June 8, 2018 - TRA commentary -
The executives at Amtrak have been on a tear to de-staff stations, primarily in the Midwest and West, without regard to the consequences of their actions that affect purchasing tickets or checking baggage and without input from its stakeholders, advocates or the traveling public.
While claiming that the majority of passengers buy their tickets online or through their smartphones, especially in highly populated urban areas, those numbers don't seem to wash in flyover country where some areas have poor internet service and some passengers aren't able to pay with plastic.
When Amtrak closed down the last "live" ticket agent in the state of West Virginia at Charleston recently, the two U.S. Senators stepped in and placed language in the 2019 fiscal funding bill that requires at least one station in each state served by Amtrak have a warm body to serve the public. Senator Joe Manchin said that "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. 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. 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."
Station agencies were recently closed in Marshall, Texas and in Texarkana, with the only option for paying cash to board the Texas Eagle would be to have the conductor charge a higher fare once you were on the train.
Havre, Montana is another Amtrak stop on the route of the Empire Builder now without a ticket agent. The Havre Daily News reported that former Amtrak Havre ticket agent Leslie Shelton said at a special meeting of the Havre City Council last month that she and a co-worker started in April tracking ticket sales. They found that 7-out-of-10 customers purchased their tickets from the ticket agents, with a large number of them being bought in cash.
Amtrak Executive Vice-President Stephen Gardner responded by saying "roughly 6 percent of all our sales are made through traditional ticket agents at our stations nationwide," Gardner said. "Of nearly 10,000 customers boarding at (the Havre and Shelby) stations in Montana so far this fiscal year, we believe that only 30 percent and 17 percent, respectively, purchase tickets though the stations agents and of these approximately 2,300 passengers, only 14 percent and 16 percent, respectively, paid with cash."
30% sounds like a sizable number of passengers now without any travel advice. While Gardner refers to only 6 percent of sales nationally made through ticket agents it appears that the percentage is much higher in some areas that have been targeted for station staff closure. We wonder if Gardner even considered engaging a local travel agent in those towns to issue Amtrak tickets and help with passengers travel plans.
The language in the appropriations bill to require at least one station be staffed in each state focused on the fact that elderly residents and disadvantaged populations are less likely to have a credit card or another means to purchase tickets remotely, but rely on passenger rail for intercity connectivity, particularly in communities without access to air travel. The bill further states that "station agents can provide customer service, assistance, and safety passengers in those communities in ways that a ticket kiosk simply cannot. The Committee directs Amtrak to provide at least one station agent in every state where it operates that had at least one station agent in FY 2018, and reiterates its encouragement to improve public outreach prior to making customer service changes".
Texas Rail Advocates recalls that in the early 2000's Amtrak decided to de-staff the Austin, Texas station on weekends, when many passengers sought to buy tickets or check bags. This went on for several years until the decision was finally reversed. Amazingly, baggage service was restored, passengers were able to engage the station agent for travel information and ridership and revenue went up each and every day of the week.
If Amtrak is really serious about expanding the national network and serving the hundreds of towns and cities with limited transportation choices they would first try to market their trains to the smaller communities they serve before making cuts. In the past we've asked residents in Texas towns about the Texas Eagle service and a good number didn't even realize a train stopped daily, where it went or how they could go about buying a ticket.
We've reached out to Amtrak to ask what the marketing budget was at each of their stations in Texas before they decided to de-staff. We're still waiting for a response. We're not holding our breath.
The executives at Amtrak have been on a tear to de-staff stations, primarily in the Midwest and West, without regard to the consequences of their actions that affect purchasing tickets or checking baggage and without input from its stakeholders, advocates or the traveling public.
While claiming that the majority of passengers buy their tickets online or through their smartphones, especially in highly populated urban areas, those numbers don't seem to wash in flyover country where some areas have poor internet service and some passengers aren't able to pay with plastic.
When Amtrak closed down the last "live" ticket agent in the state of West Virginia at Charleston recently, the two U.S. Senators stepped in and placed language in the 2019 fiscal funding bill that requires at least one station in each state served by Amtrak have a warm body to serve the public. Senator Joe Manchin said that "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. 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. 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."
Station agencies were recently closed in Marshall, Texas and in Texarkana, with the only option for paying cash to board the Texas Eagle would be to have the conductor charge a higher fare once you were on the train.
Havre, Montana is another Amtrak stop on the route of the Empire Builder now without a ticket agent. The Havre Daily News reported that former Amtrak Havre ticket agent Leslie Shelton said at a special meeting of the Havre City Council last month that she and a co-worker started in April tracking ticket sales. They found that 7-out-of-10 customers purchased their tickets from the ticket agents, with a large number of them being bought in cash.
Amtrak Executive Vice-President Stephen Gardner responded by saying "roughly 6 percent of all our sales are made through traditional ticket agents at our stations nationwide," Gardner said. "Of nearly 10,000 customers boarding at (the Havre and Shelby) stations in Montana so far this fiscal year, we believe that only 30 percent and 17 percent, respectively, purchase tickets though the stations agents and of these approximately 2,300 passengers, only 14 percent and 16 percent, respectively, paid with cash."
30% sounds like a sizable number of passengers now without any travel advice. While Gardner refers to only 6 percent of sales nationally made through ticket agents it appears that the percentage is much higher in some areas that have been targeted for station staff closure. We wonder if Gardner even considered engaging a local travel agent in those towns to issue Amtrak tickets and help with passengers travel plans.
The language in the appropriations bill to require at least one station be staffed in each state focused on the fact that elderly residents and disadvantaged populations are less likely to have a credit card or another means to purchase tickets remotely, but rely on passenger rail for intercity connectivity, particularly in communities without access to air travel. The bill further states that "station agents can provide customer service, assistance, and safety passengers in those communities in ways that a ticket kiosk simply cannot. The Committee directs Amtrak to provide at least one station agent in every state where it operates that had at least one station agent in FY 2018, and reiterates its encouragement to improve public outreach prior to making customer service changes".
Texas Rail Advocates recalls that in the early 2000's Amtrak decided to de-staff the Austin, Texas station on weekends, when many passengers sought to buy tickets or check bags. This went on for several years until the decision was finally reversed. Amazingly, baggage service was restored, passengers were able to engage the station agent for travel information and ridership and revenue went up each and every day of the week.
If Amtrak is really serious about expanding the national network and serving the hundreds of towns and cities with limited transportation choices they would first try to market their trains to the smaller communities they serve before making cuts. In the past we've asked residents in Texas towns about the Texas Eagle service and a good number didn't even realize a train stopped daily, where it went or how they could go about buying a ticket.
We've reached out to Amtrak to ask what the marketing budget was at each of their stations in Texas before they decided to de-staff. We're still waiting for a response. We're not holding our breath.