Amtrak fares up; ridership adapts

0 Comments | Philadelphia Inquirer, The, September, 2006 | by Larry King

Hoau-Yan Wang of Philadelphia ended his long-distance relationship with Amtrak last fall. "I had had enough," said Wang, who commutes daily to New York City. Amtrak does not miss him much. A year after Amtrak announced steep increases of up to 59 percent in monthly pass fares, scores of commuters have abandoned its Northeast Corridor trains for other means and, in some cases, new jobs or addresses.

Despite the defections, Amtrak has managed to rake in more money along its heavily traveled Northeast Corridor, which stretches between Boston and Washington. From October through July, monthly pass sales along the corridor declined by 20 percent, but revenue rose by 3 percent, according to Amtrak figures. To Amtrak officials, squeezing out holders of discounted monthly passes to...