July 4th, 2008 05:46am
Thomas V. Bona
A quick post before we leave.
Great time at the Great American Ball Park in Cincy last night - Reds won an exciting game and the rain held up til the ninth. That makes 5 of 6 games we attended having rain of some kind. Yowzers.
I’ll say this about Cincy, it has one of the best bus systems for a city its size. We only used the part based in Kentucky - the wonderfully acronymed Transit Authority of Northern Kentucky (TANK) - to get from our hotel in Covington to downtown and later to and from the game. They even have some nice hybrid buses.
Now we’re on to Megabus back to Chicago, then Van Galder to Rockford. More on those trips later, and tune in this weekend for wrap up reports on the best ballparks, foods and other things we enjoyed.
Thanks for reading, if any of you did. I just can’t wait to get back and monitor gas prices daily! (OK, that’s kind of a lie.)
July 3rd, 2008 11:49am
Thomas V. Bona
Greetings from Cincy.
Slept in after a late-night Amtrak from D.C. Not nearly as pleasant an experience as the Pittsburgh-D.C. trip, but word from Amtrak staffers is the Cardinal route is in for some upgrades. Good, they need it:
Train: The Cardinal, train 51
Departed: Washington, D.C., approximately 11:15 a.m. (ontime)
Arrived: Cincinatti, OH, approximately 1:30 a.m. (scheduled 1 a.m.)
Positives:Â
- Again, the staff was hardworking and courteous. The train was sold out, and they had to split pairs like us up, but still we got on in D.C. surprisingly fast. Whenever there were hiccups in sevice - especially in the overwhelmed dining car - the employees were very nice.
- Only being about a half hour late is great given how much time we seemed to be stopped for signals and freight traffic.
- Got more time at Washington’s stellar Union Station, as well as an arrival at Cincy’s classy revived Union Terminal, which doubles as a museum center. The city’s done a great job here.
- Man, I’m gonna miss that legroom when we’re on Megabus tomorrow.
Negatives:
- I’m glad the train was sold out, but the staff was overwhelmed at times, especially in the cafe and dining car, where long delays and decreasing selection were the norm as the night went on. As far as I could tell, there were three people working the whole operation, and one guy pretty much handling the serving and preparation of the dining car food. I was told they could be in line for an expanded dining car with a chef, and they definitely need it.
- It’s sad that such a pretty route couldn’t have Superliner service, with a second deck and a siteseeing lounge like the Capitol Limited. I totally understand that it’s a matter of limited Amtrak funding and resources … I just hope they can get the resources to give this route the service it deserves. Good to see people using it though, apparently it’s sold out frequently.
- Â Talked to a gentleman at Union Station who missed a connection the day before because of a delayed train from Chicago. When he called customer service, the person he talked to bluntly said Amtrak is not responsible for connections - which is true, they say that up front - and couldn’t do anything for him. I understand that, but he was particularly upset because of the attitude he got … really, what he wanted was someone to listen to him and offer some kind of suggestion for help, not an immediate scapegoating. My wife, who used to work in customer service, said the first thing you’re taught is to just listen. That said, yesterday this gentleman reached a very nice person at Union Station who helped him out, and he asked for her name so he could recommend her. That’s great - if you have a mixed-bag experience with customer service, make sure to tell the company who helped and who didn’t help, so they know what they’re doing right and wrong, not just what they’re doing wrong.
Bottom line, I still love traveling by Amtrak, but this leg showed how much it can improve if given the resources. We’ll see if high fuel prices and increased demand for mass transit lead to changes in Washington.
Time for ice cream in Cincy. More later.
July 1st, 2008 04:42pm
Thomas V. Bona
Greetings from Charm City.
(I know I promised an entry about our weekend in D.C., but I’ll get to that later.)
I love Baltimore. It’s not flashy or glamorous, but it’s got one of the best baseball stadiums in the country, some great brick buildings, yummy seafood, a great newspaper and a general working-class feel that reminds me of my roots in the Bronx (the working-class feel, that is, not the seafood).
We came in via MARC’s commuter rail, which shares tracks with Amtrak from DC to Baltimore. Like most east coast commuter rail trains, it was tighter than Metra in Chicagoland … of course, we took up three seats to fit us and our luggage, so we were part of the problem. You can buy tickets on the Amtrak machines, and I think there’s some kind of reciprocity between the two train lines, sort of like what Amtrak does in California.
Baltimore’s Penn Station is more in line with the great stations in the east coast - it’s not as grand or commercially active as Washington Union Station, but it’s got some nice architecture and a few shops. We’ll spend more time there tomorrow when we have an 9 am Amtrak towards Cincy.
So we continued our trend of rain delays, with a 30 minute wait at Camden Yards, but then the game went all the way through (despite drizzle much of the last few innings). The game went into extra frames, so we got two innings of free ball (and went downstairs to some box seats for that segment). We had so much fun that today, we went on a tour of the ballpark and got box seats for tonight’s game. Rain is not forecast, but we’re sure it will come.
The tour was great, and I learned a few things. For example, lauded architecture firm HOK apparently first proposed a multiuse stadium with a possible dome. Thankfully, the O’s ownership pushed for a special old-time ballpark that ushered in an era of great ballparks. Also, they made a great call restoring the old B&O Railroad warehouse … it apparently took as long to hand wash each brick as it did to restore the inside of the building.
Baltimore is interesting transportationwise: it has a subway, bus lines, Amtrak, commuter rail, inner city light rail and “water taxis” around the inner harbor. We took the light rail, which was … interesting. You have to buy farecards on the street in machines like Chicago’s El, etc. But the machine took my money and didn’t process my transaction, then basically shut down, so I moved to another machine and effectively paid twice for one trip.
To add insult to injury, no one even scanned or swiped my fare card on the light rail. Apparently you get on the train and maaaaybe someone asks for your card. There are signs up that require proof of ticket. But it’s at least sometimes the honor system.
I do like light rail, and it’s quicker and cooler than bus, but I’m not sure how practical it is for cities. Especially when they don’t check for tickets.
One last word - the crab cakes are as adveritsed, especially at Faidley’s in Lexington Market, one of those great places that has a huge reputation and draws people from all over, but isn’t a tourist trap. And it’s near to Harbor City Bake Shoppe, with delectable honey dipped glazed donuts.
OK, that’s enough for now. More on the capital later; and when I wrap up this trip I’ll run down highlights from the ballparks and our hotel stays. Even though this is a transportation blog.
June 30th, 2008 09:31am
Thomas V. Bona
Playing catchup here as we’ve done nothing but run around since coming to the capital Friday evening.
For those of you worrying, yes we got a complete ballgame in on Saturday. But it did have a rain delay. Of course it did. The weather is supposed to be fine tonight in Baltimore, but I’ll believe it when I see it.
More later on our weekend in DC, but, again, this *is* a transportation blog so here’s some takeaways from the Amtrak trip from Pittsburgh to DC:
Train: Capitol Limited, train 30
Departed: Pittsburgh, approx 7:40 a.m. (scheduled 5:45 a.m.)
Arrived: D.C., approx 4 p.m. (scheduled 1:30 p.m.) This is according to independent site AmtrakDelays.com
Note: We were booked on the 7:20 am Pennsylvanian to Philly, transferring to DC, so we could avoid the ridiculously early Capitol Limited. But when we got to the station, the Cap Ltd was running late, so we asked and were able to change our tickets. Good thing too…
Positives:
- The friendly and helpful staff, such as the Pittsburgh agent who changed our tickets and the various conducters and train personnel.
- Because it’s a long-haul train, it has a ridiculous amount of legroom in coach compared with airplanes. Seats also had legrests and reclined enough to be quite comfortable (and because of the legroom, you weren’t cramping the person behind you).
- Unlike the Pennsylvanian, this one had a dining car. The food wasn’t stellar but the community seating is always a plus for me. We had a great time talking to a couple of women, one from Michigan and one from Virginia, about tourism and travel experiences.
- This train also had a second-level sightseeing lounge for great views of the Cumberland area, Harpers Landing and other pretty spots. Also, a great location for more random conversation with people, including a gentleman from Montana distantly related to one of my college friends. Small world.
- Upon arrival to D.C., I was debating which Union Station I liked more, the capital’s or Chicago’s. Oh man, I forgot how nice Washington Union Station is, with its restored architecture and great mix of stores and services. This is actually my favorite Amtrak station, though I’m still a Grand Central fan for overall train stations. But here’s a tip - the “New York style pizza” in the food court is only marginally authentic.
Negatives:
- As always, the unreliability of Amtrak’s long-haul routes is the biggest problem. Amtrak doesn’t own its tracks, instead using Norfolk Southern and CSX lines. The big causes of delays on the route are freight trains clogging the tracks and signal problems. It’s something I know Amtrak is working on as it tries to get more power with the freight companies to keep its schedule.
- That said, it’s even more annoying to hear people complain loudly about the delays, saying “They don’t know how to run a train.” I feel like giving everyone who says something like that a card that says “call your Congressman” because it’s the relative lack of funding over the years that has given Amtrak infrastructure that doesn’t serve it well. We’re never going to get great intercity passenger service without funding it.
- I won’t harp on the food because, well, what do you expect from any train, plane or rest stop? But the servers were a bit overwhelmed and one made several mistakes taking orders that rankled some fellow passengers.
- As I hinted in the Detroit post, I wish Amtrak had the funding for nicer stations in more places. They do a great job when they can - Washington, Milwaukee, etc - but the Pittsburgh station was a sad place. Here’s hoping, should Illinois lawmakers get a capital plan approved, the new stations that get built in northern Illinois really shine. I know they’ll be simple, but nice new train stations could add to communities.
So, more positives than negatives, and most of the negatives were out of Amtrak’s control. If you have a liesurely schedule and can afford a late train and a slower trip than the plane, I recommend Amtrak. You’ll be comfortable, meet interesting people and see some great places.
More on the capital tonight…
June 26th, 2008 10:44pm
Thomas V. Bona
Greetings from Pittsburgh, where I just saw two innings of fine baseball before the storms came. That, coupled with a long rain delay last night in Detroit that we couldn’t wait out, means we’ve seen less than seven innings in two days. Our train trip from Chicago to Detroit was longer than the baseball we’ve seen!
But this is a transportation blog, not a sports one, so here are some fun stories from the road so far:
- Union Station in Chicago is no Grand Central, but it’s a good enough facility with plenty of concession options, and the Amtrak folks get you through quickly. I look forward to the Blackhawk line returning, though, so we can get into the Amtrak system directly from Rockford.
- The train got to Detroit on time - thanks Norfolk Southern for not screwing with it! - but that just meant we had to wait longer in the Detroit station for our friend to pick us up. Unlike the once-grand Michigan Central Station it replaced, the current Amtrak station is small and simple. They keep it up well - only the bathrooms look 20 years old - but it’s basically a glorified bus station.
- Comerica Park, which replaced the venerable Tiger Stadium, is, on the other hand, a very nice facility with some great features (beautiful tiger statues everywhere, and statues of human Tiger greats like Hammerin Hank Greenberg as well). Yeah, it’s not the original, but it’s another in a line of great new ballparks.
- Here’s a tip. If your car shudders to a stop in the middle of downtown Detroit at night and you can’t restart it, don’t panic. Calmly check the shifter to see if the car happens to still be in drive. Amazing what happens when you put it in park before restarting (this happened to our friend, but I’ve had similar experiences before!).
- The Ohio Turnpike has the best rest stops I’ve seen with great brick facades, lots of nature light and quality eateries. It makes the otherwise boring drive bearable.
- Pittsburgh is an utterly beautiful city with an utterly beautiful ballpark. I would write more about it, but its weather patterns have totally thrown my schedule off and I have an early train to catch.
I’ll check in in a couple days.
June 20th, 2008 06:38pm
Thomas V. Bona
Let’s make this quick (courtesy of AAA’s fuelgaugereport.com):Gasoline: Rockford dropped almost a cent to $4.04 a gallon, an almost 10 cent drop since June 12 and the lowest price since May. We’re still seventh in the state in gas prices. But the state average increased almost a cent to $4.15 a gallon. The national average increased a fraction of a cent today to $4.08. Illinois now has the ninth-highest gas prices in the nation.
Diesel: Rockford rose almost a cent today to $4.80, sending us back up to second in the state. The state average increased a fraction of a cent to remain at $4.80 a gallon. The national average dropped a fraction of a cent to remain at $4.79 a gallon. Illinois has the 19th-highest prices in the country (including the District of Columbia).
June 19th, 2008 11:27am
Thomas V. Bona
Perhaps its fitting that as I’m sitting here in Rockford with a group of Chinese business and government leaders, its news out of China that’s causing a drop in oil prices. The government is raising the price of gasoline, diesel and aviation fuel by 8 percent Friday, the first increase since November. That could lead to a curbing of demand in the growing economic power, as China follows other Asian nations in raising prices recently. Oil prices have dropped $3 so far today. Let’s see if it keeps going.
(By the way, shout out to blogger and businessman extraordinaire Bob Trojan, sitting next to me here with the Chinese delegation.)
On to the prices (courtesy of AAA’s fuelgaugereport.com)
Gasoline: Rockford fell another two cents to $4.05 a gallon, an almost nine cent drop in the last week. We’re still seventh in the state in gas prices. The state average dropped almost a cent to $4.14 a gallon. The national average dropped a fraction of a cent today to $4.07. Illinois now has the tenth-highest gas prices in the nation.
Diesel: Rockford dropped more than a cent today to $4.79. We’ve dipped to the fourth-highest diesel prices in the state. The state average dropped a fraction of a cent to $4.80 a gallon. The national average dropped a fraction of a cent to remain at $4.79 a gallon. Illinois has the 19th-highest prices in the country (including the District of Columbia).
June 18th, 2008 11:22am
Thomas V. Bona
The slow slide continues for the sixth straight day, and there are reports from coworkers and from IllinoisGasPrices.com that a few places in Rockford have dipped to $3.99.
It’s worth noting that this time last year was when gas prices slid from the $3.40s in late May to $3.14 in mid-June to as low as the $2.80s in fall before rebounding. But with oil prices still way higher than a year ago, don’t expect that kind of extreme drop until something changes in the market.
(Prices courtesy of AAA’s fuelgaugereport.com)
Gasoline: Rockford less than a cent to $4.07 a gallon, an almost seven cent drop in the last week and the lowest price since June 8. We’re back up to seventh in the state in gas prices. The state average dropped less than a cent to just under $4.15 a gallon. The national average dropped a fraction of a cent today to remain at $4.08. Illinois still has the ninth-highest gas prices in the nation.
Diesel: Rockford increased more than a cent today to $4.81, less than six cents behind the record set May 30. We’re back up to the second-highest diesel prices in the state. The state average increased a fraction to $4.81 a gallon. The national average dropped a fraction of a cent to $4.79 a gallon. Illinois has the 19th-highest prices in the country (including the District of Columbia).
June 17th, 2008 12:58pm
Thomas V. Bona
Gas prices slide in Rockford for the fifth straight day, and oil prices fell back from yesterday’s record. Can the meager good news continue?
(Prices courtesy of AAA’s fuelgaugereport.com)
Gasoline: Rockford dropped almost a cent to just under $4.08 a gallon, more than six cents less than it was Thursday and the lowest level since June 8. We’re now ninth in the state in gas prices, and the calls that we’re overpaying compared to others have mysteriously disappeared. The state average dropped less than a cent to $4.15 a gallon. The national average dropped a fraction of a cent today to remain at $4.08. Illinois still has the ninth-highest gas prices in the nation.
Diesel: Rockford dropped almost a cent today to $4.79, seven cents behind the record set May 30. We have the third-highest diesel prices in the state, dipping behind Quincy ($4.80). The state average dropped half a cent to $4.80 a gallon. The national average dropped a fraction of a cent to stay at $4.80 a gallon. Illinois has the 19th-highest prices in the country (including the District of Columbia).
June 16th, 2008 06:54pm
Thomas V. Bona
(Kudos to the Tri-City Herald in Washington for the heads up on this)
Allegiant Air was one of only six U.S. airlines to turn a profit in the first quarter, according to a report issued by the U.S. Bureau of Transportation Statistics today. Not only did it turn a profit, but it was tied with the biggest operating profit margin: 8.1 percent of its income. So basically, it took an 8 percent surplus while all the legacy carriers lost money. All while charging less per mile for tickets than any other airline.
This despite the fact that fuel made up 54 percent of Allegiant’s operating costs, more than any other airline. But they do a great job keeping other costs down. It costs them 9.6 cents a seat for every available seat mile (behind only JetBlue). Compare that to the legacies, which spend 13 to 17 cents per ASM (on wages, benefits, equipment, maintenance and over overhead costs).
Meanwhile, Allegiant made 10.4 cents per available seat mile, more than any other low-cost carrier (though less than the legacies and regional carriers).Instead of making money on fares, though, it really makes its money on what you buy when you’re on the plane (food, drinks, trinkets) and on the vacation packages you book with Allegiant’s partner hotels, car rental companies and entertainment venues.
Allegiant has been cutting its long-haul, fuel guzzling routes in favor of shorter ones - dipping its average route length to under 900 miles last month - because it take in almost as much of that “ancillary revenue” on the shorter routes. So revenues don’t drop much, but costs do. That gives the airline the profit to add flights where it sees the best bang for its buck.
Of course, this model has been somewhat bad news for Chicago Rockford International Airport, which is among the farthest away from any of Allegiant’s destination cities. That means we’ve seen periodic cuts in service as fuel prices have taken off. We have a harder case to make to keep service - Rockford’s Allegiant flights have to make more money than “competitor” cities that are closer to Allegiant destinations to offest higher fuel prices.
Luckily, we’ve done so on our Phoenix/Mesa, Ariz., route, which returns this fall, and our continuing service to Orlando/Sanford, Fla., St. Petersburg/Clearwater, Fla., and Las Vegas.
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