Are more Mainers opting to take trains over planes this holiday season?
4 min read
Travelers are reconsidering their holiday plans due to concerns over flight disruptions amid the government shutdown. “My dear partner wanted to go to see her sister out in Denver and decided, ‘I’m just going to cancel that.’ There’s too much disruptions, there’s too much cancellations,” said Kathy Amsden, who was waiting to board her bus at the Portland Transportation Center.Amsden is on her way to Logan Airport, where she plans on flying internationally for a family vacation. She says she is less worried about her international flight getting canceled, but has safety concerns. “The safety issues I’ve thought a lot about. Is it safe to fly, given the air traffic control situation and people being tired?”Amtrak said it has noticed a change in ridership, but not solely due to the government shutdown. “As air travel becomes less reliable, more riders are choosing the convenience of rail—a trend that began before the government shutdown and any flight cancellations,” the train service said in a statement.FlixBus, which provides inter-city bus transportation, made similar observations in a statement sent to Maine’s Total Coverage. “Since airline disruptions began earlier this month, we’ve seen steady growth in demand across our network,” FlixBus said. “We expect that trend to continue.”Geoffrey Merrow takes the Downeaster to Boston for sports games and events. He says he is avoiding air travel for now.”It’s just more convenient. You don’t have to stand in security, you can get there right before it boards, and it’s just easier and it’s comfortable,” Merrow said.However, some riders brought up that train travel has its own obstacles. Travelers looking to go beyond the Downeaster’s route have to find their own way to transfer from North Station to South Station and Back Bay Station. It can also end up being just as expensive as plane travel, and in some cases, cost more.”It would depend where I’m going. With a train, you’re a little limited by where you can go when you travel, with flying, you get to go pretty much anywhere you want to go,” Merrow said.Driving is the most popular way of commuting for the holidays, and AAA expects that to be more the case this year. “We expect many travelers are going to opt to drive instead of fly this Thanksgiving, because of everything that’s going on at the airports,” said Dan Goodman with AAA Northern New England. “That means already congested roads are going to be busier.”AAA recommends drivers looking to avoid holiday traffic to try traveling a couple of days before Thanksgiving, and then waiting to drive back home until Sunday.
Travelers are reconsidering their holiday plans due to concerns over flight disruptions amid the government shutdown.
“My dear partner wanted to go to see her sister out in Denver and decided, ‘I’m just going to cancel that.’ There’s too much disruptions, there’s too much cancellations,” said Kathy Amsden, who was waiting to board her bus at the Portland Transportation Center.
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Amsden is on her way to Logan Airport, where she plans on flying internationally for a family vacation. She says she is less worried about her international flight getting canceled, but has safety concerns.
“The safety issues I’ve thought a lot about. Is it safe to fly, given the air traffic control situation and people being tired?”
Amtrak said it has noticed a change in ridership, but not solely due to the government shutdown. “As air travel becomes less reliable, more riders are choosing the convenience of rail—a trend that began before the government shutdown and any flight cancellations,” the train service said in a statement.
FlixBus, which provides inter-city bus transportation, made similar observations in a statement sent to Maine’s Total Coverage. “Since airline disruptions began earlier this month, we’ve seen steady growth in demand across our network,” FlixBus said. “We expect that trend to continue.”
Geoffrey Merrow takes the Downeaster to Boston for sports games and events. He says he is avoiding air travel for now.
“It’s just more convenient. You don’t have to stand in security, you can get there right before it boards, and it’s just easier and it’s comfortable,” Merrow said.
However, some riders brought up that train travel has its own obstacles. Travelers looking to go beyond the Downeaster’s route have to find their own way to transfer from North Station to South Station and Back Bay Station. It can also end up being just as expensive as plane travel, and in some cases, cost more.
“It would depend where I’m going. With a train, you’re a little limited by where you can go when you travel, with flying, you get to go pretty much anywhere you want to go,” Merrow said.
Driving is the most popular way of commuting for the holidays, and AAA expects that to be more the case this year. “We expect many travelers are going to opt to drive instead of fly this Thanksgiving, because of everything that’s going on at the airports,” said Dan Goodman with AAA Northern New England. “That means already congested roads are going to be busier.”
AAA recommends drivers looking to avoid holiday traffic to try traveling a couple of days before Thanksgiving, and then waiting to drive back home until Sunday.
