miguelsmith80 t1_jadeoya wrote on February 28, 2023 at 5:12 PM

Reply to comment by DonQOnIce in Pro-tip - currently there are easily found amtrak one way fares to DC and NYC from 30th Street for $10 in April and May by RoughRhinos

My experience is like yours (unreasonably expensive). I can't ever make Amtrak make sense financially, even though I love a train ride. For kicks I just looked up Wilmington DE to Baltimore on a random Friday a few weeks from now. Every ticket is more than $100 per person, one way. Especially when traveling with multiple people there is no way to justify train over driving.

DonQOnIce t1_jadfhq7 wrote on February 28, 2023 at 5:17 PM

I don’t know about the routes down around Baltimore but I don’t see any reason to drive Philly to NYC even if Amtrak doesn’t make sense. There are so many cheap buses daily I couldn’t even count. And the Septa to NJT connection. The tolls over the bridges or through the tunnel alone are about as much as a one-way bus ticket. Then you’ve got gas and parking.

I actually choose Megabus over the Septa/NJT connection because it’s more comfortable and I can just fall asleep and not have to change trains.

miguelsmith80 t1_jadgpev wrote on February 28, 2023 at 5:24 PM

Easy explanation - we're a family of four. Multiply all transit expenses by 4, while toll gas and parking is fixed price. I've been actively looking for an excuse to take a train trip and I cannot make it a reasonable decision. Currently I'm thinking about Newark for Union @ Redbulls, and could at least take the PATH into the city from there.

DonQOnIce t1_jadh1pl wrote on February 28, 2023 at 5:27 PM

Good point, I often forget that since I never really buy for more than two and if I’m going with a group, it’s friends who take care of themselves financially.

My main priority is not driving personally and zoning out or falling asleep so if I’m in a group of 3 or more where someone else wanted to drive, that would not be a bad option.

miguelsmith80 t1_jadhwh0 wrote on February 28, 2023 at 5:32 PM

Lol I want to take the kids on an Amtrak trip so bad. I'm like, hmm well if we leave at 10 PM it's "only" $66 per person. One way. Sure it's 8x more expensive than driving, and sure we arrive at midnight, but the 5 y/o will prob be fine ...

RoughRhinos OP t1_jaefbt5 wrote on February 28, 2023 at 9:04 PM

There should really be a amtrak cheap kid price to help families out! If planning a trip anytime soon check out around the 7pm slot - there's a lot of $10 tickets at that time and for a family of four that's really not bad for a weekend getaway.

DonQOnIce t1_jadife2 wrote on February 28, 2023 at 5:35 PM

Right? I seriously love taking trains. I’m willing to pay a bit of a markup over other options to support rail service and because it’s fun. But it’s essentially never worth it when I do the math for the times I want to travel, the difference is way too extreme.