Frequently Asked Questions

In addition, Caltrain is proposing a fare increase and service suspensions at some stations. Because the changes are so substantial, Caltrain recognizes that its riders will have many questions as this process unfolds. Below are answers to some of the most frequently asked questions.

Budget Deficit

Why does Caltrain have a deficit?

As a public transit agency, Caltrain subsidizes its service to make it more affordable for riders. The true cost of operating the service is much higher than the revenue generated by fares. The majority of the funds Caltrain relies on to operate the railroad come from two sources: passenger fares and annual subsidies from the three counties involved in operating the railroad (San Francisco Muni, San Mateo County Transit District and Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority). Caltrain does not have a separate, dedicated funding source, such as property or sales tax.

Caltrain has had budget deficits for the last three years. The deficit has grown each year as a result of two factors: stagnant member contributions and rising operating costs. Since 2002, we have bridged those deficits with one-time only funding and the use of Caltrain reserves. Because Caltrain has essentially exhausted its reserves, the agency now must seek new ways to reduce the budget deficit.

What are the current proposals to reduce the deficit?

Caltrain is proposing a fare increase to help lower the total deficit the agency is facing for FY 2006. By increasing the base fare by 25 cents and the zone fare by 25 cents, Caltrain could potentially raise an additional $3.4 million in fare revenue next year.

The current service model has led to deficits that threaten the future of Caltrain service. This new service proposal creates a model that is more efficient, adds to our most popular and profitable service and is expandable, allowing for future growth.

Caltrain also is proposing a new service structure. The concept for this structure is to decrease the travel time between San Jose and San Francisco. Based on the success of the Baby Bullet service, Caltrain recognizes that faster travel times get people out of their cars and onto the train. By eliminating the slowest moving local trains during the commute periods and replacing them with 14 additional Baby Bullets with alternating stopping patterns and combination local/express trains, Caltrain projects it can substantially increase ridership and revenues by another $2.5 million.

What cost-cutting measures has Caltrain undertaken internally to close the deficit?

Over the last three years, Caltrain has reduced its workforce by nearly 40 positions. The majority of Caltrain's employees are made up of the crews responsible for operating and maintaining the service. Administrative work is actually carried out by a virtual organization. In other words, Caltrain has fewer than the equivalent of 50 full-time employees managing the service contract and administering maintenance and service issues. The rest of the staff to Caltrain actually provides service on a part-time basis because those employees also are working for the San Mateo County Transit District. Using this virtual structure, Caltrain is able to enjoy all of the benefits of access to everything from Contracts and Procurement to Capital Grants and Funding without shouldering the entire cost for those employees.

It seems as if Caltrain just realized it has a deficit. Why haven't these problems been talked about before?

Caltrain has been talking about its precarious financial situation for years but the agency has covered the shortfall through one-time only and reserve funds. By using these other funding sources to bridge Caltrain's growing budget gap, the agency has largely been able to protect its riders from sharp fare increases or service changes until now.

Caltrain's three partner agencies also have been in the midst of financial crisis for the past few years, and have been unable to help cover the deficit with increased contributions. This problem has come to a head now because Caltrain has essentially exhausted its reserves. Service planners have been looking at this issue for months. Caltrain brought forward its proposals as soon as they were finalized. These service and fare changes are geared towards eliminating Caltrain's structural deficit in the long-term through increased ridership and revenues.

Why are you spending millions of dollars on expensive construction projects like the new maintenance facility and the San Bruno grade separation?

A firewall exists between Caltrain's operating funds and its capital funds, which are used for physical improvements and construction. For the most part, Caltrain is required to use the capital funding it receives through federal and state grant programs and local sales tax revenues for specific construction projects. Caltrain also would lose the state and federal funding if it stopped work on these important projects, and that money could never be used to help offset the deficit in the operating budget.

While it's difficult to watch a new grade separation being constructed as Caltrain is going through sweeping service changes, it's also important to note that these projects are critical to the safety of the pedestrians and vehicles that regularly cross the tracks. These projects don't just benefit the rail agency but the community it operates through as well.

Fare and Service Change Proposals

Why does Caltrain want to increase fares?

Caltrain realizes that any fare increase impacts the riders but after careful analysis recognized that the 25/25-cent increase would bring about a significant increase in revenue. Caltrain also had considered a fare increase that would increase the base fare 50 cents and each zone increment 25 cents, but recognized the additional revenue would be significantly offset by the potential ridership losses.

Caltrain also reviewed the passenger cost of service per mile to rail agencies in the Bay Area and across the country. The agency recognized through the peer review process that Caltrain is one of the least expensive agencies in passenger costs per mile. (See fare comparison chart)

Caltrain last raised fares in August 2002 by 10 percent to help offset declining revenue through ridership as a result of the recession. In September 2003, Caltrain instituted the Proof-of-Payment system and a new zone structure, which resulted in no additional revenue.

What is the service proposal?

Caltrain is proposing an improved schedule with an increased number of trains. It is intended to pull in more riders and increase revenues while using only 17 train crews to make the 88 weekday trips.

The "Super 88" schedule would increase the number of Baby Bullets during the commute hour from 10 trains to 24 trains and would increase the overall number of trains from 86 to 88. It also would create a new kind of combined local/express service that would further maximize the schedule and shorten travel times.

The weekday schedule changes would eliminate all but early morning, midday and late evening local trains but provide local service through a timed transfer on the local/express trains. The new schedule also would eliminate service at a handful of Caltrain's lowest ridership stations. Caltrain's board of directors indicated a desire to preserve weekend and Gilroy service but will make their final decisions at a special meeting on April 22.

The service proposal would restructure the peak commute period to offer coordinated local/express and Baby Bullet trains with timed transfers. Under the proposal, a local/express train would make all stops, until it reached Redwood City, where it would become an express train. The Baby Bullet with the original service pattern would depart, a local/express train with the alternating pattern would depart and finally a Baby Bullet with the new service pattern, which includes Tamien, San Jose Diridon, Sunnyvale, Palo Alto, Redwood City, San Mateo, Millbrae and San Francisco, would depart. That train pattern would repeat throughout the rush hour.

What about the riders who don't use the Baby Bullets? Why do we suffer so that you can keep changing the schedule to accommodate the Bullets?

Caltrain's intent with this schedule proposal is to open up a host of new service possibilities for all its riders and many potential new riders, while creating faster travel times for all trains, not just Baby Bullets.

Under the proposal, a whole new set of Baby Bullet stations would be added to the schedule giving riders more options. Alternatively, the new combined trains could give riders a whole new way to shorten their commute.

Not only are Caltrain's Baby Bullet trains extremely popular, they provide the most efficient service, costing less money to operate. Bullets pull in nearly double the revenue of a limited-stop train because most riders are traveling longer distances and as a result have a higher average ticket price.

What will happen to local service?

Even though, Caltrain won't run local trains in the peak commute - defined as trains making all stops - the agency still will offer local service. As an example, a passenger traveling between the Lawrence Caltrain Station in Sunnyvale and the Burlingame Caltrain Station could board a local/express train and transfer to another local/express train with an alternating pattern in Redwood City. Transfers between these trains would be timed to facilitate the fastest and easiest connection possible for these passengers.

What is a local/express train? Won't you lose passengers by making the service more difficult to use for local riders?

The combined local/express train would make half of its run as a local train switching to an express train at the midway point or vice versa. For example, in order to facilitate a five-minute timed transfer in Redwood City, Caltrain might schedule a train to depart San Jose at 10 a.m. making all stops between San Jose and Redwood City. Departing Redwood City, the 10 a.m. train would become an express making only a handful off additional stops between Redwood City and San Francisco. At 10:15 a.m. a train might depart San Jose as an express making very limited stops between San Jose and Redwood City and becoming a local as it departs Redwood City.

The timed transfers will make service extremely efficient for local riders and open up new express train possibilities for all of Caltrain's riders. The new schedules may result in some ridership losses but because of the greatly reduced travel times Caltrain's analysis indicates that the losses would be offset by attracting new riders.

Stations Proposed for Service Suspension

How will my station be impacted?

Some stations will see service improvements as some of the new Baby Bullets stop at additional stations. Potential new Baby Bullet stops include Tamien, Sunnyvale, Redwood City and San Mateo. Some of the lowest ridership stations may have service suspended, including College Park in San Jose, Atherton, Broadway in Burlingame and Paul Avenue in San Francisco.

Other stations also will see less service as Caltrain is proposing to eliminate the local trains in favor of a combined local/express train during the peak commute. Under the new schedule, Caltrain would make an estimated 350 fewer stops each day, saving 2.5 minutes and 2.8 gallons of fuel per stop.

The service reductions are spread throughout the system and represent about 20 percent of the total number of stops on the current schedule.

By suspending service to these four stations, Caltrain also can gain significant operating efficiencies to help shorten the run between San Francisco and San Jose. Each of the stations proposed for service suspension, requires a "hold out rule" which means that while a train is loading passengers at the station, other trains can't pull into the station or pass through. As a result, Caltrain must build these delays into the schedule lengthening the overall travel time along the corridor.

Caltrain's goal is to improve its service and to attract new riders, and to do that it must look for ways to gain greater efficiency. The implementation of the Baby Bullet schedule has demonstrated that passengers are attracted to shorter travel times. The faster Caltrain can make the trip between San Francisco and San Jose the greater the potential ridership gains.

Cutting service is a self-fulfilling prophecy. College Park, Atherton, Broadway and Paul Avenue would have more riders if you hadn't reduced service at those stations. You need to increase frequency to increase ridership.

Caltrain agrees that in addition to shorter travel times, which top the charts in terms of passenger requests, increased frequency also attracts new passengers. Caltrain's new schedule is geared to do exactly that, increase the frequency of service at stations that are equipped to efficiently handle greater passenger loads. But in order to do that we need to find new efficiencies in our schedule, which allow the agency to retool for overall passenger growth.

The stations that are being proposed for service suspension are some of the stations that represent inefficiencies in our system and provide low ridership returns. But many other stations also will see less service through the elimination of local trains and the implementation of the local/express in its absence. In fact, Caltrain will be making 20 percent fewer stops with this new schedule.

What will happen to the stations where service is suspended?

The service at the four proposed stations will be suspended for one year. After that initial period, staff will reevaluate the new schedule including the service suspensions.

What is the ridership at the stations proposed for service suspensions?

Caltrain's October 2004 passenger counts indicate the following ridership numbers at the stations proposed for suspension:

Paul Avenue - 1
Broadway - 176
Atherton - 113
College Park - 93

These are among Caltrain's lowest eight performing stations based on ridership. But other factors went into the decision to propose these stations for suspension. Those factors included: the station's older configuration (requiring a "hold-out" rule), cost of existing plans to improve the station's configuration, its proximity to other stations, specifically its proximity to bullet stations, how the station is accessed and its proximity to other "hold-out" rule stations, alternative transportation availability and system distribution.

For comparison, Caltrain's highest performing ridership stations are as follows:

San Francisco - 5859
Palo Alto - 2404
Mountain View - 2204
San Jose Diridon - 1955

Transfers

What will happen to transfers with VTA, SamTrans, Muni or BART?

Caltrain encourages riders to use alternative modes of transportation to access its Caltrain stations and is working closely with its partner agencies to coordinate transfer times whenever possible.

Building a schedule is like knitting a sweater, pull at one thread and the whole thing can unravel. Because of that, Caltrain won't be able to create a perfect transfer for every rider but will alter its schedule where it can and will work with our partner agencies on their schedules as well.

Next Steps

What can I do to help Caltrain with its funding problems?

Ride the train as often as you can and bring a few friends with you to try out the service. By spreading the word about the changes Caltrain is making to improve the service you could be helping Caltrain save the service you've grown to depend on.