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sintactacle t1_j7m7tdz wrote

Reply to comment by unenlightenedgoblin in Why does Amtrack service not extend to State College? by vortical42

>Buses. It’s much cheaper and less complex to run buses.

And this is exactly what Amtrak does via thruway connecting services when a demand is there but laying new rail lines is not feasible. e.g. the State of Maine.

Also when I travel to Philadelphia from Central PA, it's always by Amtrak because it's about the same cost as tolls/fuel/parking but there is absolutely no stress involved that comes with driving to Center City. The train is usually at 10 to 20 percent capacity with most passengers hopping on closer to Philadelphia. You sometimes feel as if you are the only one in the train car on the lucky days.

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unenlightenedgoblin t1_j7mcv2c wrote

I can’t seem to find it, but saw a chart recently showing that while driving, rail, and flying have all recovered to pre-pandemic levels, intercity bus ridership has shown little recovery. I don’t have a great explanation for why, other than anecdotally some of the routes that used to serve Pittsburgh were canceled and never restored, wouldn’t be surprised if that’s also happened elsewhere.

When I lived in Germany, it was possible to get nearly anywhere in the country using some combination of public transport, even tiny dorfs (villages). I wish we had that same lifeline throughout our Commonwealth.

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