Rational Action

A long time ago people wanted to travel long distances quickly and easily. They were sick and tired of walking or using mules or whatever, so they invented this ingeneous device called the train. Trains were wonderful, and everyone loved them.

Then someone really really smart invented the automobile, and the airplane, and the monorail, and the space shuttle. And they were all better than the train.

So why do we still have trains?

As I said yesterday: “It’s easy to forget that Amtrak sucks. Before you get on, you might think, ‘Oh, this isn’t going to suck.’ But then you get on the train and realize, ‘Yeah, Amtrak sucks.’”

We took the Amtrak train from NY-Penn Station to Philadelphia. It cost $52, one way. Taking SEPTA (PA Regional Rail) and NJ Transit on the way back, we spent $17, $34 for the both of us.

Oh, I forgot. Amtrak didn’t have seats for us on the way to Philly, so we had to stand (or, god forbid, sit) in the aisles.

Problems with my argument: Although Amtrak was expensive, all expenses were paid by the Columbia Spectator. And if trains suck so much, how come this entry is about how SEPTA/NJ Transit is better than Amtrak? They’re all train services.

Maybe I’m just trying to say Amtrak is a disaster?

This entry was posted on Saturday, February 14th, 2004 at 2:00 pm and is filed under Rant. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.