Amtrak released a revamped website today and added this cute little button so you don't need to call anymore, score!
And as mentioned earlier, trains with bike racks now run to/from Canada twice a day.
_________________ -Kevin
Eric_s
Posted: Sun Oct 25, 2009 1:13 pm
Joined: 07 Mar 2007Posts: 1691Location: the dirty south
you've been able to add a bike to an amtrak cascades train through the website for at least three years. this just makes it easier. Now, if amtrak could get it so they cost less than twice what it costs to drive a car RT then they might be totally worth it. That and maybe faster trains, more runs a day, fewer stops in kelso, and dedicated tracks, while I'm dreaming.
ksep
Posted: Sun Oct 25, 2009 8:27 pm
Joined: 27 Jan 2007Posts: 1879Location: Westlake
Eric_s wrote:
you've been able to add a bike to an amtrak cascades train through the website for at least three years.
Damn, I've never seen that option before.
Eric_s wrote:
if amtrak could get it so they cost less than twice what it costs to drive a car RT then they might be totally worth it.
This might not meet your criteria exactly, but the most you should ever be paying to ride one-way on the Amtrak Cascades line is $27.50. Even from Portland all the way to Vancouver, BC, $27.50. Let me tell you how.
* Sign up for Amtrak Guest Rewards (it's free). Give me your e-mail and I'll refer you and you'll get even more points. Pyramid scheme!
* A one way ticket on the Cascades line is 1,000 reward points
* You can buy points 1,000 points for $27.50.
Tada.
_________________ -Kevin
Alex
Posted: Mon Oct 26, 2009 9:24 am
Joined: 18 May 2006Posts: 3128Location: Roosevelt
Searching for Amtrak coupon codes has always made my trips $25 or less between Seattle and Portland.
It is ~200 miles. My car (Subaru Impreza) gets about 28mpg on the highway. So that is about 7 gallons of gas, which is $21. The wear and tear and all of the other costs of driving take up more than that $4. So I'd argue Amtrak is cheaper than driving, at least for one person. It kind of falls apart for 2+.
Plus I can drink on the train, but I can't do that while driving. That is why point83 takes the train.
alex
edit: For the record, I'm driving to Portland on Friday, not taking the train.
sorahn
Posted: Mon Oct 26, 2009 9:30 am
i'll eat your pussy like alf (11yo)Joined: 15 Oct 2009Posts: 464Location: Beacon Hill
So, when is the .83-weekend-bike-and-get-drunk-in-vancouver trip?
_________________ -daryl
-carpe noctem-
Rogelio
Posted: Mon Oct 26, 2009 9:57 am
Joined: 31 Jul 2007Posts: 3092Location: Pos, aya, por la Corona-Alta-Madera y que no.
Alex wrote:
Plus I can drink on the train, but I can't do that while driving. That is why point83 takes the train.
We would be fine carpooling but for that silly open container rule.
_________________ Do you like apples?
ksep
Posted: Mon Oct 26, 2009 10:12 am
Joined: 27 Jan 2007Posts: 1879Location: Westlake
sorahn wrote:
So, when is the .83-weekend-bike-and-get-drunk-in-vancouver trip?
I'd wait till spring. And maybe drive if for no other reason than to hit the duty free store. Do you know how much a six pack of crappy beer costs up here? yes, $10.99 at the govt near monopoly store. oh plus a recycling fee (non refundabled) and 10 cent a beer can deposit. worst i've seen is $13.99 for a six pack of kokanee gold (as found on amtrak, hekhek) bottles. and you thought the WSLCB was bad.
in other news, i can't wait to ride with .83 on thursday.
_________________ -Kevin
surlykat
Posted: Mon Oct 26, 2009 10:48 am
Joined: 05 Jul 2007Posts: 658Location: in the CD
abamfici wrote:
This might not meet your criteria exactly, but the most you should ever be paying to ride one-way on the Amtrak Cascades line is $27.50. Even from Portland all the way to Vancouver, BC, $27.50. Let me tell you how.
* Sign up for Amtrak Guest Rewards (it's free). Give me your e-mail and I'll refer you and you'll get even more points. Pyramid scheme!
* A one way ticket on the Cascades line is 1,000 reward points
* You can buy points 1,000 points for $27.50.
Tada.
Consider my mind blown, and my world made a bit smaller. That means I've been overpaying by 50% every time I come to Seattle (it's generally >$100 round trip w/bike). I'm already a guest rewards member. I've been DOIN IT RONG evidently!
In other news, I'm considering coming up for the MFG Cross race in Woodland Park on 11/15. (This new info increases that chance by at least 50%.) Anyone else planning on racing, spectating, or drinking beer and yelling at 'crossers that weekend?
joeball
Posted: Mon Oct 26, 2009 10:49 am
Joined: 24 Jul 2005Posts: 6037Location: Ether
Rogelio wrote:
Alex wrote:
Plus I can drink on the train, but I can't do that while driving. That is why point83 takes the train.
We would be fine carpooling but for that silly open container rule.
We just need Jeff to register his van as a limousine.
Eric_s
Posted: Mon Oct 26, 2009 2:24 pm
Joined: 07 Mar 2007Posts: 1691Location: the dirty south
abamfici wrote:
This might not meet your criteria exactly, but the most you should ever be paying to ride one-way on the Amtrak Cascades line is $27.50. Even from Portland all the way to Vancouver, BC, $27.50. Let me tell you how.
Yeah, got that already. Only to use the mileage plan, you DO have to call to add your bike to the trip, though it's free. I think that saving the $5 is worth the call. If you go through the normal Amtrak website without taking the SOOPER SEEKRIT cheap way, you can add your bike the same way you upgrade to first class.
So, it's $55 RT with a bike, or it's ~$20 to drive with a bike (and MUCH less with a friend), and it takes less time if you don't hit traffic. However, you can't drink.
Don't get me wrong, I like the train a lot more than driving. I really like the train for how damn easy it is to use, but it just sucks that it takes a little longer and costs twice as much. Goddamn vehicle subsidies.
Alex
Posted: Mon Oct 26, 2009 2:52 pm
Joined: 18 May 2006Posts: 3128Location: Roosevelt
Eric_s wrote:
So, it's $55 RT with a bike, or it's ~$20 to drive with a bike (and MUCH less with a friend), and it takes less time if you don't hit traffic. However, you can't drink.
You can't drive for $20 round trip unless your car is getting over 50mpg or you are paying less than $3/gallon for fuel. Get a TDI and run homemade biodiesel and could you do both.
400 miles round trip, 50mpg would be 400/50 = 8 gallons, so $24 in fuel.
For a single person in an average car it is a wash. For two or more people in an average car the car is cheaper.
henry
Posted: Mon Oct 26, 2009 2:54 pm
somewhat piggishJoined: 05 Aug 2005Posts: 5415Location: on porch with shotgun
If your bike is on top of your car you're probably not getting close to your normal MPG either. Somewhat better on the back.
Joined: 15 Aug 2006Posts: 2666Location: No Fun Town, USA
Geez, folks, fuel is not the only cost of driving. And I'm not talking hippie stuff about the cost of wars for oil, either. Here's a link to 2006 costs per mile from that socialist group, the AAA:
Lowest cost they get is .38/mile. Christ, the IRS reimburses you at 24 cents/mile in 2009, and they are stiffing you.
But, yeah, carpooling is totally worth it.
_________________ I have always thought in the back of my mind: Cheese and Onions
lantius
Posted: Mon Oct 26, 2009 3:54 pm
1337Joined: 22 Jul 2005Posts: 6705Location: right over
including the depreciation in those calculations is a little misleading. it accounts for over half the cost per year.
still, i support the train because i don't need drunk point83ers attempting to disassemble my car from the inside.
gsbarnes
Posted: Mon Oct 26, 2009 7:16 pm
Joined: 15 Aug 2006Posts: 2666Location: No Fun Town, USA
Part of depreciation is wear and tear, which totally makes sense when you drive 360+ miles. But whatever, calculate it yourself with a lower cost for the depreciation. I can guarantee that driving charity miles for the IRS deduction is not a profitable enterprise, so you've got to figure it costs you more than 24 cents a mile.
_________________ I have always thought in the back of my mind: Cheese and Onions
Eric_s
Posted: Mon Oct 26, 2009 8:25 pm
Joined: 07 Mar 2007Posts: 1691Location: the dirty south
OK, you're right, it costs more than $27.50 round trip. However, no matter what way you slice it, driving your car on the freeway is the most efficient way to use it, and it costs less than $55 round trip. I drive an old, efficient, cheap to operate car. (it costs about $30 in gas round trip, maybe $40 last summer)
Let's not forget that the trains still run on diesel here in backwards america, though the diesel cars still have a theoretical top speed around 135mph, which is quite a bit faster than the speed limit on any tracks in Washington or Oregon. If only we had dedicated tracks and electric trains...
gsbarnes
Posted: Mon Oct 26, 2009 8:44 pm
Joined: 15 Aug 2006Posts: 2666Location: No Fun Town, USA
How much did you pay for your car? How many miles do you realistically expect it to last? Do you expect to sell it for anything when you're done? (First answer - 3rd answer) / 2nd answer * mileage. That's wear and tear.
If you plan on doing maintenance and repairs, figure it in a similar way. That's what those AAA calculators are best for; damned if I know how much I should expect to spend on my now 11 year old car every 10K miles, but it's clear that any miles I drive cost me in oil changes, new tires, and all that other stuff somewhere down the road.
Add in insurance if you feel like it. Or rationalize that you would have paid the insurance anyway, so the trip is free, insurance-wise. Whatever floats your boat.
Then add in the cost of gas and parking.
I figure it's nearly a wash at a 2-person carpool, 4 is definitely worth it. 1 probably isn't. But if you plan on going to Mt. Hood (or Mt. Rainier for Eric), taking the train is dumb. Conversely, if all you're doing is tooling around SE Portland while your car sits parked, driving is kind of dumb. My 6-year old is a lousy biker, and my in-laws in Vancouver insist we go and visit them, so we take the car. Whatever works for you, just don't think it's just the cost of gas, because it isn't.
_________________ I have always thought in the back of my mind: Cheese and Onions
derrickito
Posted: Mon Oct 26, 2009 8:54 pm
now with 50 percent more EVILJoined: 22 Jul 2005Posts: 10566
too many fucking math geeks
you people could suck the fun out of a blowjob
Padraic
Posted: Mon Oct 26, 2009 10:36 pm
Joined: 16 Oct 2007Posts: 69Location: Capital Hill
Ito could suck the bend out of a river. Trust me, I know.
lantius
Posted: Mon Oct 26, 2009 10:41 pm
1337Joined: 22 Jul 2005Posts: 6705Location: right over
derrick likes trains.
derrickito
Posted: Mon Oct 26, 2009 10:43 pm
now with 50 percent more EVILJoined: 22 Jul 2005Posts: 10566
we need an excuse to go to portland again
lantius
Posted: Mon Oct 26, 2009 11:16 pm
1337Joined: 22 Jul 2005Posts: 6705Location: right over
derrickito wrote:
we need an excuse to go to portland again
filmed by bike is april 16 next year, put it on your calendar. still, that's six months away.
ksep
Posted: Tue Oct 27, 2009 12:04 am
Joined: 27 Jan 2007Posts: 1879Location: Westlake
The movies on Amtrak have been decent lately too. Today was Up, a few weeks ago i caught the proposal, and while i thought it was a stinker, at least earth is also newish. this beats the hell out of homeward bound 3 and whatever black and white worn out so bad it's color now tape i was seeing earlier this year.
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