Caltrain Needs You

One might think that in a recession, train ridership would be UP, but that is not the case on the Peninsula.  The San Mateo Daily Journal is reporting:

Caltrain ridership plunged 9.5 percent during the first six months of this fiscal year, Executive Director Mike Scanlon told the Peninsula Corridor Joint Powers Board yesterday.

He made these declarations during a meeting where the transit agency announced the release of $2.7 million toward grade-separation projects in San Bruno.

Train rides dropped by an average 100,000 a month over a six-month period beginning July 1 compared to 2008 and farebox receipts are down 4.4 percent during the same period for the fiscal year 2009-10.

The good news, Scanlon said, is bicycle trips are up 30 percent. Bicycle enthusiasts, however, are urging the transit agency to increase capacity for bicycles to 80 during peak hours so that bicyclists do not get “bumped” from a train.

What might be the reason for this?  Will electrifying the line help?

Comments

[fred]

Gas prices peaked in the summer of 2008. If gas prices went up again so would ridership.

[Vince]

This is probably connected to the unemployment rate. More people unemployed means less people commuting to and from work, which I imagine is where most of the ridership comes from.

I don't think electrifying the line is going to help and in fact it has some downsides such as the cost of retrofitting, the safety of having exposed "electric 3rd rails" and if done with overhead lines then the ugliness.

We should keep in mind that the trains currently are electric. They burn diesel fuel to generate electricity but trains run on electric engines and are already very efficient.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diesel_locomotive

On a side note, I had to be in our SF office on Friday so I rode the train. It's such a nice experience. Peaceful, quiet (especially compared to the screeching sounds of BART) and relaxing. I even got a nice day to walk up the Embarcadero to our office. I'm a huge fan of Caltrain!

The biggest problem for me is that Caltrain often doesn't go where I need it to go or the schedule isn't frequent enough.

[Ron Fulderon]

Yes ridership is down because the economy is slower. When it was booming ridership grew and I remember the head of Caltrain taking all the credit because he thought it came from the shift in service and scheduling that he managed. It was obvious to some of us that it was also the economy.

Anyway with ridership down I'm sure they will be coming to us, the riders, to ask for fare increases, like them been doing in the last few years. My wages haven't gone up but the ticket price sure has.

I've got an idea. How about we ask Caltrain to open their books - completely. I want to see what they are paying each and every employee, from Bob Doty on down. Let's see his salary and his benies and everyone else. Let's see how much they spend on out of state trips to transportation conferences and consultants. Maybe if they put all this information online the public, that pays the bills, could see where we are spending the fare box money and our tax money. We might be able to suggest some cuts rather than raising fares. How bout it?

The only way out of this budget mess is to figure out where the extreme costs of government are coming from and stop it. And the public center is not going to stop it on their own. Open the books up.

[Ted]

Well, we don't need caltrain. Hope it finally goes away and takes the noise, traffic congestion, and killing with it. maybe we can finally get decent public transportation to replace it, something that at least runs on time.

[Ron Fulderon]

whooa.... hold on there. what are suggesting? Do you know that the alternative, in a sense, is California High Speed (I like the new term High Cost used here) Rail?

I want a train system. I want government. I even see a place for government subsidizing public transit systems. I just want accountability so that government can serve the people rather than people serving government.

I think the way to do that is to start informing the citizens how their tax dollars are being spent at a level of detail that is meaningful and can be acted on.

I'll willing to admit that this may be illusion.

[JROC]

How about a Bart extension instead of Caltrain. Efficient, seamless, and already electric. Cute old fashioned choo choos just don't have a place in our metropolitan transit solutions. Big picture dictates that Bart should round the bay as it was originally planned. Silly to ignore this option.

[mostbev]

Compared to High-Cost Rail, BART "seems like a bargain, the best you ever had" to quote The Who.

[Ron Fulderon]

BART is anything but a bargain. Costs for the existing BART system are way out of line and building more BART track down the peninsula would have most of the same problems as the High Cost Rail. On the other hand just electrifying Caltrain would be the relative bargain.

[Ron Fulderon]

After posting the above about electrifying Caltrain I think I need to clarify (at least for myself) that at this point, as California faces bankruptcy I am against going forward with any of these projects including electrifying the trains.

We need to bring the cost of government down, balance our budget, and prepare for the onslaught of state employees who will be retiring and draining the state coffers before we tackle any growth in spending.

So no more new projects.

[former rider]

Having to pay for parking at Millbrae is what caused me to stop riding. Just another hassle to manage with permits and passes.

[kristen]

I live within walking distance of the burlingame station and work within walking distance of the San Francisco station, but I never take Caltrain because it is too inconvenient.

I need to be at work by 7:30. Right now I leave my house at 7. In order to take the Caltrain (unless I wanted to drive to Millbrae), I would have to take the 6:03 am train, a full hour earlier than I leave the house. Not only would I have to leave for work an hour earlier, there is no cost savings for me -- I calculated yesterday, and driving every day costs me $98/ month, while a Caltrain pass would cost $112. Plus, there is the convenience factor that I can always get home if one of my kids gets sick etc.

So, I carpool with a friend, instead. It's much more convenient, and I save money.

I love the theory of the train, but the actual practice here leaves a lot to be desired.

[dtn]

I agree the theory is bad for Caltrain and it will be even worse for high speed rail. Virgin will take you from SFO to LAX or Orange County in a little over an hour for between $39 and $54. No train will ever beat that time or price.