A modest solution to the airline crisis
The annual survey of airline quality just came out and the conclusion is that things are a mess. This is no surprise.
We've all experienced, or at least heard of, the increase in costs, delays, discomfort, and dissatisfaction. And we've seen a troubling decrease in options, as airlines pull planes that don't meet safety standards, discontinue routes, or simply go out of business - as ATA, Aloha and Skybus did last week.
What IS surprising is that during all of this nobody has brought up the idea of travel by train. This is partly because of our sorry excuse for a train system, Amtrak, whose monumental delays sometimes make airlines look like, well, Swiss trains. And it is also because of the great distances in this country, and the amount of time it takes to go by land.
Way to go?
But now we have not only a broken air travel system, but growing concerns about the environment. If you're worried about your carbon footprint, shouldn't you at least consider the train? It would seem to be the perfect time to start talking about improving Amtrak, and increasing Americans' vacation time, so we'd be able to travel more leisurely (not to mention join most of the rest of the industrialized world).
Candidates?
photo: AP
Comments
I'd love to ride the train. If one existed that went where I wanted to go without having to travel 900 miles out of the way. We missed an opportunity when we stopped using trains, and now it's too late.
Posted by: Lois_Lane | April 7, 2008 1:45 PM
I suspect there are a lot of people like you, which is why I hope some attention - and financing - will be given to Amtrak.
Tom
Posted by: Tom | April 7, 2008 2:23 PM
I went to Savannah via Amtrak in October 2003 and it was an experiment never to be repeated. Luckily, my trip was no more urgent than meeting three cousins from around the country for a family gabfest. The train left Deerfield Beach three hours later than scheduled, after which it rolled along at a glaciar-like pace for hour after tedious hour which, in turn, allowed way more time than necessary for the horrible stench of the overflowing bathroom to fill the train car. Between that experience and being frisked by probable terrorists hired en mass by the TSA for airport security, I'll just stay home, thanks.
Posted by: Robin Branch | April 14, 2008 12:05 PM