[PRCo] Re: [PRCo]End of a Street car line?

[fwschneider at comcast.net]

It's all a matter of where you are going.  And that is how Bob Rathke started this, John, by comparing parking costs in Manhattan to the train fare.   
 If the destination is the Philadelphia Airport for two weeks abroad, the taxi fare to the Lancaster station, the Amtrak fare to Philadelphia, and the INEPTA fare to the airport is one-sixth of just the cost of the parking charge at the Philadelphia airport.  It is about 1/11th of the total driving cost to the airport in Philaelphia.  Sure as God made green apples, I'm not driving to the Philadelphia airport to catch a plane.

If I were going to Newark, NJ for the day, I would probably drive because I could find some place to park the car on the street or in a parking lot for $25.   But if I were driving to Newark to catch a plane, then I would seriously consider the train to the monorail to the airport.   Or I might, as I've done before, use rental cars.   They're cheaper than the parking fees and a lot easier than hauling suitcases on a train.  

If I were going to the Philadelphia Art Museum, I might drive because they have their own parking lot.   If, however, it was the last day of a major exhibit at the art museum, I would probably take the train knowing full well that I couldn't get into the art museum lot.   

If I were going to Manhattan?   Only a fool or the uneducated drives a car into Manhattan and parks it there.  A flight out of Kennedy Airport?   Well, there is a limo service from Lancaster to Kennedy but I've successfully managed to avoid that airport for most flights over the last two decades.   

Working at the Baltimore Streetcar Museum?   I can make it from home to the museum in 85 to 95 minutes.   If I had to use public transportation, it would take three and a half hours each way spread over two or three days.  The only possible route is through Philadelphia.   

Working at the Pennsylvania Trolley Museum?  Well, that's about a four to four and a half hour drive.   By public transportation?   Well, there is a train from Lancaster to Pittsburgh and some sort of rudimentary bus service from Pittsburgh to Meadowlands and then a two-mile walk.   Sort of a no-brainer, isn't it?   

And why would I want to invest in a SEPTA ten trip ticket?  That is like giving the turnpike commission my money in advance for tolls so I can use Easy Pass and so that they can furlough employees.   
-------------- Original message -------------- 
From: John Swindler <j_swindler at hotmail.com> 

> 
> 
> Fred could also purchase a SEPTA ten-trip senior citizen ticket for $8.50 unless 
> he prefers Amtrak from Lancaster. 
>