Armani

I recently completed a train trip on the Cardinal from Cincinnati to DC, followed by an excursion on a dome car on the Palmetto from DC to Charleston. Additional cuts from our friend who almost ruined Delta are having a bigger impact on the customer experience on Amtrak. Ticket agents are being eliminated from most stations, including Cincinnati and Topeka (where I previously lived and frequently took Amtrak), These will greatly diminish traveler experience and dramatically increase the effective prices for many Americans who do not have credit cards. Several frequent passengers at Cincinnati and Topeka have limited income and rely on Amtrak for lower cost travel to visit family in other cities, since many don't have credit cards. One older gentleman in Cincinnati typically visits family in DC and can currently purchase a ticket at the station for less than $70. Since there will no longer be an agent, he will have to pay over $150 on board for the same ticket in the future. I expect that many other frequent Amtrak coach travelers have similar situations, and therefore will not be able to travel as much in the future.

This policy will also impact sleeper and other premium passengers. I had a roomette but later added my wife to the ticket, This required that I pick up my ticket from an agent at the station. I frequently book this type of ticked because my wife can't always confirm vacation time in advance. The ticket agent in Cincinnati has been there 20+ years and has been very helpful on all of my trips from there. Cincinnati is a station where you have to wait in the lobby until the train is approaching before passengers can proceed through a complex corridor to the tracks. Currently, Union Terminal is closed for remodeling so the temporary station is in a trailer around the corner in a pretty rough area. The path to the tracks is very complicated, so I expect many will miss the train after the agents are gone. There will also be no checked baggage at these stations. There will only be two staffed stations between DC and Chicago.

Anderson is really ruining Amtrak just as it is beginning to become more popular with the American public. I plan to write to politicians to voice my concerns. There are also rumors that the Cardinal will be eliminated, when it actually could likely pay for itself if it ran daily. It has always been fairly full on my trips to Chicago or DC. Amtrak has also eliminated most of its private car movements, so excursion opportunities will be very limited in the future. It is really a shame that railroad management is basically eliminating a core transportation mode that built America and allows many to travel who aren't served by airlines.

Note: I was never notified by Amtrak that Union Terminal station was closed (even thought that is what my ticket said), nor provided an address of the temporary station. Fortunately, I arrived early for our trip and we were able to get directions from a helpful worker in a business next door (at 2AM). He provided us directions to a remote location in a very rough area, and we would have missed our train without his help.

We typically take at least one long distance train trip per year, and I plan more frequent trips to DC now that I am retired. Unfortunately, Amtrak will likely continue to diminish its appeal if Anderson stays in charge. I finally enjoy traveling Delta again now that his reign of terror has ended there.

hi55us

That's a real shame what's happening at CVG, in terms of people who can only use cash, I would strongly recommend opening a basic checking account and using a debit card or (worse case scenario) buying Visa/Mastercard gift cards from a store like Walmart. You'll then be able to use those online for purchases.

Armani

I think you would be surprised regarding the number of people in 'middle America' who don't like using credit and debit cards and rely primarily on cash. As someone who has several credit cards, I don;t understand this, but I would estimate that 30% of coach riders on non corridor trains with on-site ticket offices pay with cash (observation research). In my experience, agents at these stations also provide many other valuable services. Since most stations don't have wireless, only those with Amtrak Apps on their phone access train status. I doubt that Mr Anderson has ever ridden a long distance train or visited stations in non-corridor/ hub locations. Train stations are very different from airports. Can you imagine traveling by air from a city that had no airline staff? Cincinnati, Topeka, and other Midwest/South/Western cities have significant passenger traffic during the times trains are running, and definitely warrant an onsite agent.

This change will likely result in significant passenger and customer satisfaction declines, and as a result cause more train cancellations. This is probably the end goal of senior management.

3Cforme

I would be surprised if you could point to a respectable source that has data of cash-only users, and importantly, is the cross-section of cash-only users and Amtrak riders. That's the relevant cohort.

ibrandsguest

For people who simply prefer not to use credit cards, but could if they wanted to: too bad.

For people who cannot get credit or debit cards: Amtrak should try to accommodate that, as I'm guessing (without seeing any data) that a large number of Amtrak coach passengers on long-distance routes outside of the Northeast fall into this category. Perhaps modify Quick-Trak kiosks to accept cash, and put them in unstaffed stations?

I do note that in my unscientific survey of Amtrak coach passengers, from my last long-distance trip that originated at an unstaffed station, coach passengers did seem to be low income but may have had access to credit.

physioprof

Why couldn't Amtrak just not charge the on-board fare surcharge to pax boarding at an unstaffed station?

nerd

Reserve online, pay onboard worked fine for me the 2-3 times I used I at unstaffed stations before e-ticketing came along. Would it still work in the post paper ticket world?

Armani

I think ticketing policies have recently changed. In the past, I was able to add a second passenger to a roomette and get a new E-Ticket. For this trip, I had to get an open ticket for the second passenger and could only pick it up from a staffed ticket office. Perhaps the new reservation change/ cancellation policies have reduced the ability to add/ change tickets online.

There aren't any Quick Track ticket machines at most of the stations I've visited on long distance trains. I doubt they would have a cash machine in an unattended station. The ticket agents provide valuable services to passengers, well beyond selling the tickets. They provide information and help to passengers, many who are elderly or inexperienced travelers. The stations are typically located in isolated areas with no other place to go for assistance. Additionally, conductors will have to spend a lot more time dealing with tickets for passengers at unstaffed stations.

nerd

Yes, the agent provides services and information, but how do you justify that being a full-time job, given there's less than one train a day?

Rare

IADCAflyer

Its a function of passenger counts not trains. Cincinnati was seeing about 30 passengers per day - inclusive of boardings and those getting off. Granted the Cardinal is not a daily train, but thats still not a huge number.

nerd

I came up with 35 - in the ballpark. Numbers here:

https://www.railpassengers.org/site/...s/1816/cin.pdf

Armani

I agree that Amtrak may not need full-time employees at these stations, but perhaps they can utilize contractors to staff the stations during the train activity times. Many airlines use contractors to staff ticket counters and gate at non-hub airports, so this could be a viable solution for Amtrak. I'm sure there are union issues to deal with, but the alternative will be passenger declines, lower customer satisfaction, and increased workload for conductors.

IADCAflyer

Possible but you never know. Amtrak is very unionized (over a dozen different unions) and I'll bet good money that the contracts likely don't allow for outsourced staffing.

RogerD408

Yes, some airlines do use contract help, but often times those people have other assignments at the same location so they can go from one airline to another at the same airport. Maybe there would an option for Amtrak to cross-train some local transportation help (light rail, bus) to fill in the gaps, but not sure if you'd find many willing to work just a few hours a day and not have something to fill in. I've been to several hotels where the housekeeping staff wants to move quickly through one property so they can get to another or maybe even a third in the same day. Late check-outs messes up that scheme. Imagine what that would be like with the trains that can be many hours late!

I've heard tails of a group of college students manning a table at an unstaffed station during sports events to eliminate/reduce on-board purchases. AND the on-board surcharges! Maybe arrange something like that as a fundraiser for school/charity organizations?