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Re: (erielack) Railroads "That Should Never..." A&GW

 
In a message dated 8/16/06 12:41:14 P.M. Pacific Daylight Time,  
martinpl3_@_earthlink.net writes:
 
Very good points regarding equal time. Regarding Greyhound furloughing  
drivers is correct as Martz has assumed a number of their runs.
 
One in particular is the Scranton-New York run, departing daily from  
Scranton at 12.30pm, arriving in Manhattan at 2.10pm, with no Pocono or NJ  stops. No 
train is going to beat that running time and the cost round trip is  $73.50 
for a 135-mile trip, whereas a round trip from Hartford, CT to New York  
(roughly the same distance) via commuter bus is about half the cost because  Amtrak 
serves Hartford, thus there is competition.
 
This Scranton-New York run, that's now called a "commuter run" is full.and  
since it's a commuter bus, there are no reservations. You either get on or you  
don't. And if you don't, too bad for you. You wait for the local.
 
Thus, Martz has a stranglehold on commuter traffic between New York, the  
Poconos and Scranton.
 
If there will ever be a daily "Phoebe" to Buffalo or rail service to  
northwest NJ, the Poconos and Scranton, one will have to beat the Martz lobby  and 
that won't be easy.
 
When you're the only game in town, you're going to do your best to keep it  
that way and Martz is doing its best to make sure that no trains compete.
 
Rick

Jim  Guthrie has an interesting post, but the "equal time" concept is a red
flag  for me.  He says: 
"I think equal time demands the Thruway pay for  restoring a daily Phoebe
Snow to Buffalo to help the Southern Tier economy,  but . . ."  
How would a half-filled passenger train help the  economy?  A bus driver
recently told me that Greyhound has furloughed  a lot of drivers; (and New
York - Buffalo is one of their routes.)  So  that form of transit is loosing
patronage.
But there's really no such  thing as "equal time."  Helping one form of
transportation doesn't  obligate a government to help all others.  
Where would the money come  from; by making the people who drive the Thruway
pay for the railroad  too?  
Philip Martin   






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