Caltrain Board OKs fare increase, service reductions
Written by William C. Vantuono, Editor-in-Chief The Caltrain Board ofDirectors voted to implement a 25-cent increase to the zone fare and toeliminate four midday trains to close a $2.3-million gap in the Fiscal Year2010 operating budget.
Beginning Jan. 1, the farefor each zone will increase 25 cents, with multi-ride tickets and passesadjusted accordingly. The fare for a one-way ticket from San Francisco to SanJose will increase from $7.75 to $8.50. The increase will generateapproximately $1.4 million in additional revenue this fiscal year. The lastfare increase was implemented in January 2009.
Also on Jan. 1, four middaytrains (northbound: 237 and 257, southbound: 236 and 256) will be eliminatedbetween the hours of 9:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m., so trains will operate hourly.This change will save the agency approximately $160,000.
In response to commentsfrom people during the public hearing process, Caltrain also will implement athree-month pilot project to test the success of express service on weekends.The schedule, which is yet to be determined, will be designed to meet ridershipdemand. The $107,000 cost of the pilot project will be offset by fuel savingsaccrued this year. Caltrain also will increase on-board bicycle capacity,assuring that all trains will have two bike cars. In the past two years, Caltrainhas increased on-board bike capacity by more than 56 percent.
In another effort to closethe budget gap, the ticket offices at the San Francisco and San Jose Diridonstation will close Oct. 11, resulting in a savings of $600,000. Caltrain staffhas done extensive outreach to inform riders about other options for purchasingtickets. All Caltrain fare media can be purchased at ticket vending machineslocated in Caltrain stations
The service cuts and feeincreases are the agency’s latest effort to close its budget deficit. Over thepast two years, Caltrain has aggressively looked for ways to balance itsbudget. Salaries have been frozen for the last two years, employees will take atotal of 17 furlough days and the agency also implemented a hiring freeze forall but the most essential positions. Last year, the agency underwent anextensive reorganization, laying off employees and eliminating twoexecutive-level positions.
