Originally Posted by
ByeByeDelta
The differences in ticket collection practices vary depending on the crew, the train and the location. One would think it would be more uniform.
In Jacksonville, a crew change point, all passengers line up in the station and the outbound conductor lifts tickets at the platform entrance. In Tampa, another crew change location, tickets are lifted onboard after departure. Leaving Miami, I've always had tickets lifted after departure. All three locations have a single point of entry to the platform, have crew originating there and significant passenger volumes.
Exactly. This is one area that will always have inconsistency due to the widely varying operating environments through the system.
It should be noted that cafe cars on all short distance and corridor trains are supposed to operate on a "bumper-to-bumper" basis. The attendant should have the cafe counter open and ready to serve from the moment the first passenger boards to the moment the train arrives at its final destination, regardless of when anyone's tickets are collected. This is formal policy in Amtrak's internal Service Standards.
Long-distance trains tend to be much more restrictively structured in many ways, with assigned seating, possibly needing to stay seated until one's tickets are taken, and varying times of operation for the food service cars.