In my recent post on Amtrak, a number of commenters said (quite rightly) that all modes of travel are subsidized. However, rail is subsidized at a much higher rate per passenger mile than any other form. How high? The Antiplanner crunches some numbers on the subsidy on the Amtrak Chicago - Milwaukee route:
In other words, the [Amtrak] subsidy alone would have been enough to give every single Hiawatha rider a free trip on Greyhound or Megabus (at the low cost of $7 per trip).
When the subsidy is high enough to entirely cover the ticket price of a competing mode of travel, you're in a whole 'nother world. So why do we do this? The Antiplanner hits center mass:
Until that happens, now you know why you should be happy that your tax
dollars are going to subsidize Amtrak: so that a few snobs who won’t
ride ordinary buses can get subsidies to ride expensive and mostly empty
trains.
Yup. Class warfare in action.
2 comments:
Well, you certainly can't expect our Elite to ride on a dirty bus with the smelly commoners, can you?
A round trip ticket on Megabus from Cleveland to Chicago was $2 cheaper than just parking my car for two days in Chicago would have been. Got wifi too.
Greyhound, on the other hand, is an armpit. I did Greyhound from Cleveland to Detroit once. Once was enough.
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