Amtrak Whac-a-Mole

Fighting dirty Wahington and Amtrak politics with stinging video, humor, and truth. Amtrak, the Bush administration, and Congress all thought they could get away with bureaucratic evil by quietly abandoning a few thousand highly vulnerable and rail-dependent long-distance daily job commuters on the Northeast Corridor. I sincerely hope this video helps show there are great new tools now available for the better practice of democracy and truth/justice/American-way -- with the Internet and YouTube on your side. ;-)

Category:

News & Politics

Tags:

• Amtrak
• Whac-a-Mole
• Amtrack
• Whack
• Mole
• spoof
• funny
• tickets
• Bush
• Board
• Directors
• Acela
• rail
• trains
• politics
• government

[M1CHAZZ]

Hate to tell you but Amtrack was not originally for

commuters! My taxes along with practicly the rest of

the country pay for commuters like you in the east and now in the west. Plus, the scam of double dipping;

Amtrack funds + federal mass urban transit funds!

[dc3rdrail]

Amtrak is defined by Congress as being for "inter-city" rail transportation, defined as trips of 90 miles or more. Philadelphia and NYC are 91 track miles apart, and for 30 years Amtrak continued offering "inter-city" commuting fares at reasonable, historical, marginal-cost-covering rates until 2005. Commuter rates have gone up 90% in two years, and commuters now pay more than the inflation-adjusted Amtrak full fare was in the railroad's early years. Amtrak costs $5/year per U.S. citizen.

[alphlife]

If you actually get things changed, don't forget about us west-coasters.

[dc3rdrail]

I'm all for keeping the West Coast healthy, too. Since originally getting involved in rail advocacy over the specific East Coast issue covered in the video, I've been convinced by the homework I've done that inter-city rail needs better federal attention and care than it's getting, and deserves way better support, both economically and in political attitudes, than it's gotten for many years now.

[saveamtrak]

hmmm...strong opinion...watever you do, do it for amtrak...thanx for the video, good research

[dc3rdrail]

I appreciate your comment. I'm actually quite pro-Amtrak and pro-rail in general, but I and about 2,000 other Amtrak-based job commuters were badly harpooned by the bad rail politics guiding Amtrak in Washington. Raising fares on job commuters by $20 a day on 11 days' notice was an unconscionable, anti-social act, and my research has shown that it was most likely just a politically motivated "hit" to prepare Amtrak for an administration death blow and privatization of the NEC.

[NEBY25]

Why do people continue to argue about this??!!. Amtrak was formed because of the loss of ridership due to the rising empire of the airlines that has fallen. We have to face the fact that we need rail service. We are a country that needs to see a change like Europe where rail is a vital role. Does anyone see this???!!!!. The U.S. Government demands that Amtrak makes money, but they have been so good at waisting it.

[Germany1111]

I am stationed in Germany. Yesterday, I spent 30 Euro [$40 give or take] on a ticket that would have allowed me and 4 others to travel on any local or regional services [anything without InterCity/InterCity Express equipment/amenities] on all of Deutsche Bahn all weekend. One of the legs of my trip, Frankfurt to Wiesbaden, was literally standing room only. Deutsche Bahn does a simply incredible job, with frequent, punctual, fast, and reliable service. Amtrak should be modeled upon this company.

[acela2168]

AMTRAK ROCKS!!!

[EdLawsonTV]

Amtrak is wonderful. America ought to pay for passenger rail service all across the USA. Amtrak - it's the right thing to do.

[volkris]

Thomas Jefferson would approve? Are you serious?

Why are my tax dollars going toward helping you ride a train? Why do I have a responsibility to help you get to your job? Jefferson is rolling in his grave.

I don't even know where to start addressing the ridiculous charges in this video. It's one self-serving half-truth after another.

We all have to make choices in life; stop looking to others to bear the costs of yours.

[buffymax1]

We know the current president hates AMTRAK. We know the current board are nothing more than hacks.

But let's face the big problem is the management that entrenched in the entire system. It's an "incestuous" self serving entity.

[vinniebaby1]

I love the nostalgia of riding the train occasionally but find the trains dirty and old and the service, just plain shitty! Typical American welfare institution.

[ilikemoneya]

very good points!! i work for Amtrak and its amazing the "enron style" accounting and calculating is STILL the same!! i know our workforce isnt the best, but i think you can clearly see management is the real problem.

[railmogul2]

"commuter fares" rob amtrak of money it needs to spend on the rest of the system. Amtrak is bigger than just the northeast corridor.

[railmogul2]

youre right on so many levels. Amtrak is intended for the use of non commuter passengers and so called "commuter fares" rob amtrak of money it needs to use on the rest of the system. Amtrak is far bigger than just the northeast corridor!