Weekend Caltrain service on the chopping block Weekend Caltrain service on the chopping block (January 30, 2004)

Riders have one more chance to appeal to transit board

By Grace Rauh

While the eagerly awaited baby bullet train is scheduled to make its maiden voyage down the Peninsula this spring, riders who use the San Antonio station could find themselves out in the cold.

Before the baby bullet is set to debut, Caltrain must settle on one of three schedules for weekend service, including one that eliminates weekend service to the smaller of two Mountain View stations.

The Caltrain Board of Directors is holding a public hearing Thursday, Feb. 5 at 10 a.m. to receive feedback for the last time on its proposed weekday and weekend schedules. A second option calls for trains to stop at San Antonio roughly every two hours, and under the final choice, every train, or one per hour, would stop there.

Tim Crawford, president of The Crossings' homeowner association, is upset that he and other residents who live near the San Antonio stop at The Crossings stand to lose their weekend service. He hopes the final schedule proposal goes into effect, but he doesn't plan to attend the Thursday meeting to let the board know how he feels, he said.

"Ten o'clock is not the most opportune time for me to make my way to San Carlos," Crawford said. Crawford would have to miss half a day of work to make the meeting, and he is concerned that other individuals affected by the schedules -- those who use the trains regularly to commute to work -- won't be able to attend the meeting either.

Although the loss of weekend service could affect many residents who live near the San Antonio station, it is unclear just how many residents from The Crossings and other nearby neighbors would actually hop the train to San Francisco or elsewhere on a given weekend if it were an option.

Crawford said he only knows a handful of people within the Crossings' community who have "expressed pretty great discontent" with the potential loss, and Mountain View Mayor Matt Pear said few residents have approached the city about saving San Antonio weekend service.

According to Pear, either himself, Council member Mike Kasperzak or Council member Greg Perry will attend next week's Caltrain meeting. "We certainly support having the weekend schedule be as full as possible," said Pear, who commuted to San Francisco's financial district for close to 16 years on Caltrain.

Ultimately, the decision comes down to Caltrain's Board of Directors, which may approve a new schedule Feb. 5 or decide to postpone the decision, said Caltrain spokesperson Jayme Maltbie Kunz.

A specific launch date has not yet been set for the baby bullet and return of weekend service, but Kunz expects one to be set within the next few weeks. But before the first bullet train can stop in downtown Mountain View, Caltrain has some budget constraints to work out.

"The cost of doing business in the Bay Area has gone up in the last few year," Kunz said. Yet Caltrain's three member counties -- Santa Clara, San Mateo and San Francisco -- aren't coming forward with additional funding to pay for the extra trains set to run when the baby bullet service begins and weekend service resumes. Caltrain plans to keep its operating costs down by shortening the train crew's layover time, but to do so requires labor union approval, Kunz said.

If the board doesn't adopt the schedules or the labor union doesn't agree to the changes, "we will have a significant funding gap, and we will need to look for some alternative way to pay for the service," Kunz said.

E-mail Grace Rauh at grauh@mv-voice.com

Information

The Caltrain Board of Directors will hold a public hearing Thurs., Feb. 5 at 10 a.m. at Caltrain headquarters, 1250 San Carlos Ave., San Carlos. The proposed schedules are available at www.caltrain.com.

Written comments can be sent to timetablecomments@caltrain.com or to the Caltrain Board Secretary, 1250 San Carlos Ave., San Carlos, CA 94070. Phone comments are being received at (800) 660-4287. All comments are due by 5 p.m. on Feb. 4.

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