Plan to close train stations causes outcry Plan to close train stations causes outcry (April 13, 2005)

By Andrea Gemmet

Almanac Staff Writer

Is there a chance the Atherton train station won't be closed?

Looking to reduce a crippling $13.6 million hole in next year's operating budget, Caltrain officials are considering radical changes to the train schedule, raising ticket prices and closing some ticket offices and train stations. Of all the proposals, the one to close four stations has provoked the most protests.

After hearing testimony from 74 people before an overflow crowd at Caltrain headquarters in San Carlos on April 7, several members of the joint powers board that controls Caltrain asked staff to come up with information on how some train service could be retained at three of the four stations: Atherton, Broadway and College Park.

The fourth, Paul Avenue in San Francisco, is the only station facing closure that has not generated an outcry from riders.

"Everyone here wants to save Caltrain. This is not just about where it stops, but whether it runs at all," said Mike Scanlon, Caltrain's executive director.

Even with a proposed combination of higher fares, cost saving measures and a revenue-boosting schedule that more than doubles the number of the popular Baby Bullet express train trips, Caltrain still faces at least a $3 million shortfall for the next fiscal year, Mr. Scanlon said. Caltrain has only $1.4 million left in reserve funds, he added.
Proposed schedule

Caltrain staff is touting a proposed schedule dubbed the "Super 88" that increases the overall number of daily weekday train trips from the current 86 to 88 and increases speed and efficiency by cutting the number of stops. It adds 14 of the popular Baby Bullet express runs for a weekday total of 24, with some of them making mid-line stops in Menlo Park or Redwood City for the first time.

However, the Super 88 schedule cuts 354 stops from the daily schedule, a 20-percent drop that is expected to save about $300,000 in annual fuel costs, according to Chuck Harvey, Caltrain's chief operating officer. With the exception of the San Francisco, Millbrae and San Jose stations, it amounts to an overall reduction in service at stations all along the railway.

The proposed schedule would also do away with local trains that stop at every station, changing them into hybrids that make limited stops on half of the run and local stops on the other half, with the Redwood City station serving as the mid-line transfer point.

The April 7 meeting was an opportunity for the public to comment, but no action was taken. Other than asking questions and giving direction to staff, board members gave no indication of how they would vote on the proposed changes. The JPB is expected to take action at a special meeting set for 1:30 p.m. on Friday, April 22, at Caltrain's headquarters at 1250 San Carlos Ave. in San Carlos.
Closing stations

Of all the measures Caltrain officials are considering to shore up the budget, station closures are clearly the most unpopular.

A delegation of Atherton officials attended the meeting to lobby for train service to the town's historic station. Atherton is offering free daily and overnight parking at its station in hopes of regaining riders lost after Caltrain reduced service in 2002, and then again in 2004, said Councilman Jim Janz. Before the service cuts, the town averaged almost 300 daily riders, he said. The most recent survey showed an average of 113 riders using the Atherton station.

Carla Campbell, a blind Menlo Park resident who relies on the train for her work, said she bought her home because it was within walking distance of the Atherton train station

"This is very important to myself, to other disabled people and all non-drivers," she said. "Taking away service, taking way stations, is a way to shrink our world."

Menlo Park City Councilwoman Kelly Fergusson said that closing the Atherton station would force train riders to drive to Menlo Park and take up parking spaces on nearby commercial and residential streets, and would cause a decline in the downtown's retail vitality.

"Please find a way to keep (the stations) open and not shift your burden onto other agencies," she said.

Besides Atherton's representatives, a big group of students, parents and faculty from Bellarmine College Preparatory showed up to make the case for keeping the College Park station open. Armed with a box of e-mail printouts and led by interim President Father Gerald Wade, they argued that the train kept dangerous teenage drivers off congested freeways. Some students said they would be unable to attend the school if the College Park station closes and others said that commuting to school by rail creates lifelong users of mass transit.

Burlingame city officials and a representative of the local merchants association said that train service is a key part of the redevelopment of the Broadway area. The city's investments, as well as federal grants and subsidies for higher density housing near transit, would be lost if the station closes, they argued.
Few protest fare hike

Of the roughly 2,500 comments Caltrain received prior to the April 7 meeting, more than 1,700 were from people protesting station closures, the vast majority about the College Park station. Only 19 protested a plan to raise fares by 17.5 percent, and 57 people supported it, said Mr. Harvey.

In fact, several people who spoke at the meeting encouraged Caltrain officials to raise fares even more in order to preserve service.

The proposed fare increase amounts to an additional 25 cents in both the base fare and the zone fares. Caltrain staff recommended against 50-cent increases, saying that the revenue from the higher fares would be largely offset by the resulting loss of riders unwilling to pay so much.

However, JPB members Sophie Maxwell and John McLemore said that with the cost of diesel fuel likely to continue to climb, adding a fuel surcharge to ticket prices might be one way to help close the budget gap.

Unpopular cost-saving measures the board may have to reconsider include suspending service to Gilroy and dropping all weekend train service.

Caltrain fares do not cover the cost of operating the rail system, which is subsidized by transit agencies from its three participating counties: San Mateo, Santa Clara and San Francisco. Contributions from the three member agencies have been flat for the past three years as they struggle with their own budget problems, staff said. Sue Lempert, the Metropolitan Transportation Commission liaison to the Caltrain board, said that now is the time to hit up the member agencies for bigger contributions.
INFORMATION

The Joint Powers Board that oversees Caltrain is expected to take action Friday, April 22, on a plan to radically change the train schedule. The special meeting is set to start at 1:30 p.m. at Caltrain's headquarters, 1250 San Carlos Ave. in San Carlos. Details on the new schedule, fares and other proposals are available at Caltrain.org.

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