Amtrak, the heavily-subsidized enemy of the motorcoach industry, is now outdoing its airline industry colleagues. But as a quasi-government monopoly, the taxpayers will effectively cover the damages if problems develop. That Amtrak may not even belong in most parts of the country is only a footnote. The latest development was disclosed formidably in the October 14, 2020 issue of Mass Transit, re-characterizing a story from The Times Union, in Albany, New York. Amtrak’s activities were actually presented as great news: Mass Transit titled its article: “NY: With cutbacks, some Amtrak trains now sold out.” The fact that this feat was
Archives for Motorcoach service
Tight Schedules, Part 5: Motorcoach Service
National Bus Trader readers were treated (or subjected) to three brutal installments about tight schedules in the transit, non-emergency medical and paratransit sectors. Apart from motorcoaches deployed in transit service, tight schedules are a problem in only a handful of motorcoach scenarios. Still, coping with them is challenging in Today’s economic and operating environments. Geography, Regulations and Inflexibility In the August, 2003 National Bus Trader article titled “Pi R Squared,” I argued for doubling the size of a single vehicle’s service area by simply expanding the hours-of-service to 12 hours on-duty, an 18-hour span and, most importantly, verification of a
Tight Schedules, Part 4: Complementary Paratransit Service
Most motorcoach companies do not provide paratransit service. So learning the nuances of this mode is often limited. But much can be learned from this rarely-creative, inefficient and often dangerous service. Paratransit’s tight schedules, and the reasons for them, provide important lessons for any mode of transportation. In contrast to motorcoach operators, transit agencies have a formal responsibility under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) to provide complementary paratransit service. Most transit agencies contract out these services to private companies. Either way, tight schedules trigger safety compromises. If the victim has an effective attorney, tight schedules are a liability. Ingenuity