(2019) Take the train to Lake Tahoe (Amtrak)

[@JamesHorton-fo3yv]

The Amtrak Thruway Bus between South Lake Tahoe and Sacramento Valley Station is now operated by El Dorado Transit.

[@YuqiLinux]

Oh.. is ticketing still thru Amtrak?

[@kentharris4986]

Nice vid bro!

[@PassporttotheBlue]

thanks for this video! we're new youtubers looking for feedback, anything is appreciated!

[@inspiredtowander]

I am curious about that Amtrak bus ride....how was it? I am thinking about taking one. Thanks.

[@YuqiLinux]

From what I experienced, I got to choose the seat I like (front row), the bus driver was professional, the bus was on time (actually arrived ahead of schedule), There was a bathroom on the bus as well. I guess I can answer better if you have more specific questions 😀

[@inspiredtowander]

@@YuqiLinux Thank you!! That is all very helpful! How crowded was the bus? Was that ride pleasant or did it seem uncomfortable? I tend to get motion sick, so I am a little bit worried but perhaps sitting up front might help with that.

[@YuqiLinux]

@@inspiredtowander Crowdness is really depend on how much ticket Amtrak sold. My ride was okay (about 30% full) but it can get much fuller. The ride was very comfortable to me, but I also don't get motion sick very easily. I guess front row is going to help, but be aware of the route they take - like my bus from South Lake Tahoe to Sacramento took US-50 which has a lot of curves in the mountains.

[@inspiredtowander]

@@YuqiLinux thank you so much for sharing your experiences and information! It is very much appreciated.

[@ALinn-vr3nl]

Thank you! It would really help to see maps showing each leg of your trip, either at the beginning, or at each leg of the trip. Otherwise, beautiful and helpful video!

[@YuqiLinux]

Thanks for your comments! I didn't intend to do that though, as this video is intended for rail fans and not general public who would try taking train trips, but thanks for letting me know the needs of my actual audience.

[@ALinn-vr3nl]

@@YuqiLinux Thanks for being open to that! I think there is a real need in general for people on the West Coast to become familiar with our train opportunities here. So if you are inclined to do this, I think there is a real need for videos that show where each train goes, cities it stops in, and perhaps one video each on how to have a vacation at each stop, or major stop. What accomodations are within a 1 - 3 block walk, max, from the station? What necessities are within 1 - 3 blocks of the accommodations? What is there to do and see on foot, without having to take a local bus in a suburban or rural area? And without having to spend on a rental car or ride service. And if taking either of those local transportation options, what is there to see and do? And showing maps of the spots described, with distances and approximate travel times, by train, bus, or on foot. Etc. When I use public transit on the West Coast, where we have far less service except in major cities such as San Francisco, instead of figuring out how to get to where I want to go by transit, I look at the transit maps, and ask, "What can I do at any of the places where this transit stops?" Then I pick one location to stop at, and then spend the day, weekend, or week there. (Suburban and rural transit is not convenient enough to bother with stopping at multiple destinations, due to the infrequency of the transit, and that suburban and rural destinations tend to not be very walkable.) Just some thoughts, if you like to make transit-related videos or want to encourage more transit use so that increased ridership will result in more service, helping to build alternatives to the automobile. I also like to support businesses near transit, because they are part of what makes transit use viable. Thanks again!

[@YuqiLinux]

@@ALinn-vr3nl Hi, thanks for your detailed statements. I'm happy to see your enthusiasm in boosting transit uses (I'm also pro-transit). I used to spend sleepless nights thinking about how transit usages can be higher. However, I would not recommend anyone replacing their car trips with transit trips for the following reasons. 1 - Regions served by frequent transit routes are unsafe, and the safe areas aren't well served by transit services. The transit agencies just didn't set a good foundation for transit-friendly communities and putting my friend in unsafe situation or making their trips less convenient is something I don't want to do. (For example, on BART I frequently ran into dirty environments, saw drug injections, also even once got people trying to make me take weed. On Amtrak I frequently ran into racists - actually in this very video my lunch table was shared with 3 racists which made me very uncomfortable). Making such recommendations would make my friends hate transit more. 2 - Low ridership on west coast transit is not from lack of awareness, but because taking transit is not feasible. Telling people what they can do doesn't solve many use cases, but what would actually boost ridership is to make the trips convenient enough, and that's when awareness come into picture. We're far from that stage. That being said, I'm posting my videos mostly to the railroad fan community. As for what they can do with transit? Google Map really tells best..