IMAGINE being able to get home without taking a cab to Charlottesville Regional Airport, while getting home in as little as two-thirds of the time it would normally take, without spending the money required to fly. This scenario is entirely plausible given that Charlottesville is in a unique position among many East Coast college towns with an Amtrak station within walking distance of Grounds - just a mile down Main Street. Instead of pouring federal dollars into bailouts of the airline industry, Congress instead should focus on increased subsidies and incentives to create a more competitive passenger rail industry.
Though critical to the American economy, commercial air travel had become less costumer-service focused before Sept. 11. As amenities shrank and profit margins widened, airlines continued to add planes to already-crowded commuter routes and increase daily domestic flights. Companies only faced minor competition within the industry, as travelers were forced to rely on air travel as the only swift and reliable form of transportation between major cities.
After Sept. 11, as legislators debated how much money it would take to bail out an industry crippled by terrorism, accusations arose that this would only exacerbate poor business practices and aid companies that were not performing competitively in the market. Such advocates claimed "corporate Darwinism" would take over and the companies that offered travelers the most for less would dominate the market.
The debate should not end with how to help the airline industry. Passenger rail technology can solve many of these problems more effectively and without heavy public handouts to airline companies. Airline companies constantly are scrambling to accommodate burgeoning demand for flights offered on the hour between Washington, D.C., New York and Boston. This is traffic that easily could be shifted to the Acella bullet train that runs through the three cities.
Air travel has become increasingly less convenient due to increased security measures and delays. Passengers can wait several hours before boarding a plane - significantly decreasing the convenience of flying. The problem is that rail travel in the United States is equally inconvenient. Trains are infrequent and often delayed. Poor ridership encourages high ticket prices, and few cities have centrally-located passenger stations.
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The rail industry is so difficult to sustain in this nation that the government owns Amtrak, the only solvent passenger rail company. Passengers are the least profitable cargo to transport. They are very demanding, refuse to be pushed aside when inconveniences arise, and require welding of seams in the track so that they can sleep on the ride. Coal and automobiles do not demand the same amount of government attention as air travel, yet are given such due to their high profit yield. As a result, independent corporations have abandoned passenger services for decades and grumble over Amtrak's use of their right-of-way.
The government can help. Subsidies to improve rail conditions and to build stations - just as they currently build airports - would make rail travel more appealing. By creating tax breaks on ticket sales, the government can lower ticket prices and artificially spur demand for passenger service. This will drive down the price of air travel due to new competition for a formally monopolized market, making both more affordable.
The government also should subsidize new technology like the magnetic-levitation train being built at Old Dominion University. This could increase the speed of rail service and reduce the appeal of air travel. State governments can help by pumping money into rail travel along urban corridors which would otherwise have been used to subsidize new interstate highway construction. This would help the environment by reducing emissions and congestion between urban centers like Richmond and D.C.
Instead of giving bailouts to the faltering airline industry, Congress should examine existing rail assets and diversify the nation's means of transportation. The terrorist attacks pointed out American dependence on air travel during the grounding. By promoting passenger rail travel, the government will see a more competitive airline industry alongside a new thriving form of transportation. As a bonus, congestion on urban connector highways could be reduced while helping reduce environmentally poisonous nitrous-oxide emissions. The day may come when University students can take a train home for less money and time than flying from Charlottesville Regional. Let's hope it comes sooner than later.
(Preston Lloyd's column appears Tuesdays in The Cavalier Daily. He can be reached at plloyd@cavalierdaily.com.)
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