The two-bottles-of-water-per-person rule.

[SteveSFL]

This is being enforced today on the Empire Builder. They are larger bottles, but the SCA said she cannot get any more than the allotment of 2 per passenger. She is recommending that we ask for a bottle of water with our meals and take it with us.

She agrees the rule is crazy. So how do they figure it if someone gets on in Chicago and gets off at MSP? Do they get two bottles too? What if another passenger takes that room from MSP-MOT?

I call BS!

 

[Train2104]

Is there anywhere else to get drinking water (other than buying from the cafe)? I usually go through just shy of 2 (half liter) bottles of water end to end on the Pennsylvanian, including lunch...

 

[SteveSFL]

I think there is a spigot for tap water in the SSL. I suppose I could take the empty bottle and fill it there.

 

[StriderGDM]

On one hand, I find to find bottled water a horrible idea (in terms of resources, etc) but on a place like the train they have some value.

But again, this appears to be one of those penny-wise, pound-foolish ideas.

Again, Amtrak is making the classic mistake of thinking they can cut their way to "profitability".

 

[montana mike]

Yes, another unbelievable blunder to further degrade the "first class" service on the Empire Builder. They have taken everything else away. I can now see Amtrak charging people for their luggage, as most of the airlines do, in the not too distant future. I just shake my head at who is running the show in this regard. Every move is exactly opposite of what one should do to build a solid and enthusiastic first class ridership. Amtrak isn't Ryan Air, yet.............

 

[SteveSFL]

Amtrak isn't Ryan Air, yet.............

I wonder how many people you could fit in a Superliner Coach car if you removed all the seats and just had the passengers stand up.

 

[Bob Dylan]

Amtrak isn't Ryan Air, yet.............

The worda "First Class" do not compute @ Amtrak except on Acela!

As one old enough to actually have ridden on SP trains when they were in the " run 'em off" days, I must say that the same moronic thinking that worked then will work again, if the nickel and dime cuts @ Porsche prices continues!

Let them eat cake indeed!

 

[Guest]

They are larger bottles, but the SCA said she cannot get any more than the allotment of 2 per passenger.

Well, just how many bottles of water should be stocked for each journey? Is there a magic number that is better than 2? And if anyone suggests more than 2, do we then force passengers to drink the additional bottles of water (hold them down and pour it down their throats)?

I guess I just don't see that the quantity actually stocked being derived from a simple rule of 2 per passenger booked as being all that bad. True, some might want a third, but others might not even want one. It all averages out.

BTW, Steve, I would gladly sell you my unused bottle of water for $25. $50 if the train is running substantially late.

 

[City of Miami]

The idea of 'first class' LD service needs to be dropped - Amtrak dropped it about 10 years ago, didn't it? There is no 'first class' service' mentality or reality. Why keep hanging on to it? There's sleeper and business and coach.

In my own life, whenever there has been a money problem, I have found 'spend less' to be at least as effective and far more predictable than 'make more.' I also took to heart from childhood Ben Franklin's admonition to mind the pennies and let the dollars take care of themselves.

 

[andersone]

if you have ever seen this:

http://storyofstuff.org/movies/story-of-bottled-water/

you will never use bottled water again. They forced me to quit making the coffee at work because I used tap water.

As long as there is a tap or a fountain there is no need for plastic.

 

[Guest]

Amtrak upgraded the bottled water in the sleepers on 4/29/15. They've gone from the 8oz Crystal Geyser to a 16.9oz Nestle PureLife bottle. As the employee service notice put it this change will provide, "improved value perception [...] in receiving larger bottles of complimentary water." So far, so good - an actual amenity improvement. Still limited to two bottles per person per trip, but at least the quantity of water more than doubled.

Here's the real reason for the change... Sleeper water is now a revenue item issued to the lounge LSA. At the end of each trip, the number of bottles used will be charged out as a First Class service item just like complimentary meals in the dining car. The water "revenue" will be transferred from sleepers to food and beverage "consistent with the corporation’s goal of improving cost recovery for Long Distance food & beverage services."

If the company eliminated the two bottle limit and priced the water at $20 per bottle, that would significantly reduce F&B losses! Hahaha.

 

[travller]

I just completed a trip on the Empire Builder, Coast Starlight, and SW Chief, and nowhere was the two bottle rule enforced. In fact crews were very good in offering more water, more than I needed.

That said, the bottled water craze is an abomination. We have the best tap water in the world in the US.

 

[Just-Thinking-51]

Transfer of cost between accounts does not improve the bottom line.

That said why not charge $20 dollars. The books are Mickey Mouse to start with. What a little more playing with the numbers?

 

[Train Rider]

Is it two bottles per day or two bottles per trip? I can see why they have to manage the larger bottles because they would be even more attractive to those who hoard 8-10 bottles for the post-train portion of their trip.

 

[TinCan782]

Is it two bottles per day or two bottles per trip? I can see why they have to manage the larger bottles because they would be even more attractive to those who hoard 8-10 bottles for the post-train portion of their trip.

I was wondering the same thing. Two bottles on a three day trip is a lot different than per day. For me, I've got no problem with tap water.

 

[boxcarsyix]

How is the tap water in the car?

 

[Mystic River Dragon]

if you have ever seen this:

http://storyofstuff.org/movies/story-of-bottled-water/

you will never use bottled water again. They forced me to quit making the coffee at work because I used tap water.

As long as there is a tap or a fountain there is no need for plastic.

I agree with this completely. Of all the cuts, this is the one I am fine with. I drink the water from the Viewliner tap on the Silvers in Florida (after I have finished the two small bottles of water and put them in my luggage to recycle when I get off the train), and I am still here. So I'm sure the tap water is fine.

 

[rusty spike]

The tap water is fine. If you drink the coffee you are drinking flavored "tap" water.

We, in this country, have been brainwashed into the bottled water addiction.

 

[jis]

Well, just how many bottles of water should be stocked for each journey? Is there a magic number that is better than 2? And if anyone suggests more than 2, do we then force passengers to drink the additional bottles of water (hold them down and pour it down their throats)?

I guess I just don't see that the quantity actually stocked being derived from a simple rule of 2 per passenger booked as being all that bad. True, some might want a third, but others might not even want one. It all averages out.

BTW, Steve, I would gladly sell you my unused bottle of water for $25. $50 if the train is running substantially late.

I don't know the right number of bottles. However, I have never been denied a request for water on a 15 hour United flight from Newark to Mumbai, and I'd imagine that both space and weight are in much greater premium on an intercontinental 777 flying for 15 hours than on an Amtrak train running on terra ferma for 15 hours or even 60 hours.

The tap water is fine. If you drink the coffee you are drinking flavored "tap" water.

We, in this country, have been brainwashed into the bottled water addiction.

While that is true in this country, I would not use the same recommendation in certain other countries, where it would be a sure formula to come down with something quite unpleasant. Been there, done that! Coffee is more than flavored water it is flavored boiled water. Makes a huge difference.

 

[Mystic River Dragon]

Well, just how many bottles of water should be stocked for each journey? Is there a magic number that is better than 2? And if anyone suggests more than 2, do we then force passengers to drink the additional bottles of water (hold them down and pour it down their throats)?

I guess I just don't see that the quantity actually stocked being derived from a simple rule of 2 per passenger booked as being all that bad. True, some might want a third, but others might not even want one. It all averages out.

BTW, Steve, I would gladly sell you my unused bottle of water for $25. $50 if the train is running substantially late.

I don't know the right number of bottles. However, I have never been denied a request for water on a 15 hour United flight from Newark to Mumbai, and I'd imagine that both space and weight are in much greater premium on an intercontinental 777 flying for 15 hours than on an Amtrak train running on terra ferma for 15 hours or even 60 hours.

The tap water is fine. If you drink the coffee you are drinking flavored "tap" water.

We, in this country, have been brainwashed into the bottled water addiction.

While that is true in this country, I would not use the same recommendation in certain other countries, where it would be a sure formula to come down with something quite unpleasant. Been there, done that! Coffee is more than flavored water it is flavored boiled water. Makes a huge difference.

jis--Thanks for pointing out about not drinking the tap water in some other countries--I was thinking strictly of Amtrak in my post, as perhaps were others, but this is an important reminder.

 

[ehbowen]

While I drink the bottled water, I normally don't have a problem with the water cooler tap for taking pills or for when I just need a quick sip. But, during my March trip, two out of the four sleepers I was assigned to had their water coolers completely removed. It was either drink the bottled water, or else drink straight out of the bathroom tap. I drink quite a bit of water normally, and the lack of the water cooler bothers me.

 

[TiBike]

Except the water on Amtrak trains doesn't come from a tap, it comes from a container that was filled from a tap. It's probably OK, but quality and safety are also a function of the care taken to keep the fill lines and containers clean. I'm probably biased, since I travel overseas quite a bit, but I shy away from water that's been sitting in tanks onboard planes and trains.

 

[jis]

Except the water on Amtrak trains doesn't come from a tap, it comes from a container that was filled from a tap. It's probably OK, but quality and safety are also a function of the care taken to keep the fill lines and containers clean. I'm probably biased, since I travel overseas quite a bit, but I shy away from water that's been sitting in tanks onboard planes and trains.

For similar reasons I habitually prefer freshly prepared tea or coffee rather than water. Just a matter of habit.

 

[Mystic River Dragon]

Except the water on Amtrak trains doesn't come from a tap, it comes from a container that was filled from a tap. It's probably OK, but quality and safety are also a function of the care taken to keep the fill lines and containers clean. I'm probably biased, since I travel overseas quite a bit, but I shy away from water that's been sitting in tanks onboard planes and trains.

For similar reasons I habitually prefer freshly prepared tea or coffee rather than water. Just a matter of habit.

Now I see why ignorance sometimes is bliss. I had no idea about the containers....but it's a great excuse to go back to drinking the coffee I was trying to cut back on!

 

[Bob Dylan]

As the old Mexican Beer Commercial used to say: " Tome Cerveza xxxxxxxxxx! But Don't Drink the Water!"

Several years ago "Consumer Reports" did a comparison test involving bottled water vs. Tap water. The Winner was the tap water from New York City!!!!