• Throwaway@lemm.ee
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    2
    arrow-down
    7
    ·
    edit-2
    6 months ago

    Right now, the federal government pays for Amtrak, along with a few ticket sales and whatnot. They got 66 billion dollars last year from the feds. Private companies simply couldn’t afford to run passenger rail, it’s just not profitable when airlines and the highway system exist. Hell, the rail companies struggle to compete with trucks on freight.

    Edit: Got curious. In 2020, Amtrak ran 16.8 million passengers. They effectively got paid 3928 dollars per passenger, not including the cost to the passengers themselves.

    • tsonfeir@lemm.ee
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      2
      arrow-down
      2
      ·
      edit-2
      6 months ago

      I’m not sure the moderator of a right-wing propaganda community on lemm.ee is really the right person to be talking about how something shouldn’t be because it isn’t “profitable” for private companies.