Whizzing past Whizzing past (March 18, 2005)

Caltrain eyes fare hikes, service changes

By Jon Wiener

Caltrain officials are counting on the popularity of the baby bullet service to help them bridge an $11 million budget shortfall next year.

Board members want to expand the successful express service while reducing the stops made by its slower local trains. They voiced support for a staff recommendation called "Super 88" at a Monday workshop.

The plan means that fewer trains will be stopping at Mountain View's two stations but those that do will be going faster. The cost of a one-way ticket from Mountain View to other cities will rise 25 cents to $2. A round-trip ticket from Mountain View to downtown San Francisco will jump to $10.

Caltrain currently runs 86 train trips each weekday, including five trips in each direction of the baby bullet. Under the proposal, that total would increase to 88, including double the number of bullet trains. Every local train would run a limited-stop route, stopping at half of the stations while zipping through the rest of the line, cutting the average travel time between San Jose and San Francisco by 15 minutes.

"It's expensive to just keep stopping because we can stop," said chief operating officer Bob Doty. He noted that each stop takes about two and a half minutes, and that the reduced schedule would save $340,000 in fuel alone.

Staff members looked at cutting service back by as much as 25 percent but said the projected loss in revenue would outweigh any savings from doing so. The better solution, said Doty, was to increase the frequency of baby bullets and model the rest of the line after them.

Coupled with the closure of several aging and unused stations, the fare hikes and new alignment will save the three-county agency more than $6 million. Additional proposed cuts -- such as eliminating weekend trains and service to Gilroy -- were shot down by board members.

Most of the new bullet trains will use the older gallery cars and stop at a different set of stations. The current baby bullet stations are among the most heavily used on the line -- downtown Mountain View is third behind San Francisco and Palo Alto -- but the popularity has also led to frequent parking crunches.

The San Antonio station, where local officials fought to maintain weekend service last year, appears to be safe from potential closure. It does not require the same costly upgrades as other stations although there has been a fall in its use since the opening of the downtown baby bullet stop.

The agency will release its formal proposal next Monday. A community meeting is scheduled for March 23 at Santa Clara City Council Chambers at 6 p.m. A public hearing on the plan is scheduled for April 7 at Caltrain offices in San Carlos, with a formal decision set for April 22.

E-mail Jon Wiener at jwiener@mv-voice.com

Ranking of average weekday boardings, October 2005 1. 4th & King in San Francisco: 5,859 2. Palo Alto: 2,404 3. Mountain View: 2,204 20. San Antonio: 455

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