Why would you pay extra and deal with the additional headache of being screened/having to enter your private data if you could just take the more convenient and largely anonymous train for under a $100? A train where you are not squeezed into the seat like a sardine?

I am personally also really uncomfortable with the notion that you have to pay an additional convenience fee just to have a mildly more pleasant travel experience. Coach class should not mean that you are cattle.