NEC Discounts

[NECRider]

Hello all,

I was wondering if the discounts over the summer on Acela and NorthEast Regional trains will happen again over the summer of 2010. Were there any promotions similar to the ones that we had last summer in years past? That $72 for a regional coach from WAS-NYP seems expensive compared to the $99 acela business, no?

 

[gswager]

It depends on the economy. Acela is primarily used by business people, so is the premium trainset.

 

[wayman]

Hello all, I was wondering if the discounts over the summer on Acela and NorthEast Regional trains will happen again over the summer of 2010. Were there any promotions similar to the ones that we had last summer in years past? That $72 for a regional coach from WAS-NYP seems expensive compared to the $99 acela business, no?

It's about 300 miles. Compare that $72 to $0.55/mile + about $20 in tolls, and it's still cheaper for two people to take the train for $72 apiece than to carpool together. Factor in the extra productivity or relaxing the train allows, and it's an even better deal. If you value the driver's time at $10/hour, it's now cheaper for three people to take the train for $72 apiece than to carpool together.

Still a bargain at $72 (with no additional fees and no travel inconveniences) in my opinion!

If you can get the Acela for $99, that's stunningly good. I rarely see less than $133 for WAS-NYP, which is what I'm paying for BC on the 28th. Wish I could've found a $99 fare!!! I imagine Acela fares are discounted more than usual right now to account for the tightening of expense-account budgets -- just as businesses are more reluctant to pay for first-class or business-class airfare, they're probably more reluctant to pay a premium for Acela, but they're still willing to pay a smaller premium (Acela provides faster service as well as more comfort, while nicer airline seats only provide more comfort) -- while Regional fares haven't seen similar discounts.

 

[Guest]

Hello all, I was wondering if the discounts over the summer on Acela and NorthEast Regional trains will happen again over the summer of 2010. Were there any promotions similar to the ones that we had last summer in years past? That $72 for a regional coach from WAS-NYP seems expensive compared to the $99 acela business, no?

It's about 300 miles. Compare that $72 to $0.55/mile + about $20 in tolls, and it's still cheaper for two people to take the train for $72 apiece than to carpool together. Factor in the extra productivity or relaxing the train allows, and it's an even better deal. If you value the driver's time at $10/hour, it's now cheaper for three people to take the train for $72 apiece than to carpool together.

Still a bargain at $72 (with no additional fees and no travel inconveniences) in my opinion!

If you can get the Acela for $99, that's stunningly good. I rarely see less than $133 for WAS-NYP, which is what I'm paying for BC on the 28th. Wish I could've found a $99 fare!!! I imagine Acela fares are discounted more than usual right now to account for the tightening of expense-account budgets -- just as businesses are more reluctant to pay for first-class or business-class airfare, they're probably more reluctant to pay a premium for Acela, but they're still willing to pay a smaller premium (Acela provides faster service as well as more comfort, while nicer airline seats only provide more comfort) -- while Regional fares haven't seen similar discounts.

Yeah, that is fine if you are in business. How about looking at the other side of the coin. If you are on your own personal time and trying to save money that 300 miles at 20mpg and $3/gal gives you $45 in fuel, lets just assume $2 in maintenance. Then there is parking for lets say $10 a day. Add on your $20 in tolls and it comes up to total of $77. Roughly the same for taking the train. Now that means Amtrak is a great value for one, but for two or more it is not cost effective.

 

[the_traveler]

Yeah, that is fine if you are in business. How about looking at the other side of the coin. If you are on your own personal time and trying to save money that 300 miles at 20mpg and $3/gal gives you $45 in fuel, lets just assume $2 in maintenance. Then there is parking for lets say $10 a day. Add on your $20 in tolls and it comes up to total of $77. Roughly the same for taking the train. Now that means Amtrak is a great value for one, but for two or more it is not cost effective.

Even with that, you're just adding basically the fuel costs plus parking and tolls. Why not add the cost of the aggravation of driving in traffic in or around a few cities - especially at rush hour! What value do you put on that? :huh:

I'd rather arrive rested and stress free, than aggravated because I just drove for a few hours!

When I went to BOS for the Gathering, I could have

1. Driven about 100 miles for $xx
   
2. Stayed in a hotel for $yy
   
3. Taken Amtrak for $32 round trip per day (and arrive rested and ready to go)
   

Which do you think I chose? :huh:

 

[wayman]

Yeah, that is fine if you are in business. How about looking at the other side of the coin. If you are on your own personal time and trying to save money that 300 miles at 20mpg and $3/gal gives you $45 in fuel, lets just assume $2 in maintenance. Then there is parking for lets say $10 a day. Add on your $20 in tolls and it comes up to total of $77. Roughly the same for taking the train. Now that means Amtrak is a great value for one, but for two or more it is not cost effective.

Two things:

1, how are you parking in New York for under $30/day (something I wasn't even including in my costs)? Sure, there's free street parking in, say, the Upper East Side, but you have to get there and get lucky -- figure at least another 30-60 minutes. Or there's cheaper parking near commuter rail in Jersey, but then you're paying for both that and the commuter rail, plus extra time.

2, if you're figuring $2 in maintenance for a 300 mile trip, you're being very foolish. The maintenance and depreciation costs of driving don't go down just because it's a personal trip rather than a business trip.

 

[Guest]

Yeah, that is fine if you are in business. How about looking at the other side of the coin. If you are on your own personal time and trying to save money that 300 miles at 20mpg and $3/gal gives you $45 in fuel, lets just assume $2 in maintenance. Then there is parking for lets say $10 a day. Add on your $20 in tolls and it comes up to total of $77. Roughly the same for taking the train. Now that means Amtrak is a great value for one, but for two or more it is not cost effective.

Even with that, you're just adding basically the fuel costs plus parking and tolls. Why not add the cost of the aggravation of driving in traffic in or around a few cities - especially at rush hour! What value do you put on that? :huh:

I'd rather arrive rested and stress free, than aggravated because I just drove for a few hours!

When I went to BOS for the Gathering, I could have

1. Driven about 100 miles for $xx
   
2. Stayed in a hotel for $yy
   
3. Taken Amtrak for $32 round trip per day (and arrive rested and ready to go)
   

Which do you think I chose? :huh:

Work on your reading comprehension man. I said that Amtrak works good for one so yeah, your trip to Boston works out for you since it was for one person. Now if I want to go with three other people it will still be roughly $77 total and add a little more fuel for the extra weight coming out to maybe $80, or that same group of four can pay the $72 each for a grand total $288. With one person it is no question, take the train. Two is maybe, do you feel that the extra stress of driving is worth $30+ per person. With three it comes to an extra $45+ per person. On this example from WAS-NYP carpooling beats Amtrak. I expect that someone will come up with some obviously false logic to try and say otherwise though.

 

[Bob Dylan]

Wow, what fun! A drive from WAS-BOS! In my 25 years of living in the NE, mostly WAS, I drove this route once (and that was 25+ yrs. ago!) Perhaps if you are on vacation and have the time, it would be a good idea to drive but if you're on a business trip, or just a long weekend it makes NO sense to drive, as the old saying went, sit back and leave the driving to us!

Bean counters spend their spare time figuring stuff like this and worrying about nickels and dimes! The experience of riding the Acela or even a regional is like the MC comnmercial, priceless! Life's too short to worry about trading a few dollars for missing out on cheap thrills!

 

[Long Train Runnin']

Yeah, that is fine if you are in business. How about looking at the other side of the coin. If you are on your own personal time and trying to save money that 300 miles at 20mpg and $3/gal gives you $45 in fuel, lets just assume $2 in maintenance. Then there is parking for lets say $10 a day. Add on your $20 in tolls and it comes up to total of $77. Roughly the same for taking the train. Now that means Amtrak is a great value for one, but for two or more it is not cost effective.

Even with that, you're just adding basically the fuel costs plus parking and tolls. Why not add the cost of the aggravation of driving in traffic in or around a few cities - especially at rush hour! What value do you put on that? :huh:

I'd rather arrive rested and stress free, than aggravated because I just drove for a few hours!

When I went to BOS for the Gathering, I could have

1. Driven about 100 miles for $xx
   
2. Stayed in a hotel for $yy
   
3. Taken Amtrak for $32 round trip per day (and arrive rested and ready to go)
   

Which do you think I chose? :huh:

Work on your reading comprehension man. I said that Amtrak works good for one so yeah, your trip to Boston works out for you since it was for one person. Now if I want to go with three other people it will still be roughly $77 total and add a little more fuel for the extra weight coming out to maybe $80, or that same group of four can pay the $72 each for a grand total $288. With one person it is no question, take the train. Two is maybe, do you feel that the extra stress of driving is worth $30+ per person. With three it comes to an extra $45+ per person. On this example from WAS-NYP carpooling beats Amtrak. I expect that someone will come up with some obviously false logic to try and say otherwise though.

Depends...having a car in NYC is not worth hasstle. I guess its a personal thing. If you feel like driving is the way to go then go ahead and drive.

 

[battalion51]

Personally, even if I'm on vacation I prefer the train. I've ridden in a car from Cape Cod-DC and Hartford-Baltimore in a day, and my level of relaxation and stress versus taking the train is completely different, even as a passenger. There's a lot to be said for the ability to get up and walk around, the ease, and all that. The train is almost always the way to go in regional travel.

 

[Ispolkom]

Personally, even if I'm on vacation I prefer the train. I've ridden in a car from Cape Cod-DC and Hartford-Baltimore in a day, and my level of relaxation and stress versus taking the train is completely different, even as a passenger. There's a lot to be said for the ability to get up and walk around, the ease, and all that. The train is almost always the way to go in regional travel.

I completely agree with you, as the I-95 corridor between Boston and, oh, Fredericksburg is one of the places I try to avoid driving. But when I lived in the DC area 10-15 years ago I preferred driving, because a) the maniacs on I-95 didn't bother me as much, b) I wasn't traveling between Washington DC and Manhattan, but Arlington and Croton-on-Hudson, or Arlington and Newark, Del., c) the cost of renting a car and driving it with my wife was pretty competitive with train fares, and d) money was tighter. Now that factors a, c, and d have changed, so have my views. Now I'm sorry I never tried the New York set-out sleeper.