Passenger Trains > $25,000 for 2 pax in wheelchairs to ride Amtrak CHI-BNL

https://www.npr.org/2020/01/17/797355136/amtrak-asks-two-people-in-wheelchairs-to-pay-25-000-for-a-ride
 
"Amtrak Asks 2 People Who Use Wheelchairs To Pay $25,000 For A Ride"
"It costs just $16 to buy a one-way ticket on the Amtrak train from Chicago to Bloomington, Ill., unless you're the two people who use wheelchairs and tried to buy tickets recently. They were told their tickets will cost not $16 — but $25,000....."

https://www.trainorders.com/discussion/read.php?4,4940598

I faceciously suggested on the Friends of the Southwest Chief FB group that they should have just chartered a PV.  It would have been cheaper.  

YardLimit Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I faceciously suggested on the Friends of the
> Southwest Chief FB group that they should have
> just chartered a PV.  It would have been
> cheaper.  

Until the cost of modifying the private car to accommodate that many people in wheelchairs was factored in....

This very issue was discussed by the Rail Vehicles Access Advisory Committee (RVAAC) during the development of the latest round of ADA standards for pax-rail vehicles. The Committee issued its final report in July of 2015. Amtrak should be well aware of the issue--it had a seat at the table and one of its employees chaired the relevant subcommittee: Onboard Circulation and Seating Subcommittee, Chaired by Mr. Joseph (Blair) Slaughter (representing Amtrak)

Here's a link to the final advisory report on the standards: https://www.access-board.gov/guidelines-and-standards/transportation/vehicles/rail-vehicles-access-advisory-committee/final-report 

The committee discussed "operating practices" when it came to compliance standards involving "removable seats." It bears mentioning that while the requirement would apply to NEW equipment, but note that the committee found that Amtrak's CURRENT fleet has seats that are easily removable. 

Additional Accessible Seating:

For Intercity and High Speed Rail Systems:  The railroad must have a quantity of coaches available (10% of car type fleet) that has seats that are removable as defined below:

1. In each coach exceeding 70 feet in length, at least 6 pairs of seats or a quantity that will allow up to a total of 6 persons using wheelchairs to remain in their wheelchairs shall be removable with advance notice that is commensurate with the agencies’ charter move policy.

 Further discussion:  

"Operational practices are not part of the RVAAC responsibility; however, by requiring removable or convertible seats there is an implied, if not defined, requirement for a provider to offer a seat removal plan and service.  Depending on the mode or the nature of the operation, the impact to the provider could be substantial.  In the absence of a policy for the provision of service, equipping vehicles is irrelevant.  As an example, many, but not all, of Amtrak’s cars use a seat track system that allows for seats to be easily removed but the policy for removing seats for groups has not been consistent.  In the case of Tier II trains, the structural requirements for attaching seats make removing seats especially difficult.  In the case of transit systems where vehicle availability and seat volume is more time-of-day critical, the logistical problems of managing a car with missing seats could dramatically impact the system’s ability to provide its service.  Examples of types of group movements should be reviewed and community and industry input solicited in order to craft more defined language for the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM)." 

So either Amtrak has no "charter move" policy at all to address ADA compliance (nearly 5 years since these standards were developed and discussed in great detail) and thus resorts to an ad hoc method, or it does have a policy that generates an absurd result. Either way, it's not a good look for a company that pulls in around $2.5 billion a year in state and federal subsidy.

Paul Wilson
Arlington, VA