always and everywhere a clear win over the other, but along with the environmental and city benefits, one might think that paying $5/hr to be free to work or to write may be well worth it. Put another way, even at minimum wage, it takes fewer hours of work to earn those costs than the time over which you enjoy the benefits. At a standard wage (WA median household income / (52 wks * 40hrs) = roughly $30/hr), you’re each working for an hour to liberate yourself for 6.
So there you have it, for 1 person it’s a clear win, and for 2 or more, or for last-minute, higher-cost purchases, you should weigh the time and environment you save against the costs you pay. The point here is not to say that we should never need or use a car, but to give these things their appropriate measure, and have them coexist. So for your next trip to Portland or Vancouver, consider leaving the car at home and checking out Amtrak.
Update: I’ve got a follow-up post on Families and Discounts, in response to some questions in the comments.
I was looking at Seattle on Google Earth this morning, and I noticed that much of the city has been updated with new images. This is fantastic from a transit standpoint – the last images were taken at a very early stage of construction. Since then, we’ve come a long way, and I just thought I’d link everyone to some highlights. Because Google Earth and Google Maps use the same image data, everything here is a link you can open in your browser.
Let’s start at the top. This is where the rails disappear into the Downtown Seattle Transit Tunnel. If we scroll out just a little, we can see the DSTT connects directly to the I-90 center roadway. If you happen to work in Seattle and ride a bus that comes in on I-90 in the morning, you probably use these direct access ramps today. These were designed with curves and grades that can be used for rail transit – these are why it makes perfect sense to build light rail over the I-90 bridge.
Moving south, we have Stadium Station. Last night I watched thousands of people come out of Safeco Field – many of them walked across 4th Ave S. to their cars, but they could just as easily have been walking to this station. This station also serves two Metro bus bases, the maintenance facility for Amtrak and Sounder trains, and likely many Port of Seattle workers. Just south of this station is a storage track – a third track in the middle of the other two. As Roger told us on the lunch bus tour this weekend, at the end of big games, this track can hold an empty light rail vehicle (or four) so that when a train leaves the station completely packed and there are many more people waiting, another train can run right away rather than making game-goers wait for several minutes.
Next there’s SoDo Station. This is right next door to the USPS parking facility, and a few blocks from both Starbucks (west) and Tully’s (east) headquarters – not to mention Seattle Schools’ headquarters building.
Here’s where it gets interesting. Link’s Operations and Maintenance base is complete in this image. We can see the nine tracks that enter the building, as well as the five long storage tracks just to the east of it. The tracks that go inside provide access to maintenance bays that provide access under and over the vehicles, as well as a painting room and a special bay for removing and maintaining the ‘trucks’ – the assemblies under the cars that contain the axles, wheels and electric motors (yes, I took a picture of an electric motor).
Near the base, you can see the west portal of the Beacon Hill tunnel. This is a bit old – see all those things sitting around just south of the track? Those are stacks of tunnel segments. Each stack builds a five foot long ring of tunnel – but they’re all used now, except for one or two extra that were probably kept in case of breakage. The truck leaving the site from the south is a great example of Sound Transit’s protection of the Duwamish waterway – you can see that the ground is wet around it. Sound Transit’s contractor, Obayashi, is required to spray down the wheels of vehicles leaving the site so that the mud doesn’t wash into city drainage.
Last, for now, is the Beacon Hill station site itself. Two round holes are visible here. The larger one, on the left, will have four high-speed elevators bringing riders into and out of the station, which is 165 feet below ground. These elevators get you from top to bottom and vice versa in 20 seconds – four is more than enough for the long-term needs of the station. The smaller hole provides an emergency exit stair. The station itself will be two relatively small structures called headhouses, one with elevator equipment over the large hole, and a quite small one over the other. Most of the property you see here will be returned to the landowner for redevelopment once construction is complete.
We’ll move on to the east portal and southward later.
The City of Stanwood has started construction on the new Stanwood station platform which is slated to open in June 2009. This platform will serve North and South bound passengers to Vancouver, BC, Everett, Wa and Seattle, Wa.
The platform was originally scheduled to open in the Summer of 2008 but due to issues with platform height and extending the siding at Stanwood to allow freight trains to pass trains that are doing station stops and a slight relocation of a grade crossing.
Here are the pictures of the interior of the Amtrak Cascades “Mt. Rainier” train set, thanks to Chris Fussell of Portland, Oregon for allowing me to use them!
Notice the removal of the curtains – Coach class has tan leather seats
Improved Walkway lighting, along with new walls that are easier to clean. Each seat now has 110v outlets while the prior setup did not.
Updated A/V panel and the new lever to recline the seats. The seats recline like Airline seats. You no longer have to do the butt squeeze and wiggle to get them to move.
That’s all for now. The Mt. Olympus trainset is awaiting to be picked up from BNSF who will take the trainset CEECo in Tacoma who will do work on plumbing and other piping modifications. Once the work is completed there, Union Pacific will pick up the train and take it to the Southcenter/Kent Industrial Park for it’s refurbishment.
Give or take a few months, the Olympus will be back in service.
The first of the Amtrak Cascades trainsets; the Mt. Rainier have been released and is in service between Seattle and Eugene, Oregon. I am not sure on what it’s circulation will be and I’m awaiting to see if I can use some photos from the author on the interior photos.
The Mt. Olympus trainset is next for the refurbishing program.
When all of the trainsets are completed, Talgo service to Vancouver, BC will resume though the second train to Vancouver, BC starting later this year should be Talgo equipment.
The State of Washington owns 3 of the 5 trainsets while Amtrak owns the other two sets.
I’m a little busy at work to write posts for these, but here’s a lot of information if you’re interested.
There’s a forum tomorrow by City Council members Jan Drago and Sally Clark to create ideas on how the city can become a better place for scooters. Bertha Knight Landes Room at City Hall at 600 Fourth Ave, 5:30-7:30. The Vespa Club of Seattle, the Mosquito Fleet, the Seattle Department of Transportation, the Seattle Police Department and the Urban Mobility Group will be in attendence.
The Waterfront streetcar’s potential new home has had it’s design review decision appealed by the Pioner Square Preservation Board (very technical, I know). The statement form the builder, Urban Visions:
Preliminary design for proposed new construction of an 11 story building at 130 feet with a rooftop amenity room, green roof and photo voltaic panels. The alley is proposed at 16 feet. Off street loading is proposed to be reduced from three to two. An oversized curb cut is proposed to accommodate trolley access. Five levels of parking above the first floor are internal to the building. Approval is requested for one retail unit over 3,000 square feet. Establish use in proposed new construction.
Ground level will contain two retail units for a total of 7, 560 with one retail unit over 3,000 square feet
the Streetcar Trolley Maintenance Facility of 13,425 square feet and the parking entrance and loading at 2,500 square feet
Second – Sixth level will contain a total of 142 parking stalls for a total of 55,630 square feet and 57 loft style apartments for a total of 58, 775 square feet
Seventh – Eleventh level will contain Class A office space for a total of 129, 925 square feet. Rooftop will contain a penthouse amenity room and garden
The meeting will be 9 a.m. March 19 in Room L280 at Seattle City Hall. Mithun architects’ Jay Janette will discuss the design. I wonder what exactly they hope to preserve of the parking lot the building would be built in.
Mayor Ray Stephanson wants to put the kibosh on any attempts to spend more city money on streetcar studies.
City Council members disagree.
The mayor’s stance comes three months after a feasibility study forecast the price tag for a five-mile streetcar line at more than $150 million. It would cost millions of dollars more each year to run the system.
I guess this has nothing to do with the potential Everett streetcar that could be part of a future Sound Transit expansion. I think that a streetcar could be just the thing Everett needs, especially if they want to get a new UW campus. Even then, supposedly, UW won’t build a new campus without gauranteed money from the state, but I guess that’s a different topic for a different post.
State legistlators are questioning the state’s idea of paying sales tax on capital projects. It’s an interesting debate, since the state brings in $829mn in tax on those, but at least that much if not more is spent. Good way of getting 8.9% more out of your Sound Transit dollars…
Amtrak Cascades set an all-time ridership record in 2007: 676,670 riders, a 7.4 percent increase over 2006. Oddly, the press release came out in March; I guess their trains are faster than their press machine.
Taking Steps to Rationalize the Nation’s Intercity Passenger Rail System Curtails Federal subsidies. $800 million for Amtrak, which represents a significant but necessary cut to the railroad’s Federal subsidy. Requires that Amtrak control its operating losses and focus on services that offer the most promise. Reserves the bulk of funds for capital investment so improvements may continue along the heavily trafficked Northeast Corridor.
THE BUDGET FOR FISCAL YEAR 2009 99
Reflects that Amtrak has taken few steps to and that it consequently continues to hemorrhage taxpayer funds. Provides State matching grants. $100 million for State matching grants for intercity passenger rail capital projects to empower States, not Amtrak, to address their transportation goals and priorities.
President Bush continues to starve the Passenger Railroad of the critical funding Amtrak needs to return to a Good State of Repair. Thankfully, the Senate and House will allocate the 1.3+ billion needed.
Another thing that should be noted. Nothing on assistance for Freight Railroads to relieve congestion, nothing on High Speed Rail or Maglev projects. Really seems as if these people don’t care about alternatives that are readily available.
For those curious on the track construction going on at King Street Station in Seattle. The new tracks, which will be used for freight trains and Sounder Commuter trains will start it’s “cutover” in June of 2008. This date however has changed a few times since it was originally announced but tentatively speaking, it “should” be around the Summer time.
Once the track work is finished, work will start on extending the Sounder platform to allow for longer train sets or multiple train sets.
The current arrangement in the long term doesn’t support the expected growth slated for King Street Station, which also includes Amtrak. The furthest stud track – King Street 7, will get a passenger platform that could be used for Sounder trains for the Seahawks or Mariners. That is still up in the air though and still would be a few years out but it would prevent the walking up and over the Weller Street overpass to either stadium.
Looking at the second photo above, the 3 tracks (L-R, Main 2, Main 1, King Street 1) will continue straight to the new connection. The platform will extend about 80-160 feet. King Street 2 will be extended and connected to the stub switch (middle of photo) This will allow direct access to King Street for the commuter trains.
We don’t normally get a chance to have a branch campus be looked at but also a campus that is next to a rail line and in the future, could see Light-Rail on top of expanded bus and commuter rail service.
Everett Station would hold a very unique oppurtunity to the City of Everett and the entire North region. Why is this? The Everett Station is home to Amtrak, Greyhound, Sounder Commuter Rail, ST Express Bus service, Everett Transit, Community Transit, Island Transit… well, you get the point – It’s a main hub for Transit in Snohomish County. There is also a talk of building a Streetcar from the new Waterfront development through Downtown to the new Riverfront Development which would stop at Everett Station. Riverfront could be a place for students to gather and “hang out” with it’s hip shops and movie theater and easily connected by the Streetcar.
Everett has some of the cheapest rent in a “city” while keeping it’s low key stature. This would be excellent for students on a budget but don’t want to live in a 4×8 dorm. Everett could be what Tacoma should be but with the ability of easy expansion and great transit, Everett Station is a no brainer that it can bring people from far apart, without the need to travel heavily to get to a Airport or Train Station.
Some facts:
Everett Station
Amtrak Cascades serves Seattle, Stanwood (In November 2008) Mt. Vernon/Burlington, Bellingham, with a shuttle to the Bellingham International Airport with Delta, Horizon, Allegiant Air, Alaska (Yes, there is a ferry to Alaska from Bellingham), Vancouver, BC..perfect weekend trip “abroad” Cascades also serves Seattle, Tacoma, Vancouver, WA, Portland, Oregon, Eugene, Oregon.
Amtrak’s Empire Builder runs between Seattle and Chicago, ILL with several stops along the way.
I’ll visit this topic more on a later date when more information is readily available….
bellevue said…
