Amtrak’s sudden fare increases bite the hand that feeds it

In July, Amtrak raised multi-ride fares along the Northeast Corridor by anywhere from 32% to 70% without directly notifying its ridership in advance.

Amtrak, a federally funded and majority-owned corporation, is meant to serve the public. The drastic fare increase is a slap in the face to taxpayers after the infrastructure bill dedicated a total of $22 billion in direct grants to the corporation.

As a postdoc at Princeton University, I commute from Philly to Princeton using Amtrak. This commute used to make financial sense; rents in Philadelphia are almost half the price of those in Princeton, and Princeton provided a helpful although limited commute subsidy.

However, the commute became unaffordable for me and likely many others on July 1; the 10-trip (one-way) ticket package between Princeton and Philly shot up from $230 to $390, and the monthly pass increased from $576 to $975. These sudden increases have impacted many postdocs and graduate students at Princeton, whose budgets were already strained by the previous fares.

I believe the suddenness of the fare increase was exploitative. Amtrak knows that its customers, many of whom have no immediate alternative, are reliant on its service. Most of us cannot relocate closer to work or purchase a car on short notice. This lack of warning essentially forces commuters who rely on Amtrak to pay more than they can afford before they are able to find alternative means of transportation.

The price hikes are also egregious given the subpar service we’ve experienced over the summer, with trains often running an hour late. Forcing commuters to pay exorbitant prices for unreliable service is ridiculous.

The price hike will also result in fewer people using public transportation, which is a devastating blow to the country’s progress in reducing carbon emissions. The Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 set a goal of reducing carbon emissions by 40% by 2030 (relative to 2005 carbon emission levels). To reach this goal, more people must switch from driving to public transportation, but price increases on federally funded trains may cause the reverse trend.

Many of us who once chose Amtrak are now switching to commuting by car, which increases traffic congestion and carbon emissions. I find it unbelievable that sharing an Uber with one other person to Princeton is now generally cheaper than taking Amtrak.

I believe that national funding for Amtrak should be contingent on the corporation providing affordable and reliable services, but I have heard nothing from my representatives in Congress who all signed on to the infrastructure bill. They should be holding the corporation accountable.

If Amtrak cannot cut its fares to make them more affordable for most Americans, then more funds should be allocated to commuter transit. For example, there should be increased funding to SEPTA to increase its frequency of service and add more express trains.

I would actually prefer to take SEPTA to Trenton and then transfer to NJTransit to reach Princeton, but the train lines are usually misaligned, so the total commute takes more than 90 minutes (whereas the direct trip with Amtrak takes 40 minutes).

Those traveling north along the Northeast Corridor would benefit from SEPTA shifting its Trenton line schedule to align more with NJTransit’s Northeast Corridor train schedule.

Train travel should be viable for all, not just the wealthy.

Talia Borofsky is a postdoctoral research associate at Princeton’s High Meadows Environmental Institute, where she researches the evolution and ecology of cooperative hunting.