Am new to USA and willing to explore some of the towns, apart from Cars, Amtrak really looks like a good alternative, but too many bad reviews.. is it really that bad?
Ask HN: Is Amtrak That Bad?
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Re: Ask HN: Is Amtrak That Bad?
#2Those are horrible..just horrible, never comes on time.. NEVER
Re: Ask HN: Is Amtrak That Bad?
#3I've only been on Amtrak a few times, all on the U.S. East Coast, but have had perfectly fine experiences. I can imagine that someone who uses Amtrak a lot would have seen more reason to dislike it, or maybe other locations are worse.
Re: Ask HN: Is Amtrak That Bad?
#4Basically the 95 Corridor (Boston to Washington D.C.) is accessible via public transportation and a few isolated cities are manageable (SF, Chicago, Portland, etc) within proximity to the city but the rest of the United States Requires a Car... and yes it sucks.
Ergo, Amtrak could be useful depending on where you are... otherwise you'll want to get a personal vehicle.
Are the ratings real? Yes... but they're also not real.
Re: Ask HN: Is Amtrak That Bad?
#5I've only been on Amtrak a few times, all on the U.S. East Coast, but have had perfectly fine experiences. I can imagine that someone who uses Amtrak a lot would have seen more reason to dislike it, or maybe other locations are worse.
Thank you! am in east coast, so would try and explore it once :)
Re: Ask HN: Is Amtrak That Bad?
#6Basically the 95 Corridor (Boston to Washington D.C.) is accessible via public transportation and a few isolated cities are manageable (SF, Chicago, Portland, etc) within proximity to the city but the rest of the United States Requires a Car... and yes it sucks. Ergo, Amtrak could be useful depending on where you are... otherwise you'll want to get a personal vehicle. Are the ratings real? Yes... but they're also not…
thanks for the inputs! cheers!
Re: Ask HN: Is Amtrak That Bad?
#7Whenever I have tried to get a ticket it seems like they are booked months in advance.
So far as I can tell, Amtrak is for people who are afraid to fly and who don't want to ride the bus with people who ride the bus.
Re: Ask HN: Is Amtrak That Bad?
#8Whenever I have tried to get a ticket it seems like they are booked months in advance. So far as I can tell, Amtrak is for people who are afraid to fly and who don't want to ride the bus with people who ride the bus.
but, what about the cost economics, i thought Cars then trains then flights are cheaper in that order.
Re: Ask HN: Is Amtrak That Bad?
#9Whenever I have tried to get a ticket it seems like they are booked months in advance. So far as I can tell, Amtrak is for people who are afraid to fly and who don't want to ride the bus with people who ride the bus.
but, what about the cost economics, i thought Cars then trains then flights are cheaper in that order.
The economics depend on how many people are going.
If I go to NYC myself, it is economical to take the bus.
It costs the same to take 2, 3 or 4 people in my car, whereas the cost of the (bus|train|plane) scales linearly.
Motortourism works best when you travel in a moderate-sized group.
Re: Ask HN: Is Amtrak That Bad?
#10Whenever I have tried to get a ticket it seems like they are booked months in advance. So far as I can tell, Amtrak is for people who are afraid to fly and who don't want to ride the bus with people who ride the bus.
but, what about the cost economics, i thought Cars then trains then flights are cheaper in that order.
dunno if megabus is still doing it but you used to be able to get a bus from Philly to NYC for $1 (with wifi)