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Are there trends for ridership based on day of the week? For example, is ridership higher on Fridays than Tuesdays?
Question for Chucky and any other coach advocates, if we decided to take a shorter trial run would Amtrak let my brood reserve seats lower level since being near a bathroom would be a huge benefit?
You may have already answered that question in pasts posts, but I can't remember. How many seats are there in coach lower level?
Thanks,
Debbie
Charles Reuben Member # 2263
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Shhhhhh! Before you know it everybody on this board is gonna start thinking about sitting on the lower level.
You're going to have to ask the agent, Debbie, but I don't think they're going to let you make reservations for the brood, unless they happen to be elderly, handicapped or injured. One or two people, maybe, but not the whole brood.
My reservations tend to be made according to the price of the ticket at a given time. Prices fluctuate wildly, sometimes with absolutely no rhyme or reason. But if you are able to find a really good deal, there's an excellent chance that that day will be fairly uncrowded.
An agent will probably be able to help you answer that question more accurately. They could tell you, for example, that the Southwest Chief will be full of Boy Scouts between Fort Madison and Raton during a given week in July.
There couldn't be more than 16 seats down there, if that many.
iowamomofsix Member # 3695
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Thanks!
sojourner Member # 3134
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I believe ridership is highest on Friday and Sunday (and even higher on certain holidays). This is definitely true on the Empire line in New York State, where ticket prices are fixed (they don't go up based on number of seat bought) but are higher on Fridays and Sundays after 11 AM. I think the same may apply to ticket prices on the whole NE corridor, but I'm not sure.
[This message has been edited by sojourner (edited 02-11-2005).]
Mr. Toy Member # 311
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One time I rode the Starlight on a Wednesday, and it was the most sparsely populated train I ever rode. The crew said Wednesdays tended to be the slowest day of the week.
I have sometimes found fares to be lower on Tuesdays than Mondays, but not always.
TwinStarRocket Member # 2142
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Iowamom: If you have the time to play with the Amtrak site you could find the answer to your questions using some specific dates.
For the lower level: enter your Depart and Arrival stations, Date, Time, and #Passengers on the home/res page and select "NEXT". On the next page click on the green square "View Seat/Room Options". You may then select lower level coach (same price) or bedroom options.
I tried it for 7 people on Mar 12 and the lower level was "sold out", but on Apr 12 it was ok.
As for cheaper times to travel, proximity to popular travel times is more of a factor than days of the week. I just happen to have been checking that myself. For a coach seat Ft. Madison-ABQ it was $82 Mar 3-5, $103 Mar 6-12, and $129 Sun 3/13 and after Mar 15. (Proximity to Spring Breaks?) For a roomette, Mon 3/14 was $163, 6 other days were $221, 3 were $279, and 2 (Thu and Fri) were $337.
Under the "Yield Management" pricing strategy, the price keeps going up as the rooms or beds get sold, and the price may go up an hour after you first look. Some days of the week may be cheaper if no one else has booked tickets that day. If you are home schooling, you may have the advantage of selecting cheaper times away from school vacations.
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