CHICAGO — You're charging HOW MUCH for a train ticket?!
For normal people, hopping on an Amtrak to go from Chicago to Bloomington costs all of 16 bucks.
But for two disabled riders using power wheelchairs, Amtrak quoted a whopping $25,000 for the same two-hour train ride.
NPR reports that the two are part of a group from the disability service and advocacy organization Access Living, and had reached out to Amtrak for travel arrangements to go to a conference in Bloomington.
The group's transportation policy director Adam Ballard says they've been booking train trips with Amtrak for years.
In the past, larger groups with 10 to 15 wheelchair users have been accommodated on the trains.
Amtrak simply took out seats to fit in more wheelchairs, for only a couple hundred dollars extra.
But Amtrak agents cited a new policy for reconfiguring a train car, saying taking out extra seats would now cost over 25 Gs, as it means taking a car out of service.
For that price, Ballard and company might as well just buy themselves a car.
Unsurprisingly, Amtrak received serious backlash when news of the sky-high ticket prices got out.
Senator Tammy Duckworth, a veteran who lost both legs in the Iraq War, called the price quote "outrageous" and said Amtrak "must do better moving forward." Fortunately, the PR folks at Amtrak realized how hot of a mess they were in and quickly backpedaled.
NPR reports they told Access Living on Monday that they would accommodate all the wheelchairs onboard for the price of a regular ticket.
It only took a crap ton of media and public criticism but hey, all's well that ends well.