question

[Webster Tucker]

Ms. Kay Kell from SRRTC, who's the City Manager of Pascagoula,  has been in L.Vegas for a conference, and is supposed to call me sometime this week.  I've decided that I'm gonna try the handicapped passenger angle with her.  Being a pseudo pol she should be a good advocate with the idea thtat Amtrak is violating the Disabled civil rights.  Does anyone have any idea how many people are in the Florida section of the SSL route?  I think throwing out numbers (they love those) about how many people are being disenfranchised might carry a little weight.  Of course, who knows!!  I'll estimate the numbers in Alabama and Miss.  So, as my mother used to say, "we shall see what we shall see!"

BTW, I will be getting in touch with an Advocacy group here in our area Monday, and see what their thoughts on the subject are.

BTW 2 - if y'all think this is the wrong way to go, lemme know before I step in it - again!

Happy Day!

Barbara

 

 

Webster Tucker

web...@earthlink.net

EarthLink Revolves Around You.

 

[Jerry Sullivan]

I can only speak for the times that I rode it.  The train usually left Jacksonville around 80% full in coach, 90%+ in sleeper.  Sunday nights were much heavier in coach, but most of those were students that got off in Tallahassee.  I have ridership reports for 2005, which are low because the train only operated into Florida for 2 days a week from February to mid-May account of a CSX blitz on the PD&A sub., and then there was Katrina at the end of August.  I have lost my printout for 2004 and Amtrak only keeps two years on their website, which is now 2005, 2006.  Obviously we won't know how many got on the Sunset (officially) at locations where more than one train stopped, but from Lake City west, there was only the Sunset.

 

Jerry Sullivan

[Jerry Sullivan]

I don't have 2003 or 2004 data for Alabama, MS, or LA on the route, and now, Amtrak would only have data for 2005 and 2006, but I do have 2003 data for Florida.

 

Here are the ridership figures for Florida Cities served by the Sunset Limited for 2003, 2004, 2005.  Note that Orlando through Jacksonville were also served by Silver Service Trains, while LakeCity through Pensacola were

exclusively served by the Sunset Limited.

 

City/Year               2003              2004             2005     

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Orlando              173,083           164,273           143,852

Sanford                10,729             10,710              9,174 (*)

DeLand                19,285             20,080             19,237

Palatka                  9,721             10,210             11,180

Jacksonville          68,638             70,474             64,089

Lake City              782                703                606

Madison                482                399                362

Tallahassee      3,778             2,888             2,488

Chipley               1,906             1,886             1,424

Crestview           1,578             1,357             1,212

Pensacola           4,531             4,130             3,254

 

Now for the caveats.  In 2003, very little disruption occurred on the SSL route due to maintenance, storms, etc. and to the best of my knowledge the train operated nearly all of it's scheduled trips.  Amtrak does not report any irregularities on their state facts sheet for Florida.

In 2004, the Sunset did not operate 1 trip a week into Florida from February through April because of maintenance work on the M&M subdivision along the Gulf Coast.  The Amtrak fact sheet does not comment on this, but being privy to inside knowledge at CSX, I know this to be true.

In 2005, the Sunset did not operate 1 trip a week into  Florida from February through mid-May, and then was suspended entirely after 8/27/05.  Amtrak's fiscal, or reporting year, ends on Sept. 30 I believe.  Just a casual glance at the date comparing the three years, would indicate to me that the Sunset was on target in 2005 to equal or exceed ridership in 2004 west of Jacksonville and probably would have been close to 2005.  Note also that in fiscal year 2005 (when I made two trips, 11/04 and 7/05) a sleeper was cut from the consist between my two trips which would have reduced capacity by approx. 40 persons.  Since then at least one coach has been removed also.  This train was never advertised or marketed in any meaningful fashion, yet ridership was good.

 

Jerry Sullivan

----- Original Message -----

From: Webster Tucker

To: sunset-u...@googlegroups.com

Sent: Saturday, October 27, 2007 11:27 AM

Subject: [Sunset Un-Limited] question

[Howard Bingham]

Wonder if agents at Amtrak stations (Including "former" agents, would
have any idea as to how many passengers requested the "Accessible"
(Mobility impaired) facilities on the SSL..?

I'll touch base with one of our contacts in Texas to see if any
records are kept as to how many passengers request the service, and
IF Amtrak actually keeps records of the numbers over a given time frame..

Howard Bingham

---

>----- Original Message -----
>From: <mailto:web...@earthlink.net>Webster Tucker
>To:
><mailto:sunset-u...@googlegroups.com>sunset-u...@googlegroups.com
>Sent: Saturday, October 27, 2007 11:27 AM
>Subject: [Sunset Un-Limited] question
>
>Ms. Kay Kell from SRRTC, who's the City Manager of Pascagoula, has
>been in L.Vegas for a conference, and is supposed to call me
>sometime this week. I've decided that I'm gonna try the handicapped
>passenger angle with her. Being a pseudo pol she should be a good
>advocate with the idea thtat Amtrak is violating the Disabled civil
>rights. Does anyone have any idea how many people are in the
>Florida section of the SSL route? I think throwing out numbers
>(they love those) about how many people are being disenfranchised
>might carry a little weight. Of course, who knows!! I'll estimate
>the numbers in Alabama and Miss. So, as my mother used to say, "we
>shall see what we shall see!"
>BTW, I will be getting in touch with an Advocacy group here in our
>area Monday, and see what their thoughts on the subject are.
>BTW 2 - if y'all think this is the wrong way to go, lemme know
>before I step in it - again!
>Happy Day!
>Barbara
>
>
>Webster Tucker

><mailto:web...@earthlink.net>web...@earthlink.net
>EarthLink Revolves Around You.
>
--

[Jerry Sullivan]

Howard,

Another issue that came up when I had to cancel my trip on the SilverStar
today with my club was this. Just from curiosity I asked the agent if she
was still getting requests for tickets to points east of NewOrleans, and she
said yes, several, i.e. on the Sunset route. So I wonder if they keep any
kind of record as to requests for tickets to truncated locations? Naturally
we must protect our sources.

Jerry Sullivan

[Howard Bingham]

I just got an e-mail reply from Joy Smith who is Amtrak supervisor in
Texas & she indicated that no record is kept on the numbers of
disabled passengers requesting the accessible accommodations (Sleeper
or coach Superliner)..

Aparently the only indication of use would be requests for lower
level accommodations & that would include the family & coach
accommodations, no split in the records to indicate usage of
accessible facilities..

Howard Bingham

---

><mailto:web...@earthlink.net>web...@earthlink.net
>EarthLink Revolves Around You.
>

[Webster Tucker]

Well, I hate to be skeptical but it just doesn't make sense to me that they
wouldn't have that info. When you make a reservation you specifically ask
for coach, business class, first class, sleeping car service, and if you
have special needs you have to give them 72 hours advance notice, and they
prefer that you make your reservatons as much in advance as possible. I
don't know but I'm sure they can tell you how many coach, first class and
sleeping car accommodations are made, and since there has to be that much
advance notice for special needs, I would think they'd have some idea of
the numbers they serve.
Barbara

> [Original Message]
> From: Howard Bingham <how...@hal-pc.org>

[Webster Tucker]

This has absolutely nothing to do with anything, but I received a copy of the "Transportation Energy Data Book", 26th Edition, by the Dept. of Energy, the other day.  As you can imagine it's full of numbers, statistics, etc.  I'm not that kind of person, numbers that is, so if anyone wants it lemme know.  I got on some website, Lordy, I can't even remember which one, and it (the book) was offered free, so what the heck, I never turn down anything free, so now it's here and I have no use for it.  Oh well!

Barbara

 

 

Webster Tucker

[Webster Tucker]

Jerry, et al, your Florida senators voted "yea" on Bill 294, was wondering what the underlying motive for the "change of heart" is?  There must be one! 

I think Sen. Shelby from Alabama didn't have a clue what he was voting on since he also cast a "yea"!

It seems that all Senators that represent the SSL group voted "yea" except Georgia - and I see they're both Repubs.  Louisiana was 50/50.  Arizona was 1 "nay" and the other NV.

Think we should email them with our thanks, even if some of us have to bite our tongues and cross our fingers behind our backs!!

[Jerry Sullivan]

Nelson is usually Pro-Amtrak, being he is a Democrat.  Martinez got a lot of phone calls on the issue and I suspect he voted for it because it is in essence just a gesture.  Don't put too much weight on a authorization bill because:

1.  No real money involved

2.  Merely sets a cap on moneys that can be appropriated, does not mean those amounts will be honored.

 

Therefore Martinez probably did not feel comfortable with so many phone calls coming in, but on the other hand, he is not really voting for an appropriation at this time either.  When it comes time to appropriate real money, is the time we find out whose loyalty is good, bad, or indifferent.

 

Jerry Sullivan

[Webster Tucker]

Hey y'all, you'd think as old as I am I'd have more info than I apparently do!  If I decided to do a petition about the SSL, are there rules and regulations I'm supposed to follow?  Do I have to ask permission of some entity, or is it just something I put out there for folks to read and act upon, with their yea or nay?  This is what I was thinking might work in this area:

                                      

                                RESTORE THE SUNSET LIMITED T SERVICE!!

 

                                You may have never ridden the Sunset Limited, but there are thousands who

                                        did and are now deprived of that opportunity because of an arbitrary decision

                                        made by the Amtrak Board.  We, the citizens of Mississippi, Alabama, and

                                Florida - all areas east of New Orleans - have been singled out to have NO

                                        train service - period!  Our little section of the USA has been deemed of "no

                                        consequence"!

                                        If you do not agree with the Amtrak Board please sign this petition to have the

                                        Sunset Limited restored to service - FOR US!!

 

How does that sound?  Heavy enough , too much?  Any suggestions will be appreciated.  With the opening of the bridge between Ocean Springs and Biloxi, there should be more opportunities to "get the message" out.

[Jerry Sullivan]

A petition has to be presented to somebody, and my guess is that the Amtrak board would probably just toss it in the trash.  In addition, a petition with a Florida signature on it, would be deemed ignorable by Senator Lott for example.  Therefore petitions have to be worked up within an individual state and sent to Senators, or within an individual congress district and sent to that congressmen to carry any weight.

 

Certainly part of the grassroots campaign that Matt has started in our area, would be to provide such data to the politicians involved which ought to include all levels from Mayor to Senator.  It has been suggested by Amtrak employees in the know (who cannot formerly campaign themselves) that petitions or letters to the Amtrak board about this issue, fall on deaf ears because they are not going to bring this train back, at least as long as the present regime is in power in the WhiteHouse.  It simply had too bright a spotlight on it and so to preserve Amtrak, it was sacrificed.  Those same insiders have indicated over and over that the correct place to put pressure is on the elected representatives, especially congress critters and  Senators.  I would suggest also that as campaign time rolls around, we should be in touch with those coming up for election and let the candidates know our stand on this.  Also work with friends and neighbors to make sure that pro-rail politicians get ours and their votes.  The key is in the ballot box.

 

Jerry Sullivan

----- Original Message -----

From: Webster Tucker

To: sunset-u...@googlegroups.com

Sent: Friday, November 02, 2007 10:34 PM

Subject: [Sunset Un-Limited] question

[Allan Thomas]

Barbara,
Lets address our petitions to our local Senator and House Reps, get
an approved wording, maybe Matt will offer suggestions and find out
when "town hall" meetings are being held and attend. I'll canvas the
merchants around the station in Bay St Louis. Pass out and collect the
petitions to Senator Lott and Represenative Taylor. A copy of Senator
Lotts Nov 1st press release stating his support for long haul trains
couldn't hurt either.
http://lott.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=PressOffice.WeeklyColumn&ContentRecord_id=fcbf0a94-802a-23ad-4ca1-9ad0b0482056
And maybe you and I could attend the town hall meetings with others
from our area to present the politicians the petitions. What do you
think?
Allan

> EarthLink Revolves Around You.- Hide quoted text -
>
> - Show quoted text -

[Dick Friedman]

Can I weigh in here on this. Full trains are indicative of very
little. What they tell ME is that there is unmet demand. Of course
the train is full, it's too short and it runs too seldom.

When the San Joaquin trains were unreserved, demand for service as
evidenced by full trains resulted in more trains. Now that
reservations are required "to balance ridership they say" no trains
have been added, and ridership has grown very slowly, as Amtrak uses
reservations as a cap on passengers.