NEC fare increase

[gatelouse]

Looks like many Regional and Acela fares on the NEC have risen about 2%. 14-day advance YE fares are unchanged.

Any other fare increases across the system? (If not, then one might be coming soon...)

 

[dlagrua]

Amtrak fares have risen steadily through the years. We are in a prolonged period of high fuel prices andthat probably has a bearing on all transportation cost.

 

[jis]

You should see some of the fuel surcharges that get tacked onto air fares, and thank your stars that Amtrak fares are rising only 2% occasionally.

 

[the_traveler]

I'd much rather have an Amtrak fare rise 2% every so often than have a "fuel surcharge" of $50-$100 added to the fare!

 

[jis]

I'd much rather have an Amtrak fare rise 2% every so often than have a "fuel surcharge" of $50-$100 added to the fare!

$50 - $100? The EWR - IAD - CDG - EWR trip that starts for me tomorrow has an airfare of $420 and a fuel surcharge of $475 or something like that. Anyway, the fuel surcharge is higher than the base fare!

 

[the_traveler]

That's what I was saying - in a round about way! I would not want a fare from KIN to BOS for $16, plus a "fuel surcharge" of $100!

BTW: Have you ever see those "fuel surcharges" drop even when aviation fuel prices drop?

It may happen, but it's so rare and so slow that you don't notice!

 

[Shawn Ryu]

Whatever, I always book trips at least 2 weeks ahead to save money anyway.

 

[afigg]

That's what I was saying - in a round about way! I would not want a fare from KIN to BOS for $16, plus a "fuel surcharge" of $100!

BTW: Have you ever see those "fuel surcharges" drop even when aviation fuel prices drop?

It may happen, but it's so rare and so slow that you don't notice!

A fuel surcharge by Amtrak on the NEC might raise a few questions. :blink: On the diesel powered routes, hopefully a fuel surcharge is not a revenue raising idea something that Amtrak will take from the airline industry. But Amtrak does not need it as fuel costs are a much smaller percentage of operating costs for Amtrak than it is for an commercial jet airliner.

If the price of oil stays in the $100 plus range for Brent North Sea crude (the most widely followed guide for international oil prices), do the airlines keep the fuel surcharges or someday fold them into the ticket price? My guess is that fuel surcharges will be around for a looonnnggg time.

 

[jis]

That's what I was saying - in a round about way! I would not want a fare from KIN to BOS for $16, plus a "fuel surcharge" of $100!

BTW: Have you ever see those "fuel surcharges" drop even when aviation fuel prices drop?

It may happen, but it's so rare and so slow that you don't notice!

A fuel surcharge by Amtrak on the NEC might raise a few questions. :blink: On the diesel powered routes, hopefully a fuel surcharge is not a revenue raising idea something that Amtrak will take from the airline industry. But Amtrak does not need it as fuel costs are a much smaller percentage of operating costs for Amtrak than it is for an commercial jet airliner.

Antrak does not have to look to the airline industry for fuel surcharge ideas. Freight Railroads have charged fuel surcharge on freight rates for at least 5 years or more now, as has the trucking industry, both based on increase of diesel prices.

 

[Anderson]

I don't see Amtrak tacking on fuel surcharges anytime soon. First and foremost, I suspect that they'd catch holy hell from Congress about it. Second, they'd blow a bunch of consumer goodwill and I think they know it. Third, fuel costs are only 7-8% of Amtrak's costs vs. 30-odd percent of the airlines...and I suspect a substantial portion of the freight RRs' costs as well. So much of Amtrak's costs are personnel-related that it's not even funny...but it makes a fuel surcharge (and especially a large one) a bit of a headscratcher for Amtrak. This goes double on the NEC, where they've got electric power most of the way.

With that said, Amtrak probably does need to look at nudging fares up a bit more than 2% per year (I would look in the 3-4% range...generally just above inflation on average, with crowded routes going up more while less crowded routes go up less). Granted, for FY11 Amtrak managed to hike the average fare on the Acela by 6.41% ($136.74 to $145.50) and on LD trains, fares went up by an average of 4.94% ($101.42 to $106.43), but state corridors and the NE Regionals in particular showed anemic growth (2.81% for the Shorts and 1.93% for the NE Regionals). Particularly on the NE Regionals, where the growth rate exceeded that on the Acelas, I'm a bit surprised...but I do suspect that the Acela situation is being driven by a hard capacity cap more than anything, effectively forcing high buckets to manage demand.

 

[VentureForth]

So much of Amtrak's costs are personnel-related that it's not even funny...

Yes. Personnel related costs to Amtrak are almost half of all the rest of their expenses combined. Maybe they will add a surcharge to having a coach attendant in your car...

 

[Anderson]

So much of Amtrak's costs are personnel-related that it's not even funny...

Yes. Personnel related costs to Amtrak are almost half of all the rest of their expenses combined. Maybe they will add a surcharge to having a coach attendant in your car...

The sad part is that I think you'd have people asking for a non-attended car as a result (i.e. the conductor checks your ticket and that's it for staff interaction unless you go to the cafe). I know that, LD trains notwithstanding, I could probably manage that on a few trips.

 

[gatelouse]

So 2% may not be a big deal, but we've had little increases like this every 6 months for as long as I can remember. Over the course of 5 years, that's about a 20% rise.

And the high buckets for Acela and NE Regional have risen quite a bit more: roughly $10 increases for both for WAS-NYP. $156 for a one-way, peak ticket on the Regional? That almost makes the top-bucket $242 for the Acela seem reasonable.

Either they're making up for the deep-discount tickets they're now selling on the NEC, or that electric fuel surcharge is sneaking into the ticket prices...

Have non-NEC prices risen recently as well?

 

[jis]

They are selling the mix of fares that maximizes their revenue. That is the mission they have been given by us through our elected representatives.

 

[PRR 60]

They are selling the mix of fares that maximizes their revenue. That is the mission they have been given by us through our elected representatives.

Do they really need Congress to to tell them to maximize revenue? Is it that strange a concept to Amtrak that they need outside prompting?