Caltrain Gives Itself High Marks

October 30, 2007

**FROM THE DAILY JOURNAL**

Caltrain gives itself high marks
By Dana Yates

Record ridership and revenue marked Caltrain's 15th year as a locally owned agency, according to this year's annual progress report.

Caltrain's record-setting year is accredited to the introduction of the baby bullet and the 96-train schedule three years ago. While the agency has experienced ups and downs since its inception, the future looks bright, Executive Director Michael Scanlon wrote in the report.

Caltrain took in $88.1 million in revenue and spent the same amount. Member agencies in San Mateo, San Francisco and Santa Clara counties contributed $38.3 million or 43.5 percent to the budget. Fares contributed $36.7 million or 41.7 percent to the budget. The revenues increased 14.8 percent in one year, according to the report.

Ridership has jumped from 7.2 million riders in 1992 to nearly 11 million in 2007, according to the report.

The agency received the Federal Transit Administration Ridership Award? in 2007 for its efforts to increase ridership. It also received the Business Award of Excellence? from the San Mateo County Economic Development Association.

On-time performance increased from approximately 65 percent in 2000 to between 90 and 95 percent this year, according to the report.

Meanwhile the agency is in the first stages of its 2025 plan to reinvent the system in two decades. One of the main goals is to electrify the rails to allow for speedier and more frequent trains. It is also undergoing a $21 million Burlingame station upgrade, $35 million Palo Alto station upgrade and plans a $26 million upgrade to the Santa Clara station. It is about to finish a $15 million upgrade north of Millbrae and recently celebrated the construction of its $140 million Centralized Equipment Maintenance and Operations Facility in San Francisco.

Dana Yates can be reached by e-mail: dana@smdailyjournal.com or by phone: (650) 344-5200 ext. 106.

Interesting how our station was only $21 Million. Look at what they spent in Palo Alto and Santa Clara.

– Written by jroc

Posted in Uncategorized

3 responses to “Caltrain Gives Itself High Marks”

Joanne

October 30, 2007

So even with the much ballyhooed increase in ridership from the bullet trains CalTrain is 60% subsidized — and San Mateo County’s share of that subsidy is only $13 million out of a total San Mateo County annual budget of $1.7 billion. It seems to me that if the Peninsula wants to get serious about public transportation it needs to start running both bullets and local trains and stop treating public transportation as chump change.
Myles

October 30, 2007

They need 4 tracks to do that.
Joanne

October 30, 2007

I’d be interested in hearing you develop your thought, Myles. Are you saying that CalTrain won’t ever have the ability to run both bullets and locals? Or are you saying that until the train station remodel is completed Caltrain cannot run bullets and locals?

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