Disability Discount

[joelkfla]

Everyone says that the disability discount applies only to the rail fare portion of a sleeper fare, not the accommodations charge. I've discovered that this is true for normal rooms, but the discount applies to both the rail fare and the accommodations charge for qualified occupants of the Accessible Bedroom.

I checked fares on the Silver Meteor between MIA & NYP, and also between ORL & WAS, on a day when the Roomette is at the lowest bucket. I checked for an Adult, a Senior, a Disabled Passenger in a Roomette (no wheeled mobility device), and a Disabled Passenger in the Accessible Bedroom.



Looking between MIA & NYP (because we know the fare buckets), the discount on a Roomette for both the Senior and the Disabled is $21, which is 10% of the middle bucket rail fare on niemi24s' latest chart, as expected. But the discount on the Accessible Room is $49, exactly 10% of the complete full Roomette fare.

 

[JoshP]

Since I am disabled and if you request roomette, you are automatically can be upgraded to Accessible bedroom for no extra charge only on the new VII cars but I'm not sure about the Superliner ones. Anyone can confirm that?

Amtrak only requires 2 weeks in advance for public but for disability, you can request within 7 days in advance. I've done that before.

 

[Ryan]

I'm not sure why you have the notion that there is a difference between the rates concerning the accessible bedroom (particularly on trains that mix VLI and VLII. Their website is pretty clear:

Up until 14 days prior to the departure of each train from its origin city, reservations for accessible bedrooms may be made only for passengers with a disability who travel with a wheeled mobility device.

Passengers booking an accessible bedroom accommodation will be required to certify that they require one or more of the accessible features of the accessible room accommodation in order to book and receive the discount. Passengers are not required to indicate the type of disability they have but only that they require the accessible features due to a disability. Conductors on trains with accessible room accommodations will provide a self-certification form to be completed by the passenger.

If one qualifies for that room, it's been sold at the roomette rate for at least a decade (and probably much longer - certainly long before VLIIs were even ordered).

I also have no idea what you're rambling on about 7 day notice. If one qualifies, one can book the room as soon as bookings are open. Two weeks comes into the equation if one doesn't qualify for the room:

Within 14 days prior to a train departure from its origin city, and if all other Bedroom and Family bedrooms have been reserved, accessible bedroom are made available to all passengers on a first-come, first-served basis. For this reason, we urge you to make your reservations as far in advance of travel as possible.

 

[joelkfla]

I'm not sure why you have the notion that there is a difference between the rates concerning the accessible bedroom (particularly on trains that mix VLI and VLII. Their website is pretty clear:



If one qualifies for that room, it's been sold at the roomette rate for at least a decade (and probably much longer - certainly long before VLIIs were even ordered).

I also have no idea what you're rambling on about 7 day notice. If one qualifies, one can book the room as soon as bookings are open. Two weeks comes into the equation if one doesn't qualify for the room:

PP asked about Superliners vs. Viewliners, not about different Viewliner versions. And I don't think anything on the website says that Accessible Bedroom rates are the same as Roomette rates for handicapped passengers. In fact, a phone agent told me they are not related, and I have seen at least one instance where the H-room accommodation charge was one bucket higher than the lowest priced Roomette available at the time.

To answer the PP's question: Yes, Accessible Bedroom pricing and polices are the same on Superliners as on Viewliners. And the price is usually the currently available Roomette fare minus the disabled passenger discount.

 

[Ryan]

only on the new VII cars

PP asked about Superliners vs. Viewliners, not about different Viewliner versions.

Excerpted and emphasis added to aid in reading comprehension. The Viewliner I cars aren't new.

And yes - it isn't a hard and fast rule that's publicized, but in the vast majority of the cases it's sold at the roomette rate. Any exceptions are likely anomalous due to the ancient inner workings of the crack IT system (especially an "off by one bucket" difference).