“My understanding is that they have a three-year contract through February 2012. I suspect they will not renew it,” said Anthony Marino, an Atlantic City transportation analyst.
While ACES is a great idea in theory, it’s fairly useless in practice. Trains only leave from one location a few times a day in New York City – Penn Station. While inconvenient it’s tolerable. Another inconvenience is the time. Faster train speed should cut the time it takes to travel from A to B, but the trains aren’t able to take the same route so they aren’t any quicker than a bus or car. Finally, the largest inconvenience is the price, which is between $29 and $89 (1st class) each way.
Why would someone pay more money for travel that doesn’t save time or provide any convenience? Any New Yorker (or Long Islander) can hop on a bus and get to Atlantic City without driving for much less to nothing. They can also drive and leave whenever they want. A bus is about the same cost as a tank of gas unless the bus fees are refunded, which they often are.
I could call this another DEATH BLOW to Atlantic City, but it isn’t since very few people use ACES anyway.