(The following article by Kevin Woodward was postedon the Quincy Herald-Whig website on September 30.)
QUINCY, Ill. — There’s a reason why business traveler Chris Mackenzie prefers the Amtrak rail service when he has a meeting in Chicago.
“I have a lot of clients in Chicago,” said Mackenzie, an investment adviser with Franklin-Lavery & Associates. “If I’m going to up to meet a client I get up there at 10 a.m. and hop back on at 5 p.m. and be home by 10 p.m.”
Traveler Chuck Johnson frequently uses the train to get to meetings in Chicago and Naperville.
“I always take the train,” said Johnson, the administrative coordinator of behavioral health services at Blessing Hospital. “It’s a lot less hassle. When you drive you have to worry about parking and time.”
That convenience plus an improved fare structure have helped boost ridership on the Illinois Zephyr, the Amtrak train that connects Quincy to Chicago, to its highest levels in 10 years.
In fiscal 2004, which ended June 30, 104,516 people rode the train, which also makes stops in communities such as Macomb, Galesburg and Kewanee.
Last year’s ridership level is 8.6 percent higher than the 96,260 people who took the train in the previous year, and 27 percent higher than the 82,295 riders in 1994.
What’s behind the increase?
“There are a number of factors,” said Matt Vanover, spokesman for the Illinois Department of Transportation. “There were some schedule changes on all routes to try to make the departures and arrivals more flexible with peoples’ schedules. We have also worked with Amtrak on marketing the program a little more intensely over the past couple of years.”
Vanover said economic factors can’t be ruled out, either.
Gas prices have increased, causing some travelers to choose the train because it’s less costly than a couple tanks of gasoline, he said.
“(Travelers) figure when they calculate the cost of gas, the train is more affordable,” Buckert said. The cost of driving includes gas for the round trip and parking, if going downtown.
A tank of gas might cost $20 or more, while a train ticket could cost $12.50 one-way if booked early enough. A train ticket price goes up as the travel date approaches and the train begins to fill up. The highest price could be $62 one-way.
Mindy Kuhn and her boyfriend recently rode the train to Chicago for a day of shopping.
“We knew we wanted to be on Michigan Avenue,” Kuhn said. “Rather than pay to park all day and hassle with traffic, it’s just easier to take the train.”
The discontinuation of air service between Quincy and Chicago more than 18 months ago may also have been a factor in the increase in ridership.
“It is more convenient to jump on a train than to have to deal with traffic,” Vanover said. “It also can be more convenient than flying.”
“Part of it has to do with the fact that we don’t have air service to Chicago anymore,” said Mecki Kosin of the Travel House. “You can still do it (fly to Chicago), but you have to go through St. Louis. We find Amtrak is the easy way.”
Kosin said she’s sold Amtrak tickets to people who were catching international flights out of Chicago. Once in Chicago, they can take a cab or public transportation to the airport.
IDOT recently signed its 2005 contract with Amtrak, that will see continued service with no changes in the schedule or route.