And now, the songs about airlines that didn’t break guitars

Add comment July 15th, 2009

(Thanks to Cranky Flier … more specifically, his Twitter account)

Some songs from people who said their favorite airlines never broke their guitars:

First, Southwest

(”They only give you nuts. They’ve got a lot of guts.”)

Then, WestJet

(Not quite as creative. A commenter says: “The tweet that led to this video said ‘in true WestJet fashion, here’s our take on it’. I agree, true WestJet fashion, ie copying others’ ideas.” Ouch.)

United breaks guitars, but Northwest hammers dulcimers

Add comment July 15th, 2009

We have a new genre of music developing - The Baggage Handler Blues.

First, of course, there was United Breaks Guitars:

Now, someone says Northwest Breaks Dulcimers:

(thanks to @joelchusid for the heads up)

The original is still way better, but I bet more will come. So, what’s next? American Breaks Accordians? Southwest Breaks Synthesizers? Ryanair Breaks Penny Whistles?

Amtrak: Thanks, but we still like our study

3 comments July 15th, 2009

Amtrak stands by its study that says a route through Genoa will be faster, more popular and cost less than a route through Belvidere, despite a competing study by consultants hired by Rockford and Belvidere leaders.

Some comments from Amtrak spokesman Marc Magliari:

1: Where we were provided more specific information, we did not use contingency calculations.
2. We stand behind our schedule estimates, including time allowed for multiple railroad hand-offs on the Metra/UP route (Note - That’s the Belvidere route).  Suggestions about the south and north concourse differences at Amtrak Chicago Union Station are inaccurate.
3. We stand behind the ridership projections and the suggestions about AECOM’s methodology are false.  Population and traffic patterns are indeed in the model.
4. Mitigation costs regarding rail traffic will need to be updated from the 2006 projections, due to rail traffic pattern changes.

The key answers are items 2 and 3, since ridership and travel times are the key contention. Number 4 is interesting in that it could lead to the costs changing but not automatically on the Belvidere route … Canadian National Railway, which owns the Genoa route, has made a number of network changes in Chicago that could lower its costs. Of course, so has Union Pacific, which owns most of the Belvidere route.

The ball’s back in the local folks court. And in the state’s court, as its their ultimate decision. This could be a tough call.

Today’s fuel price musings - Gas keeps getting cheaper

Add comment July 15th, 2009

Prices are in the low $2.50s per gallon around Rockford, even dropping into the $2.40s in spots. Rockford prices have dropped 40 cents since the peak on June 9.

AAA broke out some county-by-county drops in their Chicago region the past month. Here are the biggest drops:

1. Sangamon County - down 51 cents
2. Allen County, Ind. - down 47 cents
3. Winnebago County - down 39 cents
4. Lake County, Ind. - down 39 cents
5. St. Joseph County, Ind. - down 37 cents
6. Porter County, Ind. - down 34 cents
7. Peoria County - down 31 cents
8. Lake County - down 29 cents
9. McLean County - down 29 cents
10. Kane County - down 25 cents
11. Champaign County - down 25 cents

Here are the prices from this morning (courtesy of AAA’s fuelgaugereport.com):

Gasoline: Rockford dropped more than a cent to $2.53 a gallon today. We’re third in the state and tied at 105th of the nation’s 280 metro areas. The Illinois average dropped two cents to $2.60 a gallon. The national average dropped almost two cents to $2.50 a gallon. Illinois has the 13th-highest gas prices in the nation, including the District of Columbia.

Diesel: Rockford increased less than a cent to remain at $2.63 a gallon, a 7-cent drop in the past month. We have the fourth-highest diesel prices in the state. The state average dropped almost a cent to $2.63. The national average dropped almost a cent to $2.56. Illinois has the 14th-highest diesel prices in the country, including the District of Columbia.

What road projects are not in the capital plan

2 comments July 14th, 2009

Some confusion out there on a few projects, so I figured I’d clear it up.

While Winnebago County is getting more than $234 million in major road projects in the next several years, some projects are not in the capital plan:

• Replacing Morgan Street bridge: The $30 million project was already in the Illinois Department of Transportation’s six-year plan announced earlier this year .While there’s talk that the capital plan will prevent diversions from IDOT’s road fund, Morgan Street was already in the plans before yesterday. It’ll happen sometime between 2010 and 2014.
• Rebuilding West State Street: The $20 million project was also on IDOT’s six-year plan, and it’s also scheduled sometime between 2010 and 2014.
• Illinois 2 between Latham Road and Rockton: The estimated $30 million project would complete the new four-lane expressway that the capital plan will start between Latham and Elmwood, but it’s not funded yet. Leaders are looking for sources to do the whole project in the next few years.

Any other long-awaited state projects you wonder about? (Not counting tollway projects, which come from a totally different source.)

Capital plan road projects - which are you most excited about?

Add comment July 13th, 2009

The governor is expected to sign the long-awaited Illinois capital plan today, and it includes some big projects for Winnebago County. We’re working on updating the schedule for those projects,  but I wonder which ones you care the most about. They’re all widening and reconstruction projects:

• Illinois 173 between Illinois 251 in Machesney Park and the Boone County line
• North Main Street (Illinois 2) between Elmwood and Latham in Winnebago County and between Riverside Boulevard and Auburn in Rockford (including a roundabout at Auburn).
• South Main Street (Illinois 2) between Beltline Road and Cedar Street in Rockford.
• Interstate 90 between the Illinois Tollway and the Wisconsin state line.

For me, the North Main Street project would have the biggest effect, because I live near there, but Illinois 173’s retail corridor will really benefit from the investment. I-90 is a short project, but it’ll be key when the tollway is done with its widening project and if Wisconsin widens its stretch to the north.

What are you looking forward to and why?

JetAmerica says it sold out its $9 fares

Add comment July 10th, 2009

Jaunted is reporting that JetAmerica says it has no more $9 fares because they’re all sold out through September.

Which on its face is great for the airline - if it takes off in August as now planned, it’ll have some passengers. But that still begs the question, “Why aren’t you selling tickets more than two months out?” It also begs the question, “Why did you take the reference to $9 fares off your home page?”

OK, the whole thing begs a lot of questions…

Breaking down the cost of Amtrak vs. commuter rail

4 comments July 10th, 2009

Since several people have asked, and I finally got a clear breakdown of the relative costs of the two rail services, I’ll post it to the blog first. A full story on why the region wants both services is coming this weekend on BusinessRockford.com and in Sunday’s newspaper.

Amtrak: The number we’ve been using of late is $60 million to start up. That’s a combination of federal stimulus money and state commitment for operating subsidies. The exact breakdown is unclear right now, but we’ve been told in the past that $30 million is for capital improvements, so the rest might be several years of operating subsidies.

So $30 million is the number to focus on. Here’s what it doesn’t include:

• Train stations: That’s the main local cost for Amtrak. For a bare-bones “warming shelter”, platforms and parking  lots, it would cost $1 to $2 million each for stations in downtown Rockford, Alipine Road and downtown Belvidere. If more money is available, they could be bigger projects.
• Trains: We don’t know how much it will cost to rehabilitate old trains for use on this route. That’s coming from federal stimulus money directly to Amtrak that’s already been announced.
• Work trains, train yard/layover track, etc.: All part of Amtrak’s existing system - though some kind of layover track may have to be built out in Dubuque.

So Amtrak in northern Illinois would cost approximately $30 million or more in federal stimulus funds, an unknown amount of annual state operating subsidies and at least $3 to $6 million in local expense.

Commuter rail: This number thankfully keeps going down. It used to be close to $250 million  in startup costs. Then it dropped to $200 million upon further refinement. Now, it’s more like $185 million. Here’s what that includes:

•  $65 million in rail improvements: If Amtrak happens on the same line, you can pretty much subtract all its investment from this number. So let’s say there’s another $35 million in rail investment for commuter rail. That includes further upgrading rails to handle the higher frequency of commuter trains. It includes more signal improvements and crossing upgrades because of the higher frequency. It also includes two “passing sidings” not included in the Amtrak plan so trains in opposite directions can get around each other.
• $26 million for facilities: Again, whatever’s spent on Amtrak stations would lower this cost. But this includes bigger stations and parking lots for what’s expected to be more traffic. Full buildout would be $3.7 million for a downtown Rockford station, $4.8 million for an Alpine Road station, $2.9 million for a downtown Belvidere station and $4.3 million each for stations in Huntley and Marengo (which those communities would have to find the money for). It also includes upgrades to the Bensenville station and layover tracks for trains to park between runs.
• $41 million for trains and shuttle buses. That includes four locomotives and 18 bilevel cars (like what Metra has), one work train and eight shuttle buses. The idea is that it’s better to own your own trains and contract with an operator rather than renting trains from an operator who can say “oh I need these, you can’t use them anymore”. The shuttle buses would be used to get people to and from the train stations at either end (including a possible bus connection to Chicago Rockford International Airport). That’s how people will get to work in the burbs.
• $11 million in “professional services” - engineering, station design, planning, etc.
• $43 million in contingencies - that’s a 30 percent buffer in case the project goes over budget. Could be less, knock on wood.

These numbers don’t include an annual operating subsidy of about $10 million.

So, yes, commuter rail would cost more than Amtrak because it involves more and bigger stations, more trains and shuttle buses. But it’s not as stark as $30-$60 million vs. $185 million. The smaller Amtrak amount doesn’t include a lot of expenses that are either already paid for or coming from other sources.

The big difference, of course, is that commuter rail could be mostly paid by local dollars, while as little as $3 to $6 million in local money will go towards Amtrak. Those stations may need some kind of bonding on existing revenue streams - though there’s also the possibility of a new low-interest loan program in the federal stimulus package that can help.

Planners hope to get federal stimulus money, federal transportation funds and maybe some state aid to reduce the local commuter rail cost. They’ll also go to the taxpayers with a referendum for some kind of tax increase to fund bonds and operating costs. That’ll likely be in the next year or two. You’ll get your say before commuter rail happens.

Answers to a few other sundry items:

• Metra is probably not coming to Rockford, because local leaders don’t think the Regional Transportation Authority wants to deal with two more counties right now. They have other fish to fry. The leading candidate is expanding the Rockford Mass Transit District, buying our own trains and hiring someone like Metra or Amtrak or another railroad to operate them.
• There are express tracks between Elgin and Bensenville I believe, so our trains could go express between the two stops.
• I’ll try to answer questions about commuting patterns in another post.

To answer one other question - all that I just wrote is why commuter rail will take another two years than Amtrak. It’s the effort of getting a government body to run it, pass a referendum, buy trains and do the further upgrades to stations and tracks. As I’ll report this weekend, local leaders think it’s worth it.

Keep the questions coming!

United broke his guitar, but he’s come out way ahead

Add comment July 9th, 2009

Dave Carroll has made Internet waves with his tale of United Airlines baggage handlers breaking his guitar. It helps that the song is quite good musically (as is the video) … I’m a big fan of that style of music and will have to check it out.

But besides gaining me as a fan, Dave has gained lots of other benefits from the situation. According to The Canadian Press, the video has almost half a million hits and he keeps getting requests around North America to perform. Plus, Taylor Guitars offered to fix the broken guitar and give him a deep discount on his next purchase.

Here’s the best part - “United Airlines called to say they liked the video and wanted to use it as a textbook case on how to handle customer complaints in the future.”

Yet another example of how, in the Internet age, one customer’s complaint can do a lot of damage to a company’s reputation.

EDIT: Here’s an even better roundup of the situation, from USATODAY’s wonderful Today in the Sky blog.

“While we mutually agree this should have been fixed much sooner, Dave’s excellent video provides us with something we can use for training purposes to ensure that all customers receive better service for us,” United spokeswoman Robin Urbanski says to the (Chicago) Sun-Times.

Two airline industry trivia questions (that I got wrong)

4 comments July 9th, 2009

Every week, my wife and a couple of friends play trivia at a local restaurant. Last night, two of the questions were about the airline industry and my team - led my indecision between a couple choices - got them wrong. I am duly embarrassed.

Do you know the answers?

1. What city had the world’s busiest airport in terms of passengers in 2000?

2. What is the world’s oldest airline still in operation?

(no one who was at quiz last night weigh in! I’m looking at you, Ben!)