Republican Study Committee: Cut ALL Amtrak and HSR $

[JeffreyS]

It would be interesting to note BT that I am in D.C. 2 or 3 times a year and there are always Amtrak commercials on TV. So they have some advertising budget but they are only using it (In my observation) in areas where their service is already heavily utilized.  Get the word out Amtrak take BT's advice and try to compete.

[tufsu1]

Amtrak also had an ad at Everbank Field this year...it was at the top of the north end zone.

[Ralph W]

Amtrak also had an ad at Everbank Field this year...it was at the top of the north end zone.

That's one ad I'll never see.

I wonder if any of those ads register with sports fans. It may be there in your face but the real action is not up but down on the field.

[Jaxson]

The best advertising for Amtrak would be to move the passenger rail station back downtown.  The current station (Clifford Lane) serves no real purpose except to keep Amtrak a secret from most North Floridians...

[tufsu1]

Amtrak also had an ad at Everbank Field this year...it was at the top of the north end zone.

That's one ad I'll never see.

I wonder if any of those ads register with sports fans. It may be there in your face but the real action is not up but down on the field.

well it is just above the uprights...and just below the scorboard...so I would assume yes

[BridgeTroll]

Lakes "ad" is the type of thing I mean.  How about some public service announcements.  Those of us who support rail simply have not done a very good job convincing "the doubters" that rail is a good investment...

TheLakelander...

On Amtrak, that 9 hour/18 minute trip will cost you $60 each way.  I could fly US Airways to Charleston for $443 roundtrip.  Since there's no direct flight, I'll have to switch to another plane in Charlotte, which makes the total air time 3hr 18 minutes.  Then I'll have to add an hour's drive to Orlando's airport (assuming there's no traffic congestion) plus be there no less than an hour early to ensure I make it through the security check line in time to board the flight.  That hour's drive to the airport will cost me in gas, not to mention the daily fee for leaving my car in the airport's garage or long term parking lot adjacent to the airport.  So to fly, I end up paying probably three times as much to save what amounts to about hour or two in travel time.

[JeffreyS]

[JeffreyS]

[Garden guy]

Blah blah blah...we had plenty of surplus cash until the republicans gave it all away and ran this country into the pits.and took us into wars that will last another 100 years....why should i listen to anything a republican has to say...just sayin'

[Ocklawaha]

AMTRAK! AMTRAK! AMTRAK!

RIDE THE TRAIN
RIDE THE TRAIN
RIDE THE TRAIN

RED WHITE BLUE
GI ISSUE

This is your typical Amtrak advertisement and they completely miss targeted market ads in favor of generic one ad fits all advertising which I think is almost useless. Get on the air and tell us you can go from Jax to Tampa, or Miami, or Charleston, or Savannah, or Orlando (though for the life of me, I don't know WHY you'd want to go there). Tell me how much it will cost and when the train leaves, and where the stations are.

Do it on a bus bench
Do it on a match book
Do it on the Late Late show
But if you want to do it good
Do it like you should
Do it so everyone will know

OCKLAWAHA

[BridgeTroll]

Blah blah blah...we had plenty of surplus cash until the republicans gave it all away and ran this country into the pits.and took us into wars that will last another 100 years....why should i listen to anything a republican has to say...just sayin'

And a great morning to you too!

[uptowngirl]

I want to ride the train, not sure why it is coming across that I do not. But to ride the train I should be able to go onto the AmTrak website and enter where I want to go, when I want to go, what times I would like, and choose one way or round trip, I should also be able to select my seat/car/sleeper and I should be returned my options. The options should be clear, concise, and I should get the full price for the options I select. That is not what happens. For the trip I tried to take west I could not select a sleeper car without calling, I could select types of seats, but not specific seats, I was going to have to take a bus along a couple of the routes, it was going to take me about a week each way, and it was going to cost me around $850 one-way- per the website. Now I can pick up the phone and call and talk to someone explaining what I want, and perhaps i could of gotten a better deal-but that is not how I book my travel. If the website is not easy to use I feel their whole system is most likely going to have issues. Until I can get from FL to in less than a week, for less than $800, and book my travel easily from their website on my phone or laptop it is not worth my while. We keep throwing money at these guys and they keep giving us crap. Now I will admit if I am jumping the train from JAX to says Orlando or Tampa it is a breeze, anything more than that is total pain in the rear end and too time consuming and expensive. Lets fund HSR, when the peeps running the trains now get a clue.

BTW I drive to CLT and back all the time on about a tank and half to two tanks of gas, three or four tanks of gas? You must have an SUV.

[Jaxson]

@ uptowngirl --- i have never had any serious problems with making reservations on the amtrak web site or reservation phone line (aka 'julie').  i wish i could be available to help you out in person.  i love taking the train if only for the pleasure of being able to travel without being personally violated or having to pay a king's ransom for my baggage! : )

[Garden guy]

Blah blah blah...we had plenty of surplus cash until the republicans gave it all away and ran this country into the pits.and took us into wars that will last another 100 years....why should i listen to anything a republican has to say...just sayin'

And a great morning to you too!

And a good morning to you also Mr. Troll..

[thelakelander]

Now I can pick up the phone and call and talk to someone explaining what I want, and perhaps i could of gotten a better deal-but that is not how I book my travel. If the website is not easy to use I feel their whole system is most likely going to have issues. Until I can get from FL to in less than a week, for less than $800, and book my travel easily from their website on my phone or laptop it is not worth my while.

Having a good transportation network is all about having choices.  If you're going cross country and you're in a city that presents multiple options for doing that, take advantage of the one that best fits your desired requirements.

We keep throwing money at these guys and they keep giving us crap. Now I will admit if I am jumping the train from JAX to says Orlando or Tampa it is a breeze, anything more than that is total pain in the rear end and too time consuming and expensive. Lets fund HSR, when the peeps running the trains now get a clue.

You can't apply a one size fits all to transportation and not even modes such as rail.  Amtrak's main problem is that it is run by a government that has set it up to fail.  However, not all intercity lines are operated under Amtrak's conditions.  Also, from my understanding, many of the proposed HSR lines will be operated by different entities, so we'll have to look at them on a case-by-case basis?

BTW I drive to CLT and back all the time on about a tank and half to two tanks of gas, three or four tanks of gas? You must have an SUV.

My example mentioned above was from Winter Haven, FL to Charleston, SC.  According to Google Earth, that's a distance of about 436 miles.  A trip between Jax and Charlotte is 383 miles, all of which can be done on non-congested limited access highways.  A drive from Winter Haven to Charleston will involve taking I-4 through the entire Orlando metropolitan area (getting caught in stop/go traffic on I-4 in Orlando/Disney is a high possibility), I-95 through Jacksonville and about an hour's drive down US 17, between Ridgeland, SC and Charleston, SC (must frequently slow down to avoid speed traps in small towns).  Factor in those differences and you'll be paying more at the pump.