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Senator Makes Amtrak Hire Ticket Agents Because 30 Percent of His State Lacks Internet (senate.gov)
McGruber writes: Joe Manchin, the senior Senator from West Virginia, has inserted language in the FY19 Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies appropriations bill that will force Amtrak to employ at least one ticketing agent in every state that it serves.
His reasoning? "Amtrak has told me that most of their sales are now online, but West Virginians buy far more tickets at the Charleston station than most places around the country. That's not surprising, as nearly 30% of West Virginia is without internet access, and mobile broadband access is also difficult in my state's rugged, mountainous terrain, making online ticket sales difficult." Manchin continued: "Our population includes many working class families and elderly residents who are less likely to have a credit card or another means to purchase tickets remotely, but rely heavily on the train as an alternative to driving or flying. Although Matt Crouch's job was terminated today, once the bill is passed by the House and Senate and signed by the President, Amtrak will have to reinstate a position in the state and I will do everything over the next few months to make sure that happens."
His reasoning? "Amtrak has told me that most of their sales are now online, but West Virginians buy far more tickets at the Charleston station than most places around the country. That's not surprising, as nearly 30% of West Virginia is without internet access, and mobile broadband access is also difficult in my state's rugged, mountainous terrain, making online ticket sales difficult." Manchin continued: "Our population includes many working class families and elderly residents who are less likely to have a credit card or another means to purchase tickets remotely, but rely heavily on the train as an alternative to driving or flying. Although Matt Crouch's job was terminated today, once the bill is passed by the House and Senate and signed by the President, Amtrak will have to reinstate a position in the state and I will do everything over the next few months to make sure that happens."
Yes, having no Internet access is a bad deal for Virginians, but maybe the state representative should be doing something about that instead of bitching to Amtrak.
If people can order burgers at a McDonalds POS terminal they can certainly buy train tickets from them as well.
If Amtrak is expected to make a profit, or at least survive on its own, then it must have the ability to allocate resources as needed, including not devoting resources to markets that aren't profitable.
However if Amtrak is expected to serve markets that aren't going to be sustainable, make it a public utility supported by public (ie, tax) money.
The National Radio Quiet Zone covers a large part of West Virginia. The "lack of Internet" is by design, though I guess wired Internet is still possible. No WiFi, satellite Internet, or cell service allowed to protect radio telescopes from interference.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...
Because the National Radio Quiet Zone prohibits WiFi, satellite internet, and cell service in a large part of W. Va. to protect radio astronomy telescopes from interference. The "lack of Internet" is due to this, I suspect, not because of poverty or lack of will.
It might be easier for people to get tickets if they were available at at United States Post offices and postal stations. Folks would need to plan their travel plans in advance because post offices aren't open 24/7, but even most small tows have postal service outlets.
In a time of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act. George Orwell
Once SpaceX gets its Starlink internet service up and running, everywhere in the US should have access to good internet. The FCC approved them launching a constellation of over 4,000 LEO satellites by 2024, which then will be followed by about 7,000 satellites in even lower orbits. SpaceX has already put the first test satellites into orbit. Though as others have mentioned, dealing with the Radio Quiet Zone regulations might be a problem. The nice thing about LEO satellites is that it fixes the latency issues you see with current geosynchronous satellite internet service; they expect ping times in the 20-40 ms range. And the shear number of satellites will mean adequate bandwidth.
Hiring one salesperson is cheaper than building all that stuff.
And you can do both in parallel too; if the infrastructure ever does get built, then you can lay off the salesperson when they're no longer needed. But until then...
"Believe me!" -- Donald Trump
Because the National Radio Quiet Zone prohibits WiFi, satellite internet, and cell service in a large part of W. Va. to protect radio astronomy telescopes from interference. The "lack of Internet" is due to this, I suspect, not because of poverty or lack of will.
Fiber, as specified by the poster to which you are replying, does not interfere with radiotelescopes. In 2000 than they had landlines running to 95.3% of all housing units in West Virginia. It can be done with fiber as well.
Starships were meant to fly, Hands up and touch the sky - Nicky Minaj
Because some people are perfectly happy not having internet? And their taxes in theory at least partially pay for Amtrak.
Yes, let's make our government-subsizied and owned monopoly add on additional costs when they don't want to subsidize it in the first place.
Let's not even talk about the fact Amtrak is one of the more expensive options for long distance travel. Using my upcoming vacation as an example; Amtrak doesn't offer actual train service to Las Vegas...so you have to take the train to L.A. and then spend almost 7 hours on a bus. This is $280 each way and a travel time of 72 hours each way! Meanwhile, $180 gets me on a flight to Las Vegas that has a total travel time (including short layover/plane switch) of just the Amtrak bus segment! Mind you, this is also for just a coach seat on Amtrak; so have fun spending 18 hours riding to Chicago and then 42 hours to LA...in a coach seat.
Amtrak isn't attracting new customers because no one wants to pay that much more for a "lower" level of service; it has nothing to do with the availability of ticket agents. I really have to question doing something for "disadvantaged populations" that's typically a more expensive option too. If someone is that bad off, they're likely to want to really save the pennies and won't consider Amtrak at $300 if they can ride a bus for less money. Greyhound directly to Vegas is about $208 and takes about 60 hours. If I'm "disadvantaged", I'm probably saving the $78 and taking Greyhound and actually get there faster.
The lack of a credit card or other banking isn't what it used to be either. You can get reloadable cards now...they've been a thing for years. There's also the thing of you can still pay cash at the ticket counters of most airlines. You can even usually call ahead to reserve and they'll give you 24 hours to show up and pay. It might cost a little bit more...and you might have some extra screening. But if you don't want that, you can just go back and pay more for the slower, less comfortable option.
There are a few legitimate reasons...but these can be overcome other ways. Why not let a third-party sell the tickets? Go to your local Western Union outlet and purchase them; sell them at the post office; visit a local travel agent and pay them cash to get your tickets.
This just seems like a very shallow act by a politician trying to make it seem like he's "helped" people. He's done something for a few people that we'll all have to pay for. It also seems like a very lazy solution for people who can't be bothered to actually think.