johnnymk

By BRIAN SCHEID
Bucks County Courier Times

Amtrak will continue to stop in Bucks County, but weekday commuters in Bucks will pay about $315 more per month to ride the rails, a monthly fare increase of more than 55 percent, Amtrak announced Tuesday.

Earlier this month, Amtrak announced it was canceling its plans to shut down service at Cornwells Heights in Bensalem, Bucks' only Amtrak stop, and that it would postpone a fare hike originally scheduled to begin last week.

Tuesday, the company announced that the fare hike would, instead, take place in two stages, with an approximate $157-per-month fare increase to begin Oct. 16 for commuters who travel between Cornwells Heights and New York's Penn Station. In February, the monthly fares will increase another $157.

"It's the same fare increase that was proposed originally, but it's going to be implemented in stages," said Tracy Connell, an Amtrak spokeswoman.

Connell said a number of rising expenses, including a 40 percent rise in the cost of locomotive diesel fuel this year, led to the increase.

Bucks Congressman Mike Fitzpatrick, R-8, said it seemed Amtrak was punishing the daily commuter with its dramatic fare hikes at a time when mass transportation alternatives were "needed desperately."

Amtrak's "strategy of threatening service and increasing costs seems completely counterintuitive to everything that's supposed to be taught in business school," he said.

Bensalem resident Rick Booth, an Amtrak commuter who waged a campaign to keep the stop in Bucks, said the fare hike would drive people away.


"I'm not sure if I'm surprised or not that [Amtrak] did this, but I'm a little disappointed," he said Tuesday.

Amtrak plans to increase fares on all trains in the northeast, including a $3 to $4 jump for all general fares and an increase of 5 to 7 percent on most one-time fares.

For Bucks commuters who travel on Amtrak from Trenton to Penn Station, the fare will jump from $522 a month to a monthly rate of $666 in October to $810 per month by February, Connell said.

That means that within about four months, Amtrak's Trenton commuters will pay about $288 more per month.

"It's ridiculous," said Michelle Cotton, an advertising executive from Richboro who has commuted on Amtrak between Trenton and Manhattan for more than 20 years. "I knew this was coming. I knew it, but it's unforgivable."

"Obviously, Amtrak doesn't want us," she said. "I just don't understand why they would do this to their customers."

Proposed monthly fare increases

From Trenton to Penn Station:

Now: $522 per month

Oct. 16: $666 per month

Feb. 1: $810 per month

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kimchicowboy

how about commuter buses?

i'd totally take a commuter bus between DC-NY and NY-Boston any day over a train. for DC-NY, it's only $35 RT.

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guiseppewv

I think these people are making a daily commute to/from work. The bus is a good idea for travelers not commuters. Just my 2 cents.

MrGreg

$810 per MONTH to ride a train? My 05 WRX payment + repairs to my 66 ford truck + insurance & gas for both is less than that.

That train ride better come with directv, good food, and twice daily bj's for $810.

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Merlin

That works out to $9,720 per year (in after tax dollars) just to get back and forth to work. Wow! Maybe time to find a new job or move. This cost will really impact people's standard of living.

So I wonder how much longer the Fed will continue to tell us that inflation is low?

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johnnymk

I was calculating how much pre-tax income it would take to pay for these fares. Assuming a 28% Federal tax rate, 8% for Social Security, 3% for State Income tax plus miscellaneous taxes, a person would have to make $16,000 just for travel expenses. That's not counting parking fees at the RR station and a bus or subway commute once they arrive in NYC.

Merlin

Talk about "working for da man"

guiseppewv

In Maryland state tax is around 7.3%-7.75% depending on what county you live.


A better question is how long will the feds continue to subsidize trains?

attgig

yeah, but busses with traffic takes forever.

less traffic to deal with on trains.


and this is for a daily commuter. imagine spending 4 hours a day commuting on busses....

how long will the feds continue to subsidize planes as well.


do we allow free markets to totally take over, and let the plane & train markets crumble? people would be SOL in trying to get to work, or commuting through the country for work. highways would jam up, screwing people who don't use the train. the few airlines that do exist would spike up prices because the demand is so high. forget about flying anywhere for vacations then...

these things makes the world go round. we can't just stop subsidizing, but at some point, these things are going to have to be completely restructured or become govt owned.

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johnnymk

I asked my neighbor who's ex husband goes by train from Trenton to NYC. She claims that he uses NJ Transit. This is a State subsidized line and costs $320 per month. Cheaper but still a lot of money.

Pemolis

A monthly Trainpass for LIRR from Ronkonkoma to Penn is 307 a month.

.... but 800 Dollars a month for a ticket... you can rent an apartment in queens for Less than that.

Buy a Motorcycle, Get a Motorcycle License, and Drive in.

The bike will be about 1000 to 1500. The gas will be about 8 bucks per 100 miles. You can ride the side to avoid the traffic jams.

You'll save around 6K a year doing that. 4K if you want to include Tickets and junk.

Grimm

Better yet, find 3 other people and lease a vehical. At $500 a month for a lease plus the cost of a parking spot, maintenance and gas, you can commute fairly inexpensively. If your total costs come to $1,400 (assuming 300/month in gas, 300/month for parking, 200/month insurance and 100/month in maintenance) split 4 ways it is $350.

Merlin

Until you start to get hit with mileage overages on the lease vehicle.