# Do Amtrak connecting buses wait for late trains?



## Sandy McBride (Aug 17, 2013)

I was on a train that was delayed for more than 4 hours. At a stop along the way, the lady sitting next to me asked the conductor if the Amtrak connecting bus would wait for the train. The conductor said that bus had to wait because we were the ONLY train connecting to it. He said 4 passengers from the train were going on that bus.

We pulled into the station 4 hours and 27 minutes behind the schedule. I had no idea what happened to the lady and I sure hope the bus really waited for her and the other three people. I remember her saying the ride on the connecting bus was about 3 hours from the Amtrak station.

I've been on this train before and even experienced a 7-hour delay, thanks to the geniuses at CSX, which owned or operated the freight rail line that Amtrak trains used.

I really can't picture the bus driver waiting 4 to 7 hours for a delayed train... even if they are being paid overtime for it. What happens if the bus is not there when the passengers get off the train?


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## ehbowen (Aug 17, 2013)

If it is an AMTRAK bus (including those operated by other companies but under contract to Amtrak), it will most certainly wait for the train, no matter how late it is. The bus has no other passengers...Amtrak buses, AFAIK, do not accept local passengers (passengers not connecting from a train).

If it is a regularly scheduled Greyhound bus, or a scheduled bus from another bus line, it probably will not wait more than 15-20 minutes or so. The passenger will have to check with the conductor before debarking or call Amtrak to make other arrangements.

Most connecting bus services shown in the timetable are actual Amtrak Thruway buses which will wait.


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## Eric S (Aug 17, 2013)

I wonder if there would be a benefit in better distinguishing between dedicated Amtrak Thruway services and the regular scheduled services (Greyhound and others) on which Amtrak offers through ticketing. Something like Amtrak Thruway for the regularly scheduled services and maybe AmtrakConnect (which I know is the wi-fi) for dedicated Amtrak buses? Perhaps that would make it easier for passengers to know (and for Amtrak to note) that some connecting services will wait for connecting trains? Then again, maybe that would just further complicate things, having 2 different names.


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## Swadian Hardcore (Aug 17, 2013)

Where was this, exactly? Which train and which bus? Do Amtrak contract drivers get paid overtime for this, or no?


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## AmtrakBlue (Aug 17, 2013)

I would think that if the train was running very late that Amtrak would not even dispatch the buses to the station till closer to the time they would be needed.


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## railiner (Aug 17, 2013)

Swadian Hardcore said:


> Where was this, exactly? Which train and which bus? Do Amtrak contract drivers get paid overtime for this, or no?


The driver's for the Thruway buses are paid by their company, and not Amtrak. What wages they would receive for being delayed waiting for a late train would depend on their labor agreement with their employer, If they went beyond their regular tour of duty, I am sure they would be compensated some way for their time.

What extra the contracted bus carrier would receive from Amtrak for waiting for a delayed train, again, would depend on the contract between the carrier and Amtrak...


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## the_traveler (Aug 17, 2013)

A dedicated Amtrak Thruway bus carries only connecting Amtrak passengers. So even if it did leave "on time" when the train was late, there would be no passengers on the bus. And then when the train finally arrives (say) 4 hours later, they would have to send another bus for those passengers. So yes, a dedicated bus will wait for the late train.

And in the schedules, the non-dedicated buses are notated. If it says "Greyhound", "_____ Trailways" or some other company, it is not a dedicated Amtrak Thruway bus.


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## GG-1 (Aug 17, 2013)

Aloha

There is one issue that a late train would have on a connecting buss. Bus drivers also have PUC rules about hours of service, both on duty, and time driving. I no longer know the times but a professional drive can also "Time Out"


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## benjibear (Aug 17, 2013)

I would think whoever Amtrak contracts with would watch the actual time the train would arrive. The bus driver would still need to meet the hours of service laws.


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## Swadian Hardcore (Aug 18, 2013)

railiner said:


> Swadian Hardcore said:
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What if the train is so late that the driver goes over the maximum duty time of 15 hours?


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## Eric S (Aug 18, 2013)

the_traveler said:


> And in the schedules, the non-dedicated buses are notated. If it says "Greyhound", "_____ Trailways" or some other company, it is not a dedicated Amtrak Thruway bus.


True, it is noted in some/most of the schedules, but not all. It seems to be noted in the schedules that are separate boxes from trains, while not noted (or not always noted) when the buses are listed in the same schedule box as trains. (Not sure that makes sense.)

But, (a) how many passengers even notice that small note (who operates the service) and (b) of those who do notice it, how many understand the distinction (between dedicated Amtrak services and regularly scheduled services with through-ticketing).


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## railiner (Aug 18, 2013)

Swadian Hardcore said:


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If the train is known to be running very late in advance, sometimes they can release a driver from 'On Duty-Not Driving' status, to 'Off-Duty'. And then the 'clock' stops counting until such time as he is told to return to duty. The motor carrier hours of service law is somewhat flexible....the 15 hours limit can be stretched out if the driver is released from duty at various times along the way. That is the only way driver's can perform long-day charters, shuttling his group around from early morning until late night, without having to take a full eight hours rest along the way.....

If the driver is held on duty, because the train ETA keeps 'falling down', sort of nickel and dime style, then yes, he can run out of hours, and another driver will need to replace him. Most driver's hours are scheduled to make allowances for late trains, so as not to cut it too close. A creative dispatcher can find all kinds of ways to work around the problem, including swapping run assignments with other drivers as an example.


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## Swadian Hardcore (Aug 18, 2013)

railiner said:


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Thanks, Railiner. You know when those Greyhound drivers get to the limit and strand their passengers in the middle-of-nowhere? That's so many complaints about that. I wonder what Amtrak crews do when they run out of hours.


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## Sandy McBride (Aug 18, 2013)

speaking from personal experience... when the Amtrak train is REALLY late(as in 5 hours or more),

those dedicated bus drivers get very grouchy.... can't really blame them... sitting around the Amtrak

parking lot is no fun. 

too bad the blame was with CSX...


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## railiner (Aug 18, 2013)

Swadian Hardcore said:


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In my many years in the business, I have very rarely heard of a driver running out of hours, out on the road, with no relief readily available....once in a while in extreme weather conditions, but in those situations, drivers can legally work an additional couple of hours to get to a safe relief point (they can never be dispatched however, from a terminal planning to use those extra hours....). Where have you seen 'so many complaints about that'? I certainly haven't heard any....other than shortage of rested drivers to take passengers from terminals.....different then stranding them on the road....

In the case of Amtrak crews....when they reach their limit, they must stop the train where it is, and await a relief crew.....they are supposed to notify the dispatcher of their impending limit with sufficient time to get the train into at least a siding if possible, to not tie up a main track......


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## fairviewroad (Aug 19, 2013)

ehbowen said:


> ..Amtrak buses, AFAIK, do not accept local passengers (passengers not connecting from a train).





the_traveler said:


> A dedicated Amtrak Thruway bus carries only connecting Amtrak passengers. So even if it did leave "on time" when the train was late, there would be no passengers on the bus.


Actually, in the Pacific Northwest there are Amtrak Thruway buses that accept non-connecting passengers. All of the Thruway bus service from Seattle

north to VAC and all of the Thruway service from PDX south to EUG can be booked as a standalone ticket. Generally, the buses are timed for connections

from Cascades trains but the buses do not always wait for those trains as that could inconvenience bus-only passengers.

For instance, on Saturday, train 501 had a locomotive break down south of Longview and was delayed 4 hours into PDX. The connecting bus that normally

leaves PDX 30 minutes after 501 arrives left on time and didn't wait for 501 to show up, since presumably there were passengers already in PDX. (some of

whom were probably connecting from the EB and some of whom were "local" passengers...the point being you can book that ticket as a standalone ticket).

But since this is a corridor with reasonably frequent service, there was a later Thruway bus that could accommodate passengers from the very-late 501.

The point being, it's an over-simplification to say that a dedicated Thruway bus will wait for a late train on all occasions.


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## railiner (Aug 19, 2013)

fairviewroad said:


> ehbowen said:
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There is another possible reason for the Thruway bus(es) to leave 'on time', before their connection train arrives.....the bus may need to be in position for an on time return trip departure, so as to make the return trip train connection. In such a case, the late train passengers can either be accommodated on the next connection, as mentioned, or some alternate arrangement which could be another bus or perhaps only some livery service if traffic is light enough.....


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## Swadian Hardcore (Aug 19, 2013)

railiner said:


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Looks like Amtrak does the smae thing as Greyhound. I saw a guy repeatedly ranting on Yahoo! Answers about being standed by a Greyhound driver who ran out of hours. He said, "Look it up, it happens a lot." Yeah, right.

I guess it coudl be possible out here in the Great Basin desert, where an accident could cause a major traffic jam and no one would be able to take passengers out in time before the driver went dead on the line. Same thing could happen to Amtrak's CZ, especially with the rockslides.

This is why I don't use Yahoo! Answers anymore, excpet for some specialy questions that very few people can answer.


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## BCL (Aug 19, 2013)

railiner said:


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We were almost at that point because we were running late getting to our Greyhound charter when we were coming back from a high school trip to Southern California and would have been over the limit. One driver was threatening to just up and leave his bus parked in the Magic Mountain parking lot. It was hilarious to some degree, since one of my fellow students on our bus was being sarcastic with the bus driver for the entire trip. Our driver actually took it pretty well, and if anyone had a reason to want to quit on this group, it was our driver.

Still - being stuck at a fairly well populated area of Southern California wouldn't have been bad, but I'm not sure where we could have found lodging on such short notice. As it was, we got home at around 5:30 AM about on time. As it was, this was before the time when pretty much everyone had a cell phone (our tour leader had a large Panasonic phone carried on a shoulder strap) and my dad showed up on time.


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