Amtrak: Our Discount Bus-Level Fares Have Nothing To Do With Discount Buses

Amtrak is in the midst of a three-day sale for northeast corridor travel. No big deal, according to Amtrak spokesman Cliff Coles, who said the railroad has been holding such sales for a year now. But what caught our eye were the Chinatown Bus-like prices: $29 for Washington, D.C., or Baltimore to New York; $19 for Washington, D.C., to Richmond, Virginia<strong> </strong>. The fares are valid for travel May 10, to May 26. That raises the obvious question of whether Amtrak is responding to competitive pressure from inter-city buses, which a <a href="http://las.depaul.edu/chaddick/docs/Docs/2010_Intercity_Bus_Study_12-29.pdf">DePaul University study</a> says grew by six percent nationwide in 2010.