Caltrain OK's Fare Increase, Service Revamp to Close Deficit

Caltrain is addressing a massive budget shortfall, not by cutting service, but by offering the highest number of trains in the railroad’s 141-year history, including 22 Baby Bullet trains.

Meeting in a special session today to consider how to close a projected $13.6 million budget gap, Caltrain’s policy board also unanimously approved a 17.5 percent fare increase effective July 1 (PDF, 10.34 KB), which will be followed by a 5.6 percent increase on Jan. 1. Combined, the two changes will bring in an additional $4 million in revenue.

At the meeting, the board approved a bold plan aimed at luring new riders by offering more service, including 12 new Bullet trains.

The total number of weekday trains will increase from 86 to an unprecedented 96. The new schedule, which is to go into effect in August, extends the popular express train service to five new stations: San Mateo, Redwood City, Menlo Park, Sunnyvale and Tamien in San Jose.

Local service will still be provided but not by traditional “local” trains. Passengers will transfer from one train to another at Redwood City, waiting no more than five minutes. Responding to passenger comment, more local stops have been returned to the new schedule from an earlier version that had much more severe cuts.

To provide 22 Baby Bullet trains, service will be suspended to three stations: Paul Avenue (San Francisco), Broadway (Burlingame) and Atherton. Service to College Park, which is adjacent to Bellarmine College Preparatory, will be reduced to four trains per weekday.

Caltrain staff had recommended suspending service to College Park entirely because it impedes the ability to run on-time service. But the proposal drew heavy protests from Bellarmine students, teachers and alumni, and Caltrain board members decided to retain limited service.

Caltrain Executive Director Mike Scanlon pledged to work on shuttle alternatives so passengers at Broadway and Atherton can access other train stations.

The service-and-fare package was developed as a way for Caltrain to close a projected $13.6 million deficit in the budget for the new fiscal year, which starts July 1.

With the changes that the board unanimously approved, by reallocating some $3 million in maintenance funding, plus other savings, the projected shortfall for the coming year has been narrowed to about $2 million.

Despite today’s vote, Caltrain’s long-term survival is still fraught with problems. Lacking a dedicated source of funding of its own, Caltrain must look to the three county agencies which comprise the railroad partnership to increase the level of their subsidy to close the remaining gap.

Budgets must still be approved in San Francisco, San Mateo and Santa Clara counties with these increases before the board-approved changes become final. Scanlon emphasized that it will take time for Caltrain to realize the projected ridership gains, and the timetable for revenue gains is by no means guaranteed.

Board member Jim Hartnett, a Redwood City Councilman, said even with the effort to cut costs and lure more riders with faster trains, he was still concerned about Caltrain’s survival.

“This is either a new beginning for the system or the beginning of the end,” he said. “I know if we don’t do something, it’s the end.”

Echoing that assessment, Scanlon said the decision to suspend service to stations was not undertaken lightly but because Caltrain itself is in jeopardy and needs a dedicated funding source to survive. “The system is not going to be sustained,” he said. “It’s that serious.”

Since they were introduced in June 2004, Caltrain’s 10 Baby Bullet trains have been extremely popular, most of them operating at capacity. Not only that, they generate nearly twice as much revenue as local trains, which make all local stops.

Rather than chopping service to 50 or 60 weekday trains, Caltrain staff argued that it made more sense to add the type of service that is most likely to bring in new riders and revenue.

Caltrain received more than 3,000 e-mails, letters and other comments about the proposals, the majority of them about College Park, but supporters also campaigned for continued service at Broadway and Atherton.

Caltrain also received many comments favoring expanded Bullet service. The fare proposals elicited comparatively few comments, with many passengers saying they understood the need for increased revenue.

4/25/05