Published Thursday, May 28, 2009, by the San Mateo Daily Journal

Public: Don't cut weekend Caltrain trips

By Bill Silverfarb

Caltrain officials got an earful from the public last night as the transit
agency took comments on plans to cut its deficit by increasing fares and parking
fees and cutting weekend service.

Particularly out in force were Burlingame residents who implored the agency to
not make any cuts to weekend service.

"We hope weekend service survives at Broadway because that's all the service we
get," said AVR Realty's Ross Bruce, also president of the Broadway Business
Improvement District.

Several other Burlingame residents agreed.

"This is a hardship to our merchants, our residents and those who rely on the
train to get to their destination," said Barbara Zukowski, who sits on the board
of directors for the Broadway Business Improvement District.

Another Burlingame resident, Jeff Carter, suggested Caltrain sell advertising
wraps on its trains to help offset the deficit.

The transit agency faces a $10.1 million deficit for 2010 with the loss of state
money and dwindling ridership. Caltrain is expected to take in $91 million in
the next fiscal year and spend about $101 million.

Approximately $44 million of Caltrain's budget comes from paying customers while
about $39 million comes from San Francisco, San Mateo and Santa Clara counties,
said Don Esse, a financial analyst with the San Mateo County Transit District.

In March, the agency felt its first monthly ridership decline in many years.

One-time funding sources used to bridge deficits for the past seven years are
mostly gone, Esse said. Another important funding source, State Transit
Assistance, has also been eliminated for the next five years.

This puts an additional strain on Caltrain's partners, including SamTrans, which
rely on STA funds for its transit operations.

The deepening recession and job losses are also beginning to have a negative
impact on Caltrain ridership and revenue, Esse said.

The agency proposes increasing base fares and zone fares by 25 cents to raise
about $2.7 million. Another $2.3 million will be saved by reducing midday
service and $1.9 million could be saved by suspending weekend service.

A five-point plan was introduced to Caltrain last night by the BayRail Alliance
<http://bayrailalliance.org>. The plan calls for no elimination of weekend
service, no bicycle surcharge, establishing airport parking, finding dedicated
funding and replacing the Caltrain Joint Powers Board with an elected district.

"We don't want to see Caltrain become commuter only," said Redwood City's Andy
Chow of the BayRail Alliance. Chow also said, without dedicated funding,
Caltrain will go through the same budget mess for years to come.

A Mountain View resident offered a novel approach to fixing the budget at last
night's meeting at Caltrain headquarters in San Carlos. She wants Caltrain to
get rid of its conductors since "all they do is stand around and do nothing."

Two other community meetings were held last night in San Francisco and San Jose.
A public hearing will be held Thursday, June 4, at the Caltrain Administrative
Office, 1250 San Carlos Ave., in San Carlos.

Bill Silverfarb can be reached by e-mail: silverfarb@... or by
phone: (650) 344-5200 ext. 106.


[BATN: See also:

Caltrain fares soar as agencies shift increasing costs onto riders
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/BATN/message/41594 ]