Transportation

Why Most Northeast U.S. Intercity Travelers Still Drive

The price is just too right.
AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster, File

Last Thanksgiving, just in time for the busiest travel day of the year, I looked at why more people in the crowded Northeast Corridor take trains than planes and submitted as evidence the following charts:

Although both modes have comparable total travel times and prices, train travel involves far more in-vehicle time, which makes taking Amtrak much more productive than taking the air shuttle. By the time you drive to the airport, park the car, go through security, sit on the runway, and reach a comfortable cruising altitude, you have maybe an hour to get anything done. With the train you show up at the platform, find a seat, then open your laptop or phone for the duration.