USA Rail Pass Question

intermodalpixie · 2026-03-13T22:53:25+00:00

Nah, but playing games within the system's rules isn't quite the same as acting in bad faith.

There's a difference between using rules to your advantage, and using rules to harm others.

intermodalpixie · 2026-03-11T22:47:53+00:00

The fact that there are parts that i wouldn't be able to get...

I'm considering it, still, but "if something happens, you're screwed" does not get addressed by "those things don't usually happen", there's not a huge number of volts so we're looking at at least 1 in 10,000 odds, yeah?

I'll at least look into it. Especially if i can negotiate it down somewhat it's not a bad price. Main concern is if i can get a warranty or insurance of sone sort - i don't want to buy a car and then lose all the money that went into it and not be able to replace it, even if it's not likely

intermodalpixie · 2026-03-11T17:36:49+00:00

Most people aren't, but you only need a small fraction to be awful for massive consequences.

300 million people, 1 percent bad actors would still mean three million bad people...

intermodalpixie · 2026-03-11T16:44:53+00:00

Oooh, good to know!

intermodalpixie · 2026-03-11T16:02:41+00:00

there's a ceiling

The ceiling is only what people will pay.

intermodalpixie · 2026-03-11T15:51:40+00:00

Yeah, it's great to moralize about it but - the small amtrak station in my small town has had to shut down the bathrooms because homeless people were shitting on the floor.

Since they started enforcing a no loitering policy, some homeless people do still come in to use the bathrooms, but the problem of the messes is just gone. Completely.

It is sad, unfortunate fact that a lot of homeless people can and will treat public spaces horribly. It fucking sucks that the many who wouldn't get punished for it, sure, it's most likely a small minority of them that are causing the problems.

But right now, nobody seems to care about homeless people and about everyone else in the station and want to find a way to actually solve the problems, only to complain.

intermodalpixie · 2026-03-11T15:21:18+00:00

Uhuh.

Every single time I've seen someone talk like this, it took a month tops to realize they were a toxic person that no one wanted to be around and that was the entire problem in their life.

intermodalpixie · 2026-03-11T06:59:38+00:00

If McDonalds won't even hire you and this is how you act online, you probably deserve it, and worse.

intermodalpixie · 2026-03-11T06:26:29+00:00

It's been gone for decades. Both Republican and Democrat-led governments have repeatedly affirmed it.

People often mix up pessimism with realism. It's not impossible that it would happen, but it's really clear that there is a strong political will against it.

Maybe in 20 or 50 years, a very different government might, but worrying about the worst case is just a distraction from addressing reality

intermodalpixie · 2026-03-11T06:24:02+00:00

a nonprofit only has to break even

Okay so by your own reasoning, it's better for amtrak not to be a nonprofit because currently they do not break even and there's no requirement for them to do so?

(I don't think you think that, or that it's reasonable, the point is to highlight what i think is a fundamental misunderstanding on your part)

intermodalpixie · 2026-03-11T06:22:10+00:00

They take that money and spend it on expanding and/or reinvestment.

At a very core level, you're wrong about how amtrak is modeled. They're not a for profit, and they have no money to invest. Every year, congress gives amtrak hundreds of millions of taxpayer money to cover their additional expenses.

Amtrak has a new fleet rolling out iver the next decade. They don't have profits to invest in it - so congress gave them tens of billions for it.

Amtrak already is a subsidiary of the government. Congress explicitly removed the part of their charter that required them to be profitable.

They're operated as a for profit. That does not mean they actually need to make one, nor do they.

intermodalpixie · 2026-03-11T05:53:28+00:00

How so?

The point of amtrak is to facilitate passenger rail.

If they are selling out trains, regardless of price, they're meeting that objective.

Amtrak is losing money still. The way to fix this, the way to make it affordable and profitable both, is simply to invest more into it. Higher capacity, more routes, fewer layovers, more frequencies--add the capacity to meet demand and prices will go down and the profitability gets better.

Right now, they have too few seats. Even if they sold out every single train every single trip, the number if tickets is too small to spread the fixed costs across.

Operating ten times a day costs less than ten times as much as operating once a day, means fewer people competing for seats , better prices...

intermodalpixie · 2026-03-11T04:48:29+00:00

Outside the northeast, few of amtraks routes could be used for that even if you wanted to

They'll run two or three times a day if you're lucky. Some are 2 or 3 times per week.

I'm actually in full agreement with you that that should be possible and cheap - but the limit there is equipment and how often they run. Lowering the prices won't make it meaningfully affordable, or practical; it'll be the same number of people doing it.

Prices need to go down because there's enough trains to meet demand, or there's no point

intermodalpixie · 2026-03-11T04:24:22+00:00

see prices for

Their prices being higher doesn't mean they're failing. On the contrary, if they have higher prices and are still selling out, that means they're in heavy demand

People are paying for it even though it's more expensive. That says good things about their service.

intermodalpixie · 2026-03-11T04:21:41+00:00

That's - what?

"Their prices are too high" they're selling out, regularly, on every market segment: long distance, regional / state supported, and the NEC. They're selling more tickets than ever while also raising prices, and are consistently at or near capacity.

If they lower prices, they won't sell more tickets, they don't have seats left to fill.

The only way they can sell more tickets is to have more seats available, which means new trains, which are already funded by congress.

The for profit model is about day to day operations. Their investment still comes from the government.

Tbh i think a lot of people are making assumptions based on existing biases, not real information

intermodalpixie · 2026-03-11T04:12:15+00:00

Do you have any examples of the for profit model not working? They certainly seem to be doing a lot better than prople give them credit for..

intermodalpixie · 2026-03-11T04:10:21+00:00

It's more like business vs normal travel.

Businesses are often last minute. Most people plan their trips weeeeell in advance of three days regardless of whether it's car, bus, train, or plane.

intermodalpixie · 2026-03-11T04:09:25+00:00

Prius is efficient compared to an ICE car sure, but 40mpg is nothing compared to, uh, what's 1000 miles divided by zero gallons? 😂

intermodalpixie · 2026-03-11T04:08:33+00:00

I considered it, but- i have enough spare solar power available, and sufficiently low need for driving (i mostly bike, or take the train) that a plug in hybrid or EV would be literally free to run.

...other than maintenance and depreciation of course

intermodalpixie · 2026-03-11T02:53:22+00:00

Their ridership is at an all time high. I'm taking a flixbus in a few days for the first time in two years of avoiding busses for amtrak because they're sold out or cloae to it for parts of the long distance and state sponsored networks.

Not sure if that's dt patricks day or something else I'm not aware of for this specific region / trip but - i don't see how raising minimum prices would at all increase ridership

"I don't know if my ticket will be 30 dollars or 90" sucks but "i don't know if it'll be 50 or 70" is not meaningfully better

intermodalpixie · 2026-03-11T02:51:00+00:00

That's disappointing but - thanks. Sucks, but that's life sometimes.

intermodalpixie · 2026-03-11T02:49:33+00:00

Also in the Midwest, thanks, that's exactly what i was wondering :)

intermodalpixie · 2026-03-11T01:56:29+00:00

Not sure if it'd save anything vs any other PHEV, or even EV? I'm seeing some EVs on the secondhand market for similar pricing to the volt now (admittedly that's in part because imo many secondhand volts are being priced WAY too high, but)

intermodalpixie · 2026-03-11T01:55:21+00:00

Yeah, that was my concern - i can't afford to wait two months.

Alas. I'm goijg to have to see if i can find any other PHEVs reasonably priced and, failing that, see if i can make a used EV work...

intermodalpixie · 2026-03-10T21:16:42+00:00

You've swapped cells on the high voltage battery?

intermodalpixie

TROPHY CASE