SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
'Renaissance' in Rail: Amtrak Ridership Booming
Report: upcoming finalization of a national rail plan make it right time to focus on Amtrak
Mar 01, 2013
"American passenger rail is in the midst of a renaissance," says a news report that urges the completion of a national rail plan.
Released on Friday from the Brookings Institution, the report shows that ridership on Amtrak, the primary rail carrier, is booming--up 55 percent since 1997. Ridership is at an all-time high, with over 31 million Amtrak riders a year.
"In order for metropolitan areas to compete, they have to be able to provide several different options for people in how they get around, for how business leaders are going to connect with other business leaders in different metropolitan areas and then how these regions are going to grow in the future," said report co-author Robert Puentes. "We are seeing continued congestion on the roadways, perhaps deterioration of the roadways in some cases, frustration with the airlines and looking at Amtrak as a potential alternative to some of the other modes."
The bulk of the ridership, nearly 90 percent, takes place in the 100 largest metropolitan areas. The northeast has the biggest share of ridership at just over 49 percent.
Dominating Amtrak's use and growth are short (400 miles or less) routes, which the report refers to as "the engines of Amtrak ridership."
Despite calls for fiscal austerity, the report authors write that rail and operations "investments are as important as ever," and investments by states can be key. From the report:
Ultimately, Washington should create a dedicated and sustainable source of funding for intermetropolitan passenger rail. A recent report from the Eno Center for Transportation found that although 85 percent of Amtrak's operating budget is derived from non-federal sources like ticket sales, the remaining contributions are annual, highly politicized battles. A dedicated source of funding, such as a ticket tax, would provide at least a small share of the annual stability that Amtrak's supporters demand. For their part, states support passenger rail through a variety of sources, including annual appropriations. A better approach would be a dedicated state trust fund-style source fed by a direct source, such as a portion of vehicle sales tax, ticket tax, or car rental fees.
The authors conclude that "passenger rail in the United States is on the track to success," and
The upcoming reauthorization and finalization of a national rail plan on the federal level, coupled with increased attention on the role of passenger rail in states, make this the right time to focus on the future of Amtrak, despite the fiscally constrained times.
Read the whole report here (pdf).
_________________________________
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
"American passenger rail is in the midst of a renaissance," says a news report that urges the completion of a national rail plan.
Released on Friday from the Brookings Institution, the report shows that ridership on Amtrak, the primary rail carrier, is booming--up 55 percent since 1997. Ridership is at an all-time high, with over 31 million Amtrak riders a year.
"In order for metropolitan areas to compete, they have to be able to provide several different options for people in how they get around, for how business leaders are going to connect with other business leaders in different metropolitan areas and then how these regions are going to grow in the future," said report co-author Robert Puentes. "We are seeing continued congestion on the roadways, perhaps deterioration of the roadways in some cases, frustration with the airlines and looking at Amtrak as a potential alternative to some of the other modes."
The bulk of the ridership, nearly 90 percent, takes place in the 100 largest metropolitan areas. The northeast has the biggest share of ridership at just over 49 percent.
Dominating Amtrak's use and growth are short (400 miles or less) routes, which the report refers to as "the engines of Amtrak ridership."
Despite calls for fiscal austerity, the report authors write that rail and operations "investments are as important as ever," and investments by states can be key. From the report:
Ultimately, Washington should create a dedicated and sustainable source of funding for intermetropolitan passenger rail. A recent report from the Eno Center for Transportation found that although 85 percent of Amtrak's operating budget is derived from non-federal sources like ticket sales, the remaining contributions are annual, highly politicized battles. A dedicated source of funding, such as a ticket tax, would provide at least a small share of the annual stability that Amtrak's supporters demand. For their part, states support passenger rail through a variety of sources, including annual appropriations. A better approach would be a dedicated state trust fund-style source fed by a direct source, such as a portion of vehicle sales tax, ticket tax, or car rental fees.
The authors conclude that "passenger rail in the United States is on the track to success," and
The upcoming reauthorization and finalization of a national rail plan on the federal level, coupled with increased attention on the role of passenger rail in states, make this the right time to focus on the future of Amtrak, despite the fiscally constrained times.
Read the whole report here (pdf).
_________________________________
"American passenger rail is in the midst of a renaissance," says a news report that urges the completion of a national rail plan.
Released on Friday from the Brookings Institution, the report shows that ridership on Amtrak, the primary rail carrier, is booming--up 55 percent since 1997. Ridership is at an all-time high, with over 31 million Amtrak riders a year.
"In order for metropolitan areas to compete, they have to be able to provide several different options for people in how they get around, for how business leaders are going to connect with other business leaders in different metropolitan areas and then how these regions are going to grow in the future," said report co-author Robert Puentes. "We are seeing continued congestion on the roadways, perhaps deterioration of the roadways in some cases, frustration with the airlines and looking at Amtrak as a potential alternative to some of the other modes."
The bulk of the ridership, nearly 90 percent, takes place in the 100 largest metropolitan areas. The northeast has the biggest share of ridership at just over 49 percent.
Dominating Amtrak's use and growth are short (400 miles or less) routes, which the report refers to as "the engines of Amtrak ridership."
Despite calls for fiscal austerity, the report authors write that rail and operations "investments are as important as ever," and investments by states can be key. From the report:
Ultimately, Washington should create a dedicated and sustainable source of funding for intermetropolitan passenger rail. A recent report from the Eno Center for Transportation found that although 85 percent of Amtrak's operating budget is derived from non-federal sources like ticket sales, the remaining contributions are annual, highly politicized battles. A dedicated source of funding, such as a ticket tax, would provide at least a small share of the annual stability that Amtrak's supporters demand. For their part, states support passenger rail through a variety of sources, including annual appropriations. A better approach would be a dedicated state trust fund-style source fed by a direct source, such as a portion of vehicle sales tax, ticket tax, or car rental fees.
The authors conclude that "passenger rail in the United States is on the track to success," and
The upcoming reauthorization and finalization of a national rail plan on the federal level, coupled with increased attention on the role of passenger rail in states, make this the right time to focus on the future of Amtrak, despite the fiscally constrained times.
Read the whole report here (pdf).
_________________________________
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.