Timeline for Amtrak unaccompanied minor policy
Current License: CC BY-SA 4.0
11 events
| when toggle format | what | by | license | comment | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 30, 2023 at 8:38 | comment | added | Krist van Besien | When I was fifteen I travelled on my own from Belgium to France, and that involved multiple trains, and a change of stations in Paris using the metro. When I arrived I looked for a phone booth (no mobiles then) and called home that I had arrived. When I left I didn't even know when I would arrive, as our local station did not have the full French train schedules available... | |
| Apr 29, 2023 at 18:43 | comment | added | jkej | In contrast, I am reminded of a Swedish news story from 2015 about a 4-year-old who ran away from his mother at a grocery store, got on a train and travelled 200 km (120 miles), including changing trains at a busy 16 platform station, before anyone took notice of him. | |
| Apr 29, 2023 at 18:12 | comment | added | Dimitri Vulis | @Wowfunhappy My own children used to ride NYC subway to school by themselves. Even Donald Trump used to ride the subway to school when he was young. :) Most of the subway system, during the day, feels safer than Amtrak. | |
| Apr 29, 2023 at 16:43 | comment | added | Wowfunhappy | @DimitriVulis It's at least somewhat of an exaggeration. In Manhattan, I see ~12 year old children on the subway by themselves relatively frequently. Perhaps this is the result of movements grown out of the article you linked, I don't know. | |
| Apr 29, 2023 at 16:32 | comment | added | phoog | "freedom to drive it anywhere": not to New York City, at least. | |
| Apr 29, 2023 at 14:59 | comment | added | Dimitri Vulis | @Sebastian the first link in the question says: "Children 16 and over may travel without restriction." | |
| Apr 29, 2023 at 14:31 | comment | added | 8192K | Do these strict rules change when you're 16? Because I once took an Amtrak train unaccompanied at that age. | |
| Apr 29, 2023 at 13:14 | comment | added | Dimitri Vulis | Not an exaggeration at all. I've been thru Amtrak's New Haven, CT, station many times. Most of New Haven is a bad neighborhod. The station, like many other Amtrak station, is not a safe place for a 15 y.o. to wait for a train. Neither is NY Penn Station. In fact, I've seen so many weird people on Amtrak trains, I don't think a train is a safe place for a 15y.o. even without transfers. The OP should consider an airplane instead. Airlines have more security, and are more interested in the unaccompanied minors business. | |
| Apr 29, 2023 at 10:25 | vote | accept | Zo-Bro-23 | ||
| Apr 29, 2023 at 10:25 | comment | added | Zo-Bro-23 | Wow! I've heard that public transport in the US is not very popular, so that could be another reason why people are reluctant to let their children travel alone (as opposed to say air travel or driving). Here in India it is quite normal for a 14 or 15 year old to travel alone in the subway or even take a mid-range trip on a train (5-6 hours), so that's why I was very surprised to learn about Amtrak's policy. Anyways, thanks for the answer! | |
| Apr 29, 2023 at 9:20 | history | answered | lambshaanxy | CC BY-SA 4.0 |