(The following article by Patrick McGeehan was posted on the New York Times website on September 27.)
NEW YORK — After taking two weeks to reconsider a systemwide fare increase, Amtrak officials said yesterday that they would go ahead with their plan but that a steep rise in the cost of monthly train passes would come in two stages instead of one.
Amtrak said its ticket prices would rise 5 percent to 7 percent on Tuesday for an average increase of about $4 to cover rising costs. But a round-trip ticket from New York to Washington on a high-speed Acela train, which now costs $314, will go up about $22.
In a more controversial move, Amtrak plans to sharply reduce the discount it offers to the thousands of Northeastern commuters who buy monthly passes and 10-trip tickets. Under that plan, the monthly tariff for some will rise $150 to $200 on Oct. 16 and an equal amount in February.
For example, the price of a monthly pass that allows unlimited use of certain trains between Philadelphia and Pennsylvania Station in Manhattan will rise by $188 to $821 next month, then increase again to $1,008 in February, said Bill Schulz, a spokesman for Amtrak in Washington. A 10-trip ticket between those cities will rise about $30.
Amtrak had intended to implement those increases quietly this month, but the plan was sidetracked after an outcry from commuters and elected officials. Several members of Congress urged Amtrak’s chief executive, David L. Gunn, to reconsider. On Sept. 15, Amtrak postponed the increases to give its officials more time to explain their strategy.
Yesterday, some elected officials in Washington said they were surprised that Amtrak revived the plan one day after President Bush had called on Americans to conserve fuel. Some in Congress fear that raising fares will spur people to drive more.
Representative Michael G. Fitzpatrick, a Republican from Doylestown, Pa., said, “I’m still very concerned that our daily commuters, who incidentally are doing exactly what the president requested last evening, will be paying far too much.”
Mr. Schulz reiterated Amtrak’s position that the discounts for regular riders – Amtrak sells about 2,000 passes each month along the corridor from Boston to Washington – had grown too large and that they would still be a bargain.
But some commuters said Amtrak might be pushing past their breaking points. Ralph E. Arpajian, a lawyer who commutes from Yardley, Pa., to Manhattan, said he was not certain he would pay an additional $288 each month to ride Amtrak trains between Trenton and New York.
“Going from $522 a month to $810, I become price-sensitive,” said Mr. Arpajian, who said he would avoid paying the higher fare for as long as possible by buying several monthly passes in advance of the increase. “Not only is Amtrak enjoying my tax dollars, but they’re asking for this whopping increase, too.”