30th Street Station to become "Ben Station"?

There is a dumb idea floating around Philly about changing the name of 30th Street Station to "Ben Station" in honor of Benjamin Franklin's 300th birthday. The Pew Charitable Trusts is pitching this idea to the city. This doesn't effect my commute naturally so I suppose I don't care, but I think it is kind of silly to change the name of a Philly landmark.

COMMUTE: 2005 Phi-NYC Year End Wrap Up ($6,084 EOY total)

Though I started this blog only in October 2005, I have been keeping track of my commuting details for the entire year. For each month I'll note the ticket type I bought, the cost for the month, AGR tickets used if any, and total number of one way trips in the month. I'll then break down total commuting related costs, total number of trips between Philly and New York, and Amtrak Guest Rewards (AGR) used for the entire year 2005.

2005 Monthly Breakdowns:

• January 2005
  
• Bought Monthly Pass for $597 (+$20 for upgrades to metroliner/acela)
• Took 26 one way trips total this month
• February 2005
• Monthly $597
• 22 total one way trips
• March 2005
• Monthly $597
• 24 total one way trips
• April 2005
• Smart Pass 10 Trip Ticket $375
• Used 9 Amtrak Guest Rewards (AGR) Tickets
  
• 19 total one way trips
• May 2005
• Smart Pass 10 Trip Ticket $375
• 2 AGR
• 12 total one way trips
  
• June 2005
  
• monthly $597
• 24 total one way trips
  
• July 2005
• Monthly $633
• 20 total one way trips
  
• August 2005
• Monthly $633
• 26 total one way trips
  
• September 2005
• Monthly $633
• 18 total one way trips
  
• October 2005
• Monthly $633
• 28 total one way trips
• November 2005
• Smart Pass 10 Trip Ticket $394
• 9 AGR
• 20 total one way trips
• December 2005
• 3 AGR
• 10 total one way trips

2005 Year End Totals:

• Total Phi-NYC Commuting Cost for 2005: $6,084
• This is an accurate number
• Total one way trips between Phi-NYC for 2005: 249
• This total may be off by a few but the yearly average of a little over 20 one way trips per month is good.
  
• Total number of Amtrak Guest Rewards Tickets applied toward commute: 23
• Highest number of one way trips in a month: 28 (October)
• Fewest number of one way trips in a month: 10 (December)

2005 Conclusions:
Commuting to NYC from Philly cost me on average a little over $500/month over the course of a year. I used 57,500 Amtrak Guest Rewards points towards my commute in 2005. This saved me a good amount of money as I did not have to buy a monthly pass certain months, but only a 10 trip and supplement the remaining with AGR tickets. The savings was $222 in April, $222 in May, $239 in November, and $394 in December; for a year end total of $1,077 in savings. This makes the AGR points program worth about 2 cents per point ($1,077/57,500 =~ .02). Compared to other points programs where I could have directed my efforts, AGR provides a good yield. See my post in this blog on why any regular Amtrak commuter needs to be an AGR Member: Amtrak Guest Rewards, a must for regular Amtrak commuters and how it will save me $800 the next two months

The on time performance of the Amtrak trains I took I would estimate at between 60% and 70%. Generally Amtrak service is good though I would prefer the on time performance to be better. My worst commuting experience (which I think was sometime over the summer) was when service was disrupted between Trenton and Philly and I had to take a Septa bus to 30th Street Station. The commute home that night was nearly 4 hours.

2006 Expectations:
I'll be paying more for my Phi-NYC commute in 2006 due to the huge fare increases Amtrak has been implementing. Amtrak's generally unfavorable political situation also doesn't help things. How much more $ I'll be spending in '06 I'm not exactly sure yet. I also have not finalized my plan for 2006 to keep costs as low as possible. Ideally I'd like to keep the monthly rate under $600. This will likely be a challenge as the point total to cash in AGR points for free tickets will rise from 2,500 to 3,000 Jan 3, 2006. Though my commuting costs will rise in 2006, and though I don't have a clear plan yet, I still feel I can make the finances work within my budget.

COMMUTE: December Wrap Up

Due to the MTA strike and the holidays I will not be going up to NYC for the rest of the year. A review of my Philly-NYC commuting patterns in December:

Trains Taken

• Morning trains taken: 130, 172, 180, 642
• Evening trains taken: 175, 187, 193, 635

Quick Commute Stats

• I took a total of 10 one way trips on Amtrak In December.
• I had a 10 trip ticket good from good through mid December ($394 - bought this before the fare increase).
• I cashed in Amtrak Guest Rewards tickets for 3 tickets in December; 7,500 points total.
• My plan is to achieve my commute for Nov and Dec by cashing in AGR points and the purchase of a single 10 trip ticket. I achieved this.
  

On Time Performance and Analysis

• Only one of the 5 morning legs was on time; which was actually better than November. On time performance was pretty good on the evening trains, 4 out of 5 were on time.
• Average travel time in the mornings: Generally the morning trains took just over 1 hour and 20 minutes, one did make it in under 1 hour 15 minutes. Trains may leave 30th Street late but once rolling the total travel time is fairly consistent. There were a couple cases where it took nearly 1 hr 30 min; but a couple times a month I can deal with.
• Average travel time in the evenings: Evening trains on average took just under 1 hour and 30 minutes. I do take trains that stop variously at Liberty Airport, Metropark, Cornwells Heights, and North Philly - more stops when compared to the morning trains, which means longer travel times.
• Travel times in December seemed a couple minutes longer on average than in prior months. Not sure if this is an anomaly or a more permanent change. I haven't compared the most recent schedules to past ones to see if the time has lengthened.
  

"New York City Transit Strike Not Affecting Amtrak", so says Amtrak.com

The following is a statement from amtrak.com:

New York City Transit Strike Not Affecting Amtrak

"Trains Amtrak operations are currently unaffected by the New York City Transit strike and Amtrak trains are expected to operate normally to and from New York Penn Station. Passengers at Penn Station this afternoon and early evening are encouraged to give themselves a little extra time to board their trains, as commuters are taking advantage of extra Long Island Rail Road trains that are running to mitigate the strike’s impact, resulting in conditions that may be more crowded than normal in the station."

Personally, I'm avoiding NYC until the MTA strike is resolved.

Two-hour commute usual for many

Two-hour commute usual for many
By Shannon D. Harrington
The(Hackensack N.J.) Record

The U.S. Census Bureau defines an "extreme commute" as one that takes longer than 90 minutes. The U.S. Census Bureau furhter says that people taking such commutes has been increasing over time.

COMMUTE: Mon Dec 19, 2005; #172 (late*) and #175 (on time)

My commute for Monday December 19, 2005.

Morning leg - took Amtrak Train #172 (PHL-NYC):

• PHL 9:21, 0
  
• TRE 9:47, -3
  
• NWK 10:29, +4
  
• NYC 10:43, 0
  

The #642 was canceled so I had to take this later train. This train was on time but I'm noting my commute as late since my intended train was cancelled. Had empty seat next to me, train was over half full. Used 10 trip ticket.

Evening leg - took Amtrak Train #175 (NYC-PHL):

• NYC 8:37, +2
• NWK 8:49, -3
  
• TRE 9:35, +5
  
• PHL 10:06, -4
  

Had empty seat next to me, train was over half full. Used 10 trip ticket.

New Northeast Corridor Amtrak Schedule in effect December 12

On December 12 Amtrak put in place a new schedule for the Northeast corridor, the scedule is here:
http://www.amtrak.com/timetable/dec05/W02.pdf

On the Amtrak.com site you can find this under the 'Schedule' tab as:
"Northeast Corridor 1: New York - Philadelphia - Baltimore - Washington"

Air Marshals May Also Work on Trains

The Washington Post reports that "teams will take positions in public areas along Amtrak's Northeast Corridor and Los Angeles rail lines; ferries in Washington state; and mass transit systems in Atlanta, Philadelphia and Baltimore."

The stories are here:
Report: Air Marshals to Expand Duties
Marshals To Patrol Land, Sea Transport

This doesn't bother me a whole lot provided it doesn't slow down train boardings too much.

COMMUTE: Wed Dec 14, 2005; #187 (late)

Had no morning commute.

Evening leg - took Amtrak Train #187 (NYC-PHL):

• NYC 7:38, +3
  
• NWK 8:03, +11
  
• TRE 8:44, +18
  
• PHL 9:12, +16
  

Had empty seat next to me, train was over half full. Used 10 trip ticket.

COMMUTE: Tue Dec 13, 2005; #180 (on time)

My commute for Tuesday December 13, 2005.

Morning leg - took Amtrak Train #180 (PHL-NYC):

• PHL 7:20, -5 (I think the print schedule is wrong for #180 and the real time is 7:20, but I'll use the times in the current print schedule)
  
• TRE (#180 does not stop at Trenton)
  
• NWK 8:28, +4
• NYC 8:48, +5

Did not have an empty seat next to me, this train was nearly full, used 10 trip ticket.

Evening leg - company put me up in the city for the night, busy lately with year end stuff.

Amtrak Redemption Point Increases

Amtrak is raising the number of points you need to get a free ticket starting January 3, 2006. This is covered on the Amtrak Guest Rewards on the page titled Amtrak Redemption Point Increases

This is bad for Philly-NYC commuters as it will take more points to get free travel. The gist for us is the following:

1) Coach Class 1 Zone will cost you 5,500 AGR points
2) Coach Class Special Northeast Zone will cost you 3,000

I think the Philly to NYC leg falls under the Coach Class Special Northeast Zone, so it will cost me an extra 500 points (it's 2,500 points now, so a 20% increase in 2006) to get a free one way ticket.

But the Philly to NYC leg can also be considered in Zone 1 I think. The zone map that used to be on the Amtrak site is no longer there so this policy change is not yet 100% clear to me. I emailed AGR and asked them if Philly to NYC is 3,000 or 5,500 points, but they didn't answer the question and just returned the table in the URL above. If it's 5,500 points for me to get a free ticket in 2006, this will be a huge financial hit. 3,000 is also a hit but certainly less dramatic and something I think I can manage in 2006.

Warning: Possible Amtrak Strike Ahead

Warning: Possible Amtrak Strike Ahead
Brian Quinlan
NJBIZ Staff
12/12/2005

This has been a consistent story I've been hearing about. Not sure if a strike will actually come down but the talk implies that a strike in 2006 is much more likely to happen when compared to the past few years. The article notes that an Amtrak strike would also shut down NJ Transit.

It appears that the earliest a strike could possibly happen is mid-February 2006 due to mandatory cooling off periods.

COMMUTE: Thu Dec 8, 2005; #635 (on time)

Had no morning commute.

Evening leg - took Amtrak Train #635 (NYC-PHL):

• NYC 11:00, 0
  
• NWK 11:13, -4
  
• TRE 11:56, 0
  
• PHL ??? (got in around 12:25 I think, certainly before 12:30 so on time arrival)
  

Had empty seat next to me, train was about half full. Used 10 trip ticket.

COMMUTE: Wed Dec 7, 2005; #642 (late)

My commute for Wednesday December 7, 2005.

Morning leg - took Amtrak Train #642 (PHL-NYC):

• PHL ???, but it was over 10 minutes late
  
• TRE 9:31, +21
  
• NWK 10:00, +18
• NYC 10:16, +16

Got to 30th Street Station and the board says it's on time, then 10 minutes late, then 15 minutes late, and then I think they set it to 20 before they allowed us to board. Had an empty seat next to me, this train was busier than usual, more than half full by my estimate. Used an AGR ticket.

Evening leg - company put me up in the city for the night.

COMMUTE: Mon Dec 5, 2005; #130 (late) and #193 (on time)

My commute for Monday December 5, 2005.

Morning leg - took Amtrak Train #130 (PHL-NYC):

• PHL 8:23, +1
• TRE 8:53, +3
  
• NWK 9:37, +14
  
• NYC 9:54, +9

This train was packed, no empty seat next to me, no empty seats period I think. Was slowish once about 20 minutes past Trenton. Used AGR ticket.

Evening leg - took Amtrak Train #193 (NYC-PHL):

• NYC 5:41, +2
• NWK 5:56, 0
  
• TRE (this train doesn't stop in Trenton)
• PHL 7:00, +2

This train was packed, no empty seat next to me, no empty seats at all as I believe people were standing in some cars. Used 10 trip ticket.

Bush OK's 2006 Amtrak Budget - This is Good for Philly to NYC Commuters

Bush, in reversal, clears $1.3B in aid to Amtrak
Thursday December 1, 2005
BY ROBERT COHEN
STAR-LEDGER WASHINGTON BUREAU

On November 30 Bush allocated money to keep Amtrak running through 2006.

"After vowing to eliminate all subsidies for Amtrak, President Bush signed legislation yesterday that will provide the financially ailing passenger railroad with $1.3 billion in federal aid for next year."

This appears to be good news for those relying on Amtrak to get to NYC from Philadelphia. The agreement does require Amtrak to achieve savings by increasing its operational efficiency, changes to food and beverage services and first class service. This may impact service (no food, no biz/first class) between Philadelphia and New York but I believe it will be minor changes. They may cut the number of trains that run between the cities in a given day, but I would guess maybe they'd cut one or two that do not run during rush hour. Again this would likely be a minor impact to the Philly-NYC commuter.

COMMUTE: Thu Dec 1, 2005; #642 (late) and #635 (on time)

My commute for Thursday December 1, 2005.

Morning leg - took Amtrak Train #642 (PHL-NYC):

• PHL 9:15, +31
  
• TRE 9:42, +32
  
• NWK 10:12, +30
• NYC 10:26, +26

Yawn - I checked train status on amtrak.com before I left and the site noted it was running 7 minutes late. Get to 30th Street Station and the board says it's on time, then 10 minutes late, then 15 minutes late, and then I think they set it to 20 before they allowed us to board. Had an empty seat next to me, this train was about half full. Used an AGR ticket.

Evening leg - took Amtrak Train #635 (NYC-PHL):

• NYC 11:00, 0
  
• NWK 11:13, -4
  
• TRE 11:57, +1
  
• PHL 12:26 AM, +1
  

Had empty seat next to me, train seemed well over half full. Used 10 trip ticket.