VAMOOSE BUS TO RESTORE BETHESDA - NYC BUS SERVICE WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 31

Vamoose Bus has announced it will restore bus service between downtown Bethesda and New York City tomorrow.

Which is pretty impressive, given that their route travels directly through and into the states hardest hit by Sandy.  The company says to expect some delays, especially due to closures on the New Jersey Turnpike.

But bus service it is, and a good bargain if you need to get to NYC to visit family after the storm tomorrow, for example.  Great work by Vamoose, and the men and women who have been working around the clock to keep roads open for the rest of us: police, firefighters, road crews, rest stop employees, and many more - thank you!

AMTRAK ACELA

IS THE

SMARTER CHOICE

BETWEEN DC & NYC

Yesterday's USA Today Money section had a front page article that again demonstrated the advantages of train travel from Washington, D.C. to New York City.

High-speed rail is the long term solution to air traffic congestion around New York. But we have a good alternative for now with Amtrak's Acela, a high-speed train slowed by a track configuration not designed for the larger curve radii high-speed trains need.

New York's airports are near the bottom in on-time performance.

Meanwhile, Acela averages 84% on-time performance according to a December 2011 report by the United Rail Passenger Alliance. Compare that to Liberty Airport, with a 66% on-time arrival rate.

While the article describes air delays in terms of hours, Acela travels from DC to New York in 2 hours and 45 minutes.

Beyond that, while both have obstacles to reaching perfect performance, consider that planes idling on tarmacs are burning exhaust. Even during its worst delay, the Acela is powered by electricity, with a far lower environmental impact.

Even today, rail travel to New York beats air travel hands down.