Changes to Amtrak Hiawatha route could double the cost of your weekly commute
MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- Recent changes to the Amtrak Hiawatha route could have you paying more for your weekly commute.
Effective Nov. 1, 2023, WisDOT announced a new fare schedule for Amtrak Hiawatha Service. These changes included removing the monthly pass that gave passengers unlimited rides for $400.
Many people, like Hartland resident Margie Stelzel, rely on the route to and from their jobs in Chicago.
"I really love the train, and when it was shut down and times were really constricted during COVID, it was such a sad thing," she said on Wednesday, Dec. 13, before catching a train to Chicago at the airport train station.
Amtrak tells CBS 58 Hiawatha is not considered a commuter route but rather an intercity train, because it does not go from a city to a suburb. But passengers like Stelzel disagree.
"If anybody is taking the 6 a.m. or the 8 a.m., it's a commuter line. There are all businesspeople on this line," she said.
According to Amtrak, the reason behind the removal of the monthly passes is a change in post-COVID travel. They claim fewer people used monthly passes. In a statement, they said in part, "While downtown Chicago business traffic has steadily improved since the end of the COVID-19 emergency, it is still quite far from the pre-COVID levels. Likewise, Tuesday-Wednesday-Thursday travel continues to be much higher on morning southbound and evening northbound trains than on the other weekdays. That was not the pre-COVID travel patterns."
However, those who ride the bus regularly feel they do see people riding every day of the week.
"Definitely in the morning, the first two trains that are out, they're very, very busy. I always have to get my pass a couple of days beforehand to make sure I get on it," Stelzel said. "Especially coming back, the 3 and 5 o'clock trains are really busy."
With the changes, riders can still purchase a 10-ride ticket package for $210, boiling down to $21 each way. If you want five round-trips a week, that total would be $840 a month with the 10-ride package, more than double the now-defunct $400 monthly pass. Amtrak also offers sliding fares, another recent change which will give passengers lower prices, ranging from $19 to $31 per ticket during off-peak hours.
Driving is another option people can take, but passengers like Stelzel say they do not like the hassle of taking their car to the Windy City during the workweek.
"Nobody likes driving down to Chicago," she said. "It's just really, super busy. You spend most of your time just sitting there. It's not productive. Lots of construction down there, so I really try to avoid it. I'd rather take the train."
In a statement, WisDOT acknowledged the changes and shared that riders have contacted them about the changes.
"We are working with our Amtrak partners to assess Hiawatha ridership patterns and impacts of the new pricing structure that offers flexible fares based on demand. The new pricing structure announced in November offers some lower fares but also discontinued the monthly pass option. Since the announcement, WisDOT has heard from multiple monthly pass customers and we have been in communication with the customers who reached out to us. We continue to examine the ridership data and continue to look at possible solutions with our partner, Amtrak," WisDOT said.
The new pricing system comes as Governor Evers announced this week that new federal grants will study the expansion of rail service in Wisconsin to Green Bay, Madison and Eau Claire.