Amazed at Number of 1st Time Riders

[Ben_G]

I was amazed at the number of first time riders on the trip we just finished. I am one of those who has never met a stranger and will chat with most anyone. I would say over half the people I talked with both in our coach the observation car and the diner it was the first time they had rode a train anywhere. No real reason given just the statement this is my first train ride would come out in the conversation. These were not all young people either, all ages and walks of life.

 

[Ocala Mike]

The above post is "good news-bad news".

The good news is that many new people are willing to experience Amtrak, but the bad news may be that the high percentage of "first-timers" that you encounter means that many riders have such a bad experience from their trial run that they don't come back for a second trip.

 

[the_traveler]

I agree with the above statements. After a "bad experience" on their first trip on Amtrak, many do not try to come back. I've had many bad experiences, but try again. After all, you can have a bad car trip or plane ride - do you give up driving to work or flying? I have also met many first time riders over the years. Also many repeat riders who never heard of AGR!

 

[MiRider]

I agree with the above statements. After a "bad experience" on their first trip on Amtrak, many do not try to come back. I've had many bad experiences, but try again. After all, you can have a bad car trip or plane ride - do you give up driving to work or flying? I have also met many first time riders over the years. Also many repeat riders who never heard of AGR!

Same here.

I talked with a very frequent traveler at dinner on the CZ and he thought AGR wasn't worth it because 'isn't it really hard to get points and don't you need a lot of points for anything?'

I'm getting ready to print up a business size card of important info like AGR and this forum among other things to give to people I meet.

On my CZ trip home, we were hit by delay after delay and I was surrounded by FTRs that were beside themselves.

I explained everything to the best of my ability and even bought one, literally, poor young woman dinner - she was moving back home after an unsuccessful stab at the real world in CA.

One woman was going to Michigan to see the mother and sisters that she hadn't seen in 20 years.

Unfortunately, she didn't make the van they had for us because she had checked her luggage.

 

[afigg]

The above post is "good news-bad news".

The good news is that many new people are willing to experience Amtrak, but the bad news may be that the high percentage of "first-timers" that you encounter means that many riders have such a bad experience from their trial run that they don't come back for a second trip.

That is a rather pessimistic view. Amtrak's overall on-time performance has improved the past several years and the passenger cars are mostly in better shape generally than a few years ago. The influx of stimulus money and increased annual capital grants have allowed Amtrak to address a lot of problems. Not perfect by any means, but better than it was 5 to 10 years ago. Odds are that most first time riders will have a satisfactory to good experience riding on Amtrak and will consider taking Amtrak again. Amtrak is getting the growth in ridership from somewhere.

 

[TimePeace]

Putting it another way - a first time rider who meets a forum member who passes along "insider" info and general enthusiasm will help keep some of them riding even if there is a less-than-perfect experience along the way.

 

[Anderson]

I take the number of first-time riders as a good sign. The feeling I get is that Amtrak's LD ridership was, for a long time, mostly the same two million folks who'd more or less "stuck it out" with rail travel since at least the 80s and that their corridor traffic wasn't too far off of that in nature. In the last decade, though, ridership is up sharply (and the trend has been even stronger in the last 5-6 years, particularly in terms of sheer numbers).

 

[winterskigirl]

I looked at ridership stats on Amtrak and ridership has gone up in the last decade. TSA perhaps?

 

[AutoTrDvr]

I looked at ridership stats on Amtrak and ridership has gone up in the last decade. TSA perhaps?

No doubt! It's one of the reasons why I started using the AT for diving trips to Florida.

Not that that's fool proof. I mean, per Amtrak policy, bags are subject to search just like aircraft. And on this last trip the K-9 unit was at Lorton checking cars and inside the terminal on occasion.

 

[Ispolkom]

I looked at ridership stats on Amtrak and ridership has gone up in the last decade. TSA perhaps?

No doubt! It's one of the reasons why I started using the AT for diving trips to Florida.

Not that that's fool proof. I mean, per Amtrak policy, bags are subject to search just like aircraft. And on this last trip the K-9 unit was at Lorton checking cars and inside the terminal on occasion.

Yeah, but I'll take the K-9 units, even with their officers with the guns tied to their thighs rather than in proper belt holsters, over the absurd and obscurely degrading TSA security theater at the airports. With Amtrak I only have to observe the TSA's fashion crimes, while going through security at airports I have to participate.

 

[PaulM]

One woman was going to Michigan to see the mother and sisters that she hadn't seen in 20 years.

Unfortunately, she didn't make the van they had for us because she had checked her luggage.

Could you elaborate. I presume you are referring to a van for those missing a connection. Was there not enough time to get the luggage; or was there not enough room in the van for it? Did they put her up in a hotel?

We once missed a connection; and there was plenty of time to retrieve luggage before the van was ready to go. But when the agent heard we had bicycles, they put us up in a hotel and put us on the train the next morning - a much better option In our case.

 

[cirdan]

The above post is "good news-bad news".

The good news is that many new people are willing to experience Amtrak, but the bad news may be that the high percentage of "first-timers" that you encounter means that many riders have such a bad experience from their trial run that they don't come back for a second trip.

That is a rather pessimistic view. Amtrak's overall on-time performance has improved the past several years and the passenger cars are mostly in better shape generally than a few years ago. The influx of stimulus money and increased annual capital grants have allowed Amtrak to address a lot of problems. Not perfect by any means, but better than it was 5 to 10 years ago. Odds are that most first time riders will have a satisfactory to good experience riding on Amtrak and will consider taking Amtrak again. Amtrak is getting the growth in ridership from somewhere.

I was sitting next to a man once who was on his first Amtrak trip ever. This was on the Pennsylvanian going from Philladelphia to Pittsburgh. He said he drove that trip regularly but had now opted for Amtrak because of the price of gas. Then about an hour or so into the trip he began to complain terribly because he said it was so boring and he had nothing to do. Now us well seasoned travellers all know that we should take reading material or a crossword or an iPad or whatever to get past the boring bits and might take it for granted that everybody knows that. But obviously it isn't clear to everybody. Obviously he never flies or goes on buses either as he's know about the problem and knowing that having time to do what you want rather than having to watch the road is actually a great plus of public transportation..

 

[MiRider]

One woman was going to Michigan to see the mother and sisters that she hadn't seen in 20 years.

Unfortunately, she didn't make the van they had for us because she had checked her luggage.

Could you elaborate. I presume you are referring to a van for those missing a connection. Was there not enough time to get the luggage; or was there not enough room in the van for it? Did they put her up in a hotel?

We once missed a connection; and there was plenty of time to retrieve luggage before the van was ready to go. But when the agent heard we had bicycles, they put us up in a hotel and put us on the train the next morning - a much better option In our case.

Yes, the van was for our missed connection - what else.

People booked on the Pere Marquette were summoned to wait in one spot.

We waited approx. 15 minutes and then were led to the van.

There was one van.

We filled up the van on a first come basis.

There was no room for one couple, they were given an apology and directed to go to Passenger Services.

I never saw the woman I mentioned again so I have no idea what happened but I'm going to assume she was taken care of by Amtrak or one of her family members came to pick her up.

 

[dn4192]

I will be riding Amtrak coming up in Aug for only the second time in my life, the other time being back in 1991 going from Iowa to Indianapolis. This up coming trip I am going from Indianapolis to NJ and then back again. I am taking the Cardinal out and coming back on the Penn/Capital limited to chicago and then the Cardinal down to INdy. The reason why I have not ridden in over 20+ years is cost. If you are going to travel long distance it's just not encomical. Add to that the time involved and delays I can see why Amtrak is where it is rider ship wise. I am a big believer in mass transit and believe it is s HUGE embarassment that this country's train system is still so 50's in it's struture. It should not take over 24 hours to go from Indianapolis to NYC...

 

[AutoTrDvr]

The above post is "good news-bad news".

The good news is that many new people are willing to experience Amtrak, but the bad news may be that the high percentage of "first-timers" that you encounter means that many riders have such a bad experience from their trial run that they don't come back for a second trip.

That is a rather pessimistic view. Amtrak's overall on-time performance has improved the past several years and the passenger cars are mostly in better shape generally than a few years ago. The influx of stimulus money and increased annual capital grants have allowed Amtrak to address a lot of problems. Not perfect by any means, but better than it was 5 to 10 years ago. Odds are that most first time riders will have a satisfactory to good experience riding on Amtrak and will consider taking Amtrak again. Amtrak is getting the growth in ridership from somewhere.

I was sitting next to a man once who was on his first Amtrak trip ever. This was on the Pennsylvanian going from Philladelphia to Pittsburgh. He said he drove that trip regularly but had now opted for Amtrak because of the price of gas. Then about an hour or so into the trip he began to complain terribly because he said it was so boring and he had nothing to do. Now us well seasoned travellers all know that we should take reading material or a crossword or an iPad or whatever to get past the boring bits and might take it for granted that everybody knows that. But obviously it isn't clear to everybody. Obviously he never flies or goes on buses either as he's know about the problem and knowing that having time to do what you want rather than having to watch the road is actually a great plus of public transportation..

Precisely. I think you can do a lot more on the train than you can on an aircraft, what with all the "electronics restrictions." Use your cell (quietly ), use your laptop or tablet the *entire* journey (which means you can watch your own movies with headphones, etc.). I like attaching my GPS to the train's window. Does a pretty accurate job of calculating the speed of the train, and it pretty much follows the train route (although when it gets close to a major road/highway, it thinks its on that road/highway).

 

[AmtrakBlue]

The above post is "good news-bad news".

The good news is that many new people are willing to experience Amtrak, but the bad news may be that the high percentage of "first-timers" that you encounter means that many riders have such a bad experience from their trial run that they don't come back for a second trip.

That is a rather pessimistic view. Amtrak's overall on-time performance has improved the past several years and the passenger cars are mostly in better shape generally than a few years ago. The influx of stimulus money and increased annual capital grants have allowed Amtrak to address a lot of problems. Not perfect by any means, but better than it was 5 to 10 years ago. Odds are that most first time riders will have a satisfactory to good experience riding on Amtrak and will consider taking Amtrak again. Amtrak is getting the growth in ridership from somewhere.

I was sitting next to a man once who was on his first Amtrak trip ever. This was on the Pennsylvanian going from Philladelphia to Pittsburgh. He said he drove that trip regularly but had now opted for Amtrak because of the price of gas. Then about an hour or so into the trip he began to complain terribly because he said it was so boring and he had nothing to do. Now us well seasoned travellers all know that we should take reading material or a crossword or an iPad or whatever to get past the boring bits and might take it for granted that everybody knows that. But obviously it isn't clear to everybody. Obviously he never flies or goes on buses either as he's know about the problem and knowing that having time to do what you want rather than having to watch the road is actually a great plus of public transportation..

I may need to take the train this summer rather than fly just so I have a chance to finish the baby blanket I'm working on before I get to my daughter's to see my newborn grandson.

 

[AutoTrDvr]

I may need to take the train this summer rather than fly just so I have a chance to finish the baby blanket I'm working on before I get to my daughter's to see my newborn grandson.

As long as they (knitting needles/crochet nook) aren't confiscated as a "security risk...." h34r:

 

[AmtrakBlue]

I may need to take the train this summer rather than fly just so I have a chance to finish the baby blanket I'm working on before I get to my daughter's to see my newborn grandson.

As long as they (knitting needles/crochet nook) aren't confiscated as a "security risk...." h34r:

Nah, but they better watch out for my long extension cord...someone could get their neck caught in that. h34r: