Is "socially distant" seating no longer used?

[railiner]

It will probably take me a good year of emerging slowly before I want to be near any strangers, and I have read articles that suggest this reaction is more common than people might think.

One side benefit of this social distancing and masking, is less chance of spreading other illnesses, even the 'common cold'....don't know if there are any statistics on this, but it would seem to be, that less people are suffering from colds as a result....

 

[Mystic River Dragon]

One side benefit of this social distancing and masking, is less chance of spreading other illnesses, even the 'common cold'....don't know if there are any statistics on this, but it would seem to be, that less people are suffering from colds as a result....

I have been doing the masking and social distancing since last March. Since then, I haven’t had a cold, the flu, or any illness at all, and the mask helps with allergies.

So as dreadful as this year has been in many ways, there do seem to have been some side benefits.

 

[Exvalley]

One side benefit of this social distancing and masking, is less chance of spreading other illnesses, even the 'common cold'....don't know if there are any statistics on this, but it would seem to be, that less people are suffering from colds as a result....

I recall reading that incidents of the flu are WAY down.

 

[brianpmcdonnell17]

According to the Amtrak website, trains will return to full capacity on May 23rd.

 

[Exvalley]

According to the Amtrak website, trains will return to full capacity on May 23rd.

I can't say that I am surprised. Even the last airline holdout, Delta Airlines, is going back to full capacity.

 

[Sidney]

According to the Amtrak website, trains will return to full capacity on May 23rd.

I looked at a booking for June. The website is still showing percentage of capacity. So does that mean 50 or 100%? I've read other posts saying you could buy the seat next to you to insure you'll have an empty seat next to you,and other posts that state Amtrak does not let you buy an extra seat. If some of the sleeper prices would come down to earth,buying the extra seat wouldn't be necessary.

 

[joelkfla]

I looked at a booking for June. The website is still showing percentage of capacity. So does that mean 50 or 100%?

Coronavirus Update | Amtrak says:

Starting May 23, Amtrak will no longer be limiting capacity. When searching for travel, the percentage of seats sold displays next to each trip option and adjusts as customers make reservations. This gives customers the opportunity to book a train that is less crowded. If capacity exceeds comfort levels, customers can change their ticket without incurring a fee.

Based on that, I would say it's relative to full capacity.

 

[daybeers]

I hope May 23rd isn't too early. We'll have to see what the infection rates are but I'm not sure if I'd be comfortable sitting next to a stranger for many hours. Would be better with a passenger with you. It seems infections on aircraft are not much of an issue either, however.

"customers can change their ticket without incurring a fee." I'm assuming you'd have to pay the difference in fare between trains though.

 

[PaTrainFan]

The CDC just today announced that "fully vaccinated people" can travel within the U.S. at "low risk to themselves." Remains a small sample size, just 20% of the population, but that number is growing every day and is a step in the right direction.

 

[joelkfla]

The CDC just today announced that "fully vaccinated people" can travel within the U.S. at "low risk to themselves." Remains a small sample size, just 20% of the population, but that number is growing every day and is a step in the right direction.

Actually, just 17.5% currently. But we're approaching 3 million doses administered per day. If we can maintain that, and assuming 3 out of 5 are either 2nd doses or J&J, we could be approaching 60% by the end of May.

 

[PerRock]

I'm on 351 right now. Social distancing isn't being enforced, but in general people are sitting apart; one per seat pair.

What I was disappointed in was boarding at Ann Arbor, which has a reasonable low-level platform & a small high-level platform. Station staff told everyone that they had to bunch up on the small high-level to board, making social distancing there impossible. (Also add people disembarking onto the platform as well.

Once the train arrived, they opened up a second door (primarily for biz) but at that point only the few of us who were hanging back for the crowd to subside boarded down there.

Peter

 

[Ziv]

I hear you about crowds. I get my first shot tomorrow and I am counting down the days to a freer mindset. Over the last 10 months I have traveled home to Montana and taken a trip to the USVI but it will be nice to repeat those trips next month with a growing team of antibodies onboard to fight for me! LOL!
But I think I will avoid bars and prolonged/indoor contact w strangers for several months to be on the safe side. But travel and outdoor dining are definitely on the short list. The Cap Limited fr DC to Chicago and the EB to Whitefish sounds like a winner!

While there are certainly lots of other people who feel like you do, about slowly easing into closer contact with strangers, I'm actually looking forward to mingling in a crowd again, as soon as that's reasonably safe. A year ago, I had no idea I'd miss that.

Once I get that out of my system, though, I might revert to not wanting much time in crowds. On the whole, I'm pretty content living a mile from our nearest neighbors. ☺