Caltrain Declares Fiscal Emergency

Caltrain’s Board of Directors voted unanimously to declare a fiscal emergency yesterday, which paved the way for a far-reaching array of cuts to help bridge a projected $30 million budget gap.

Even with these measures, Caltrain would still be $5 million short of breaking even, said Michelle Bouchard, Caltrain’s director of transportation.

Those cuts would nearly halve the number of daily trains, eliminate both weekend service and all service south of San Jose.

"It's kind of unfortunate that won't have trains during off-peak hours," said Karthik Varadarajan, 28, Mountain View resident who commutes daily to Hillsdale where he transfers to SamsTran. "That meant that I have to adhere to a strict schedule at work. I can't stay late. I'm a software engineer and it's always difficult to just leave."

The board's vote, held at Caltrain headquarters in San Carlos, came after more than two hours of one-minute testimonials from riders concerned about losing Caltrain service. Their voices joined the 1,350 written comments that the board received during the four community meetings it held across the peninsula last month, according to Caltrain Executive Director Michael J. Scanlon.

While nothing is certain until the board votes on next year’s budget in April, the fiscal emergency declaration allows Caltrain to bypass the state-mandated environmental review required before making changes to their service, said Spokeswoman Christine Dunn.

“If we had to do it, we’d be bankrupt by then,” she said.

Unlike other agencies that have allotted revenue through taxes, more than half of Caltrain’s funding comes from its three partner agencies: Valley Transit Authority (VTA), San Mateo Transit (SamsTran) and the County of San Francisco. Together the agencies compose the Peninsula Corridor Joint Powers Board. Payment from each agency is typically proportional to the amount of riders within that county, Dunn said.

The remaining portion of revenue comes from ticket sales, according to the presentation from Caltrain.

However, the economic downturn that has hit the coffers of most county governments has forced the three partners to reduce their amount of contribution over the past few years. SamTrans, in particular, can only afford $4.7 of its allotted $14.7 million this year, according to the presentation.

If the other agencies follow suit, Caltrain’s available funding for the coming fiscal year would have dropped from $35 million to $11 million.

“This economic instability has really hit Caltrain and its funding partners in a way that’s unprecedented,” said Bouchard.

VTA General Manager Michael T. Burns announced that the agency would not cut its own contribution in a letter last month. Some in VTA have suggested that the agency provide an additional one-time contribution to help cover SamTrans, but not everyone agrees that it would be fair to the Santa Clara County Taxpayers who pay for VTA, according to Burns.

"It's a major priority [for VTA]," Mountain View City Councilwoman Abe-Koga told Mountain View Patch on Tuesday, Mar. 1. Abe-Koga, who represents several Santa Clara communities on VTA's board, added that VTA has its share of Caltrain funds in their budget. "I was pleasantly surprised that there was concern by the VTA board as a whole."

Concerns expressed at the meeting were plenty: some said that they chose their homes based on a nearby station that is now in jeopardy. Some were students, some disabled, and some were simply long-time fans.

“I have been riding the train for over 80 years,” said Pat Dixon, who recalled when the system was owned by Union Pacific, “I hate to see any trains cut.”

The stations considered for suspension include Bayshore, South San Francisco, San Bruno, Burlingame, Hayward Park, Belmont, San Antonio, Lawrence, Santa Clara, College Park station.

Bouchard said that the agency took a pragmatic approach in considering what stations to cut. Each trip could only last 70 minutes, stopping at the most popular stations during peak hours.

The money to be saved from each part of the proposed cuts, like ending service south of San Jose, is currently unknown, said Spokeswoman Dunn.

“It’s very difficult, when you look at a complicated service like Caltrain, to put a cost to it, because the service really functions as a whole,” she said.

Ridership in Mountain View at the Castro Street Station has steadily increase and ranks third in average weekly ridership, while San Antonio Station ranks number 18 out of 32 stations, according to Caltrain’s annual ridership study.

Ridership and revenue were actually higher than expected in January, Scanlon said.

“If I could emphasize anything from this meeting–nobody on this board wants to undo everything we’ve done to increase ridership,” he said.

Shirley Johnson, who chairs the Caltrain Bicycling Committee, said the service has lost a potential $1 million in revenue since 2009 because of inadequate service for bicyclists. In January, more than 190 people with bicycles reported being bumped from trains, Johnson said.

Scanlon replied directly to Johnson and said Caltrain has received unofficial reports about how many bicyclists have been bumped, but that he wanted to incorporate an official bike-bump report at board meetings.

He added that $300,000 will be invested in adding two spaces for bicycles on the agency's trains in the coming months. Mountain View ranks third in bike usage.

Officials are also considering suspending all holiday service and all service for special events.

The next meeting will be held at the San Mateo County Transit District administrative building in San Carlos on April 7 at 10 a.m. 

Additional reporting by Claudia Cruz and Bay City News.