tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11148260.post111360841009739858..comments2023-09-06T08:56:14.610-04:00Comments on Eidelblog: Let Amtrak dieUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11148260.post-65890502647331535712008-07-09T18:59:00.000-04:002008-07-09T18:59:00.000-04:00So what are you saying, Chase? That the federal go...So what are you saying, Chase? That the federal government should waste more billions of dollars on Amtrak?<BR/><BR/>"I think the company is worth trusting." Trusting <I>how</I>? Certainly not with the ability to make a profit.<BR/><BR/>I don't use Amtrak. I either drive or fly. Why should my tax dollars go to pay for a business that I don't use?Perry Eidelbushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09707615907666584863noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11148260.post-77335748627418528172008-07-09T15:40:00.000-04:002008-07-09T15:40:00.000-04:00The quality of passenger services at the present t...The quality of passenger services at the present time is rather important. The company should necessarily operate across the whole country to be able to stay on the market. At www.pissedconsumer.com I found out that <A HREF="http://amtrak.pissedconsumer.com" REL="nofollow">Amtrak</A> is the National Railroad Passenger Corporation. The company operates passenger service on routes across the continental United States of America connecting hundreds of destinations in 48 states; routes to Vancouver, Toronto and Montreal. In addition to the passenger service, Amtrak expanded into freight transportation market and now operates a captive bus service. I think the company is worth trusting.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11148260.post-1113777789587339292005-04-17T18:43:00.000-04:002005-04-17T18:43:00.000-04:00Amtrak's ticket prices are artificially cheap, how...Amtrak's ticket prices are artificially cheap, however. It's unfair to everyone else who doesn't ride Amtrak. Furthermore we need to remember what Bastiat said. At best, it's only a transfer, not an increase. It might enables economic growth in one part of the country, but at the expense of everywhere else.<BR/><BR/>Eliminating Amtrak's federal subsidy would certainly raise the ticket prices, but it would also force Amtrak to be more efficient. Once a company finds government allies that will continually get it the requested subsidies, the company can grow fat and lazy.<BR/><BR/>Considering the cost of gasoline and parking on the routes you mentioned, Amtrak regulars would probably still commute by train. This assumes they would still bother to commute to those jobs. They might start working closer to home, because the higher ticket prices aren't worth it. Meanwhile, there's no economic loss. Everyone else has that additional income to spend or save. And if we do the right thing and eliminate all other subsidies, then Amtrak riders might pay higher fees, but that will be offset because they won't have to pay subsidies for other people.<BR/><BR/>The rationale is that Amtrak's subsidies are spread out among many people, so we don't notice the few dollars that each of us pays to keep Amtrak solvent. But all the subsidies together add up to a lot.Perry Eidelbushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09707615907666584863noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11148260.post-1113771265111493292005-04-17T16:54:00.000-04:002005-04-17T16:54:00.000-04:00Well... Yes and no. Depends. And so on... There ar...Well... Yes and no. Depends. And so on... <BR/>There are still places that are hundreds of miles from anyplace [else] for which Amtrak is a lifeline. <BR/>And commuting, say from Providence to Boston, keeps a lot of cars out of the two cities. <BR/>But high-speed rail? Using a French design even the French do not? From Maine to Florida with perhaps three stops, maybe, but it can't even get up to full speed from Hartford to Providence.John Ahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00801684602403824157noreply@blogger.com