> > I was curious about that. I notice now that Amtrak requires ID as well: > http://www.amtrak.com/idrequire.html > > Does anyone know when this happened, or have experiences with having to > show ID on Amtrak?
Sometime before early January this year, at least (probably significantly before). However, from DC Union Station (and probably many other stations), you can use the automated ticket system which 'only' asks for a credit card, no govt ID needed. And all the conductors care about is if you have a ticket. Philadelphia's automated system doesn't accept my credit card for mysterious reasons, so I have had to present ID when buying a ticket there. I haven't observed them doing any sort of scanning on my ID when I show it; anyway my ID doesn't have a magnetic stripe like the ones issued by most states around here, just an optical code. They copy down the name at least (shows up on the ticket), but it's hard to get a good look at their hands as they type, so it's possible they also grab the state/license # pair, which ties back to who-knows-what databases. -Jack
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