Ground Transport

This is yet another casualty of the Uber and Lyft era. Other airport shuttle services will likely be next.

Former Delta CEO Richard Anderson has been spearheading a revamp of the U.S. national railway through boosting safety, driving more profits from its co-branded credit card, and creating a mix of more low-cost and premium services in the U.S. northeastern corridor. Anderson's tricky balance is being ambitious while trimming longstanding losses.

If search for travel looking for door-to door trip options was a massive potential market, then Expedia, Booking Holdings, Ctrip, or Google would have already snapped up these companies, which have been laboring around that premise for years. This stuff is hard to execute, as the relatively modest exit seems to show.

Other global rail companies are speeding ahead of Amtrak in reducing single-use plastics, but Amtrak is trying to make up the time.

For all the small steps being taken in travel to improve sustainability, it will ultimately be institutional investors and other big money groups that help the sector navigate and fund a complicated transition into the future.

Amtrak's modernization effort is underway. If it remains nimble, it can take advantage of shifts in consumer behavior as car ownership declines and travelers look to avoid the headache of heading to the airport for a short flight.

Cities are getting more crowded with vehicles, and people are becoming more reluctant to use cars during business and leisure trips. Smart technology can help.

Premium Rewards isn't going to change the world as a loyalty program, but it is going to entice business from a new set of travelers. And that might be exactly what Silvercar needs right now.

Amtrak needed someone to come in and run it like a private business. Former Delta CEO Richard Anderson was probably the right choice. He knows how to turn things around, even if he may ruffle a few feathers along the way.

Silvercar's new loyalty program is a good incentive for both current and prospective customers to try out the service. It also may be a shot in the arm to a plateauing company.