The dreaded bustitution... What can I expect?

[IndustrialFanatic]

Just found out my trip from MIA-NYP on the 27th will have a bustitution between MIA and JAX. I'm not sure what to expect as I'm new to Amtrak travel and all its joys. What types of buses do they use? Do they make stops for concessions, etc? Also, the ticket says the duration of the bus ride is just over 8 hours. This seems high considering that Google maps indicates it should be 5 hours. I assume the bus follows the rail route and stops at all the stations between. Luckily I already hashed out the refund/compensation details with CR as I'll now be famished on a bus instead of full in my cozy roomette. Chalk it up to adventure I guess!

 

[the_traveler]

It all depends what kind of bus you get. If they know far enough in advance, Amtrak tries to charter regular (full sized) buses. But if on very short notice (like the freight train 10 miles ahead derailed and is blocking all tracks), Amtrak has to go with what is available at that time.

As far as the route traveled, that also depends. They must stop at all stations that have passengers boarding or getting off. (Someone may be riding only from say Deerfield Beach to Winter Park.) But they may also have express buses that go from say Miami right to Jacksonville up I-95 or Miami to Orlando up the Florida Turnpike and then to Jacksonville on I-4 & I-95.

As an example, I had a bustitution from Longview to Ft Worth in March. One bus went nonstop to Ft Worth while the others made stops.

If the ride is that long, they'll either be a meal and/or rest stop or a boxed meal will be provided to you. Or both.

 

[Bob Dylan]

Just found out my trip from MIA-NYP on the 27th will have a bustitution between MIA and JAX. I'm not sure what to expect as I'm new to Amtrak travel and all its joys. What types of buses do they use? Do they make stops for concessions, etc? Also, the ticket says the duration of the bus ride is just over 8 hours. This seems high considering that Google maps indicates it should be 5 hours. I assume the bus follows the rail route and stops at all the stations between. Luckily I already hashed out the refund/compensation details with CR as I'll now be famished on a bus instead of full in my cozy roomette. Chalk it up to adventure I guess!

Looks like they Cancelled #98 also from MIA to jacksonville, must be track work between MIA and ORL?? Perhaps one of our Florida Members has Details, as you know Amtrak does a Poor Job of Explaining Detourss/Re-Routes/Cancellations/Bustitutions etc. :angry:

You should be due a Voucher for Future travel or even a Refund?? if you have to Ride a Bus that Far and miss out on being in your Room and eatoing in the Diner! Give Customer Relations a Call @ 1800-USA_RAIL, when "Julie" Answers, ask for "Agent", then when a Live agent comes on the line ask to be connected to Customer Relations!

I'll be on #91 Monday from WAS-ORL, Luckily the South Bound Trains (#91/#97) aren't Affected Yet Except for dDfferent Departure/Arrival Times!

Edited: Penny was Too Quick for me! I Edited my Post to reflect the Cancellation of #92/#98 while she was Posting! Appreciate it Native Floridian! :hi: Sorry Dick has to Suffer as a New Winter Floridian! ^_^

 

[pennyk]

Just found out my trip from MIA-NYP on the 27th will have a bustitution between MIA and JAX. I'm not sure what to expect as I'm new to Amtrak travel and all its joys. What types of buses do they use? Do they make stops for concessions, etc? Also, the ticket says the duration of the bus ride is just over 8 hours. This seems high considering that Google maps indicates it should be 5 hours. I assume the bus follows the rail route and stops at all the stations between. Luckily I already hashed out the refund/compensation details with CR as I'll now be famished on a bus instead of full in my cozy roomette. Chalk it up to adventure I guess!

I take it that you are Booked on #92, the Silver Star from MIA?? The other Silver Train, #98 the Silver Meteor, isnt having this Bustitution! If there are Rooms Open Id call and see if You can Modify (not Cancel!) your Rezervation from #92 to #98!

Both Silvers may involve substitutions for weekend track work. Dick informed me that he received an email that he will be bustituted from JAX to Winter Haven on October 26th. It may involve SunRail construction which has been going on for a while and many weekends for the 6 months or so, the Silvers have been terminated in JAX. I canceled a trip last April because of the bustitution.

 

[IndustrialFanatic]

Thanks for all the info! Sadly I've decided that I'll accept the full refund offered from Amtrak and just fly from MIA to JFK. The long-distance experience on the Star was the main focus of the trip, but its schedule has deviated so far from what I originally booked that it's no longer a worthwhile venture. So basically I'll now be taking a trip from my home in AZ to NY with a pit stop in Miami. Lol...

Luckily I still have my Acela trip to BOS to look forward to on the 29th before flying home. Fingers crossed!

 

[Swadian Hardcore]

Amtrak gets all kind of different buses as bustitutes, it's probably not a bad idea to dump the train ride for fear of getting downgraded from a Viewliner Roomette to a garbage Van Hool or Setra.

As I've said before, I can ride a bus anywhere, anytime, but only for a BUS FARE! Not for a Roomette fare! I'll be riding more busese again next week, but I got dirt cheap bus fares, so I'm fine with it. Just saying.

 

[BrianPR3]

im sure you know about this regarding silver service etc

http://www.amtrak.com/servlet/ContentServer?c=AM_Alert_C&pagename=am/AM_Alert_C/Alerts_Popup&cid=1251624747503

also there are schedule changes for the silver service

 

[Notelvis]

I passed on a bustitution from El Paso to San Antonio due to a UP freight derailment in 2002.


I was enroute from Los Angeles to Oklahoma City in a cozy roomette (well.... as far as Ft. Worth) and an overnight 600 mile bus ride in what turned out to be a leaky GMC 4905 (that's a bus that in 2002 would have been close to 30 years old at least) was just not acceptable.


Instead I shared a cab to the airport with a couple of other passengers, flew Southwest Airlines to Dallas, got a hotel room near the airport, and caught the Trinity Rail Express train to Ft. Worth the next morning where I then made my planned connection to the Heartland Flyer. Amtrak provided me with a voucher for my accomodation charges on the 422 sleeper which was actually about equal value to what I spent on the last minute 737-stitution plus hotel.

 

[Bus Nut]

im sure you know about this regarding silver service etc

http://www.amtrak.com/servlet/ContentServer?c=AM_Alert_C&pagename=am/AM_Alert_C/Alerts_Popup&cid=1251624747503

also there are schedule changes for the silver service

Whoa, thanks for the notice, that was really needed. I googled all over and couldn't find it. Not reported in the newspapers in Florida, can you imagine that? Crazy! I finally, finally talked to someone on 1800USARAIL and she said that the inland bus from Dade City to Jacksonville (via Ocala) will run at the regular time. Whew.

#florida #silver service #service disruptions

 

[OlympianHiawatha]

Expect nothing short of misery if you are thrown onto a Motorcoach, especially on that long of a haul. I had to do bustitutions FTW-Norman and Springfield IL-STL and they were painfully long and most uncomfortable. I would have been more comfortable sitting on one of the stools on the Lower Level of a Superliner Coach.

If you can, do whatever it takes to weasel out of one.

 

[Swadian Hardcore]

I passed on a bustitution from El Paso to San Antonio due to a UP freight derailment in 2002.

I was enroute from Los Angeles to Oklahoma City in a cozy roomette (well.... as far as Ft. Worth) and an overnight 600 mile bus ride in what turned out to be a leaky GMC 4905 (that's a bus that in 2002 would have been close to 30 years old at least) was just not acceptable.

Instead I shared a cab to the airport with a couple of other passengers, flew Southwest Airlines to Dallas, got a hotel room near the airport, and caught the Trinity Rail Express train to Ft. Worth the next morning where I then made my planned connection to the Heartland Flyer. Amtrak provided me with a voucher for my accomodation charges on the 422 sleeper which was actually about equal value to what I spent on the last minute 737-stitution plus hotel.

A PD-4905? Sure, it ain't a great ride, but it's a rare bus.

 

[Jason R]

Curious about the "full refund" some have mentioned. Last March I booked a roomette for a trip on the CZ and then Amtrak cancelled service through my station due to the flooding in CO. I faced an 8-hour bustitution at both ends of the trip and decided to cancel my reservation because regular service wouldn't resume until a week after my scheduled departure.

Amtrak hit me with a $100 refund service fee and refused to budge on the charge even though they had no regular service at our station and couldn't give me any firm arrival times. Is this any way to run a railroad?

 

[Swadian Hardcore]

From a financial standpoint, if you're not gonna ride Amtrak again anyway, why offer any refund at all? I see two distinct types of people coming out of these situations, either railfans who will continue to ride Amtrak despite the disruptions or people who just walk away and say "Never Again!"

 

[IndustrialFanatic]

That's strange you wouldn't have been offered a full refund given those circumstances. I was immediately offered a full refund without even having to ask or insist. Did you ask to speak to Customer Relations, or did you just deal with the first agent to answer? Where I hit a snag was when I asked about a partial refund to offset the cost of my time on a bus vs. my booked roomette. I was then transferred to a Customer Relations agent who, after having me on hold for 10 minutes, came back with a measly $76 refund. I found that to be unreasonable considering I'd be losing a whole day of time in my roomette, so I opted for the refund. I also wonder if they were more lenient because I was still outside of 15 days before travel?

Curious about the "full refund" some have mentioned. Last March I booked a roomette for a trip on the CZ and then Amtrak cancelled service through my station due to the flooding in CO. I faced an 8-hour bustitution at both ends of the trip and decided to cancel my reservation because regular service wouldn't resume until a week after my scheduled departure.

Amtrak hit me with a $100 refund service fee and refused to budge on the charge even though they had no regular service at our station and couldn't give me any firm arrival times. Is this any way to run a railroad?

 

[Jason R]

That's strange you wouldn't have been offered a full refund given those circumstances. I was immediately offered a full refund without even having to ask or insist. Did you ask to speak to Customer Relations, or did you just deal with the first agent to answer? Where I hit a snag was when I asked about a partial refund to offset the cost of my time on a bus vs. my booked roomette. I was then transferred to a Customer Relations agent who, after having me on hold for 10 minutes, came back with a measly $76 refund. I found that to be unreasonable considering I'd be losing a whole day of time in my roomette, so I opted for the refund. I also wonder if they were more lenient because I was still outside of 15 days before travel?

Curious about the "full refund" some have mentioned. Last March I booked a roomette for a trip on the CZ and then Amtrak cancelled service through my station due to the flooding in CO. I faced an 8-hour bustitution at both ends of the trip and decided to cancel my reservation because regular service wouldn't resume until a week after my scheduled departure.

Amtrak hit me with a $100 refund service fee and refused to budge on the charge even though they had no regular service at our station and couldn't give me any firm arrival times. Is this any way to run a railroad?

I cancelled my reservation 25 days prior to departure. The Amtrak agent insisted I was receiving a "full refund" on my "fully refundable" tickets, but the $100 charge was a refund service fee that could not be waived. I suppose I could have made a big deal about it and gone up the food chain, but it wasn't worth my time to argue with these people. Chalk it up to experience - they won't fool me a second time.