Paying $7 to pick your own seat is the kind of BS airline-esque service model that VIA needs to quit. It's not appropriate for a public transportation service. And if they are going to continue reaping up to $1,000 per train for this, they better work harder to avoid screw-ups.
Especially since they created the problem in the first place by switching from trains where almost everyone faced forward to trains where half the seats faced backwards!
I just booked tickets, and with 5 people travelling, this is quite a premium. But hey, fleece me for trying to travel in as gren a mode as possible.
Like airlines now they also make you pay extra for big luggage. Brutal.
Same with having to line up to have your baggage weighed and your ticket checked, before having your ticket checked again for realsies on the train. I like the train because flying sucks. Stop trying to make it like flying.
For $50, you get from Ft Lauderdale to Miami round trip on Brightline, but in Germany, $50 gets you a month of unlimited, non-express train rides every month across the country. That's what we need in the US and Canada. I hate being nickle and dimed. I want to use trains but its too expensive here.
There is so much potential for VIA to dominate the intercity travel market. Many of their issue aren't their own doings.. But this shit is... Don't actively piss off costumers with nonsense. CP and CN do enough of that with their shit scheduling.
Earlier this month I took VIA to shoot a video that I've had in mind for a while, and every time I looked into booking tickets I was disappointed by how airline-like it was. Also, the CAA 10% discount in the corridor turned out to be closer to 3% as it doesn't apply to the lowest fare.