This column originally appeared in On The Way,<\/b> a weekly newsletter covering everything you need to know about NYC-area transportation.<\/p>\n
Sign up<\/a> to get the full version, which includes answers to reader questions, trivia, service changes and more, in your inbox every Thursday.<\/p>\n With air travel riddled with delays and cancellations in recent months, many New Yorkers are turning to trains and buses to escape the city for Thanksgiving<\/a> this year.<\/p>\n On Tuesday, Allan and Alexandra Gibson and their two sons were all smiles at Moynihan Train Hall as they waited to board an Amtrak train to Washington, D.C. They were thankful they didn\u2019t have to endure airport security ahead of the year\u2019s busiest weekend for domestic air travel.<\/p>\n “I like the food and spending time with my family,” their 10-year old son Grant said. He was carrying a heavy scooter and big backpack, items that likely would not have joined him on a flight.<\/p>\n Alexandra said she\u2019d recently suffered through an air travel nightmare. “I went to Chicago last weekend and both of my flights were delayed, so I didn’t want to fly again,” she said.<\/p>\n Her fears were well-founded. Outdated radar infrastructure<\/a> and an air traffic controller shortage<\/a> caused rampant delays at New York City\u2019s airports earlier this year. Things were worsened by the federal government shutdown, when the U.S. Department of Transportation ordered a temporary 10% reduction in flights<\/a> at 40 major airports, including those serving New York.<\/p>\n Allan acknowledged it\u2019s a bit faster to fly to Washington D.C., but said it wasn\u2019t worth the trouble.<\/p>\n “It’s less hectic than the airports,” he said. \u201cThe trade-off just was there this year.\u201d<\/p>\n The Port Authority estimates 3.3 million people will travel through JFK, LaGuardia, Newark and Stewart airports in the period that started Nov. 22 and ends Dec. 1, about a 1% increase from last year\u2019s Thanksgiving weekend.<\/p>\n Amtrak officials were unable to provide data on the railroad\u2019s anticipated ridership in and out of New York for the holiday. Railroad spokesperson Jason Abrams said 1.1 million people used the system nationally between Nov. 22 and Dec. 1 last year<\/p>\n \u201cWe expect more than that this year,\u201d Abrams said, without providing an exact number. \u201cThis increased demand and popularity for train travel aligns with what we are seeing all year round.\u201d<\/p>\n U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy earlier this week said travelers \u201cshould fly with confidence\u201d during the holidays, claiming that air traffic controller staffing levels are back to normal after the 43-day shutdown, which ended two weeks ago.<\/p>\n But many people leaving New York this week weren\u2019t sold on Duffy\u2019s promise.<\/p>\n \u201cWe’re not expecting the train to be delayed and wait in the train station overnight,\u201d Atlanta resident Brenda Fisher, 75, said before boarding a train to Poughkeepsie. \u201cSo it was just a better choice.\u201d<\/p>\n Amtrak riders are not immune from delays. Chronic equipment problems in the railroad\u2019s Hudson River tunnels have repeatedly cut off rail service between New York and New Jersey in recent years. The railroad\u2019s service is also less desirable for people looking to travel cross-country. The voyage can last several days by train.<\/p>\n Comedian Amy Janes, 49, opted to skip both trains and planes in order to visit her mother in Kansas City, Missouri for the holiday. She said she\u2019s been unable to get a Real ID, which is now required to fly domestically.<\/p>\n That left Janes on a 32-hour Greyhound bus trip.<\/p>\n \u201cTo buy a ticket and not be able to get through kind of terrified me,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Her bus trip would be slightly faster and much cheaper than an Amtrak ride.<\/p>\n Curious Commuter<\/b><\/p>\n Have a question for us? Use this form<\/a> to submit yours and we may answer it in a future newsletter!<\/p>\n