I've been looking into coming back to Williston to visit my family this summer and have done some research on the cost of travel that I thought was pretty interesting.
1. The cost of gasoline has obviously skyrocketed over the year ($4.16 here), thus driving back to Williston would become very costly for us.
2. The cost of air travel has skyrocketed over the year due to the increase in oil prices trickling down to the consumer through increased fares, decreased routes, new baggage costs, and fuel surcharges.
3. The cost of Amtrak has remained stable for atleast the past 3 years regardless of oil price.
I know that the Amtrak station in town has seen debates over closure so this makes another great arguement to keep that stop open. I love train travel... it's cheaper than driving, no forced security checks to abide to, and you get to meet all sorts of interesting people.
Uhhh...I think I see where you are going....would the answer be government subsidies?
Of course the EAS Program for airline connections gets help also. This certainly makes for a good topic for discussion with all kinds of branches and fingers..
That is neither here nor there however, and I think the AMTRAK Rail Service serves a need. After she finished her Masters in Grand Forks, my wife worked in Fargo for 5 years; as a direct result, I became a firm believer in riding the rails. It is actually quite enjoyable if you are not in a big hurry.
I think it's starting to affect it. My uncle and aunt were going to take the train from California to Williston. He checked on prices last week and this week he checked again and the price had gone up $300-that may be for two tickets but that's quite an increase.
I've been looking into coming back to Williston to visit my family this summer and have done some research on the cost of travel that I thought was pretty interesting.
1. The cost of gasoline has obviously skyrocketed over the year ($4.16 here), thus driving back to Williston would become very costly for us.
2. The cost of air travel has skyrocketed over the year due to the increase in oil prices trickling down to the consumer through increased fares, decreased routes, new baggage costs, and fuel surcharges.
3. The cost of Amtrak has remained stable for atleast the past 3 years regardless of oil price.
I know that the Amtrak station in town has seen debates over closure so this makes another great arguement to keep that stop open. I love train travel... it's cheaper than driving, no forced security checks to abide to, and you get to meet all sorts of interesting people.
