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Amtrak Now Offering USA Rail Passes to Americans

Travel Talk

Josh started this discussion 16 years 4 months ago

For reasons they haven't yet explained (and why look a gift horse in the mouth), the officials of Amtrak have just announced that U.S. residents will now be permitted to buy and use the USA Rail Pass. Details for purchase are at tel. 800/872-7245 or at http://tickets.amtrak.com/itd/amtrak/selectpass.

Current prices:

15 days - 8 segments: $389
12 days - 12 segments: $579
45 days - 18 segments: $749

Tickets are available here:
http://tickets.amtrak.com/itd/amtrak/selectpass

Will it be good for hostels? I wonder if Amtrak will do enough promotion to let Americans know about the offer.

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santa klaus

16 years

Where do they make their money?

Exactly where Hostelworld makes it. You book a ride, they get a fee.

The guy who launched it used to live in Germany. Maybe that's where he got the idea.

I think Americans might not be as culturally open to the idea. The idea of sharing a car with strangers probably makes people hesitate.

I doubt that. Quite to the contrary I think. Germans hate to share their room with someone, so I can´t see why they would be more ready to share their car than Americans.

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Josh Hostels

16 years

I doubt that. Quite to the contrary I think. Germans hate to share their room with someone, so I can´t see why they would be more ready to share their car than Americans.

Good point :)

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aboriginalhostel

16 years

I doubt that. Quite to the contrary I think. Germans hate to share their room with someone, so I can´t see why they would be more ready to share their car than Americans.

So can you explain me how carpooling became so popular in Europe, especially in Germany? :confused:

Otherwise IMHO it's a cool idea for the very cheap travels, kinda like hitchhiking with a secured booking and still easily affordable. The drivers are registered to the agency with all their details (no anonymous psychos) also deposit is required and it is yet another way to meet new people. Drivers can make money with it, just like the agency.

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santa klaus

16 years

So can you explain me how carpooling became so popular in Europe, especially in Germany? :confused:

I don´t know, but here is a guess: it only works between cities of a sufficient size with a sufficient amount of traffic between them. It helps if trains are expensive and there is no cheap nation-wide coach network like in the UK. Germany has a lot of these medium-sized cities, expensive trains and no coaches.

When I lived in Berlin, I used these carpooling agencies a lot. I offered seats when I had a car and booked rides when I hadn´t. The only negative experience I ever had was a passenger with a farting dog, but that´s it. The drivers always showed up in time and when I had passengers they were always in time at the meeting point. That is a true German stereotype and essential for this kind of thing.
I remember a ride from Berlin to Munich was 30 Deutschmarks for the driver and 10 for the agency. I had a VW Passat Diesel - if I had only one passenger the 30 DM were enough for the fuel. Most times, I had three passengers and the trip home to Mom was a profit.

I once even booked a ride from Munich to Madrid. We took shifts in driving while the other one slept on the passenger seat, hence we got there much quicker and saved money on an overnight stay in a hostel somewhere in France. The guy invited me to stay in his flat in Madrid - for free. It is indeed a good way to meet new people, or at least have someone to talk to while you drive.

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