$1.3 Billion to Amtrak, So Why the Discount?

(MoneyWatch)  It's nice to see tax money spent on a service that you may use, and I'm sure that's how people who use Acela Express felt this week. Because at the same time it was reported that Amtrak, which runs Acela Express, was getting $1.3 billion from the new economic stimulus package signed into effect Wednesday -- Amtrak cut Acela fares up to 25 percent.

Sure, Acela serves the East Coast, most notably Washington, D.C. and the very politicos who helped make the stimulus bill happen. Coincidence? Perhaps, but it may start some people thinking, "Where's our discount?"

There's some more method to Amtrak's madness. It turns out that Acela is one of the few Amtrak routes that lost passengers last year. Ridership is down 14 percent from January 2008. And the discount is being used to goose numbers. Meanwhile, almost everywhere else is showing record numbers of passengers -- without a discount.

It's a standard business practice to lower prices on less attractive items. But when taxpayers are footing the bill, shouldn't they all see some benefit or none at all?

Image courtesy of Amtrak