Virginia Railway Express riders will soon be able to take Amtrak for less.
Beginning May 2, riders will be able to purchase an Amtrak Step-up ticket for $5, which is half of the current ticket cost. The reduced fares should alleviate crowding on the transit system that last month experienced record ridership, said VRE CEO Dale Zehner.
“This past Friday, the [VRE] Operations Board approved my recommendation to buy down the Step-Up fare. While VRE will still need to pay $10 to Amtrak for every VRE rider on one of its trains…the VRE rider will only pay $5. VRE will pay the rest,” said Zehner.
Covering the cost of the step-up fares is expected to cost VRE $300,000 annually, and is expected to increase Amtrak’s annual ridership by 250 trips per day, up to 60,000 passenger trips per year.
All of the riders are would-be VRE passengers.
In some cases, says Zehner, buying an Amtrak Step-up ticket will actually decrease commute times for some riders.
On March 15, VRE saw record-breaking ridership numbers with 20,573 passenger trips.
