Dumb Statements by People Who Damn Well Ought to Know Better
“We simply cannot keep going on sending empty trains clear across the country with no riders.”
— Rep. Harold Rogers (R-Ky.)
“Americans don’t like to travel that way anymore.” — Senator Robert Bennett (R-Utah)
“Amtrak operates trains no one rides to places no one wants to go.” — former U.S. Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta
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* Amtrak ridership is up system-wide for the fifth year in a row.
* Amtrak now carriess 41 percent of the traffic in the Washington-New York-Boston corridor.
* The Downeaster, between Boston and Portland, Maine, has increased ridership by 27 percent.
* Amtrak’s San Joaquin service, linking Sacramento and Oakland with Bakersfield, is up almost 20 percent.
* Ridership on the Pacific Surfliners, which run between San Luis Obispo through Santa Barbara and Los Angeles to San Diego, is up 7 percent.
* In Florida, ridership out of Tampa has increased 39 percent over the past two years.
Further comments? Nope. None necessary.
hi jim. this is vanessa from giftable designs (you commented on my little rant a few days ago). it’s great to hear there are more of us mass transit riders out there! i’m always trying to take the via/amtrak from toronto to nyc and BOY do they make it difficult. it takes the same amount of time as the bus but it costs $150 compared to $10 for a bus ticket. i don’t really know a good solution, but i think its got to be the american mentality (the preference of cars over trains) and i just wish this silly “american dream” would fade into nostalgia like the values that accompanied it.
keep on riding, jim!
:)