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Prepare to spend a lot more to ride Caltrain. Starting Oct. 1, adult fare will increase 25 cents per zone each way, and monthly train and parking passes will rise substantially.
Caltrain’s monthly parking pass prices will rise nearly $30, to $82.50 from $55.
Monthly train pass prices will rise between $11 and $83 for adults. For seniors, youth, the disabled or Medicare cardholders, monthly pass prices will rise between $5.50 and $23. The price range depends on the number of train zones the pass holder plans to travel through.
After one zone, the price will increase 25 cents each zone traveled, each way. For a one way 2-zone ticket the price will increase 4.3 percent to $6. For a one way 6-zone ticket, it’s a 9 percent increase to $15. A 2-zone monthly pass will increase 18.6 percent to $163.50 and a 6-zone monthly pass will increase 23.9 percent to $433.50.
Caltrain’s discounted eight-ride pass program will be discontinued.
Caltrain plans to ask companies for more money for its Go Pass program, in which all employees at a company are given unlimited Caltrain passes for the year if the company pays a base amount. Starting Jan. 1, 2018, that base amount will increase 50 percent to $23,940, up from $15,960. The per employee cost will increase to $237.50, up from $190, on Jan. 1, 2018; and again to $285 on Jan. 1, 2019.
The agency plans to pilot a program to give discounted tickets on weekends and evenings in January 2018.
Caltrain last raised its prices in 2016, when train zone fare went up 50 cents.
On the agency’s website, Caltrain says that it expects a $20.7 million shortfall in next year’s operational budget. Operations and management costs have increased because of increased ridership and an aging diesel system, according to Caltrain spokesperson Tasha Bartholomew.
Partner agencies, such as the City and County of San Francisco, the San Mateo County Transit District and the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority, help but do not cover the remaining balance after fares are collected. Currently, Caltrain’s fares cover about two-thirds of the agency’s overall costs, according to Ms. Bartholomew.
See new fares here.
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I’m glad they’re raising fares. The amount of people in proportion to the overall population of the area who use Caltrain is minimal. I never have used Caltrain and do not see any reason to. The cost for the new electrical system should be passed on to the riders instead of taxpayers who do not gain any benefit from this
And this will increase ridership how?
PV Res:
The benefit non-caltrain-riding taxpayers get is that it reduces traffic and congestion from the cars that would have otherwise been sharing the road with you.
‘Operations and management costs have increased because of increased ridership and an aging diesel system’ is NOT an excuse for raising fares.
If your aging locomotives are costing you money, lease newer locomotives – don’t raise fares. The locomotive leasing market is very fluid. Your current locomotives are very smokey, so it is not like you need to be picky about getting an ultra clean locomotive.
If you have increased ridership then your income should increase, even if your fares don’t change. If you need fare increases then somehow you are not running your system as well as you used to.
These days a good bit of the time I have to stand in an aisle, Caltrain doesn’t even have to provide me with a seat. So I expect fares to go down, not up.
As John noted, the increased ridership should increase the operating income. If you ask the current riders, the most critical issues are:
1) crowed trains during the peak hours.
2) Infrequent trains in non-Rush our
3) No service to Gilroy except very limited at beginning & end of the day
All of these, and the reliability issue, can be solved by buying the new clean diesel locomotives (such as used by Amtrak in Oakland, Metrolink in LA & now BART) immediately and retiring the very old, dirty, current diesels. A very small part of the >$1 Billion now being spent of electrification (available in 5+ years) could drastically upgrade the service and take more people off the roads.
The real issue with Caltrain is that it is being run by a Bus Transportation Company (SamTrans) and “governed” by a politically appointed, non-qualified Government bureaucracy. Further, we will be asked (no – Told) to approve a special additional sales tax this fall that will be dedicated to Caltrain’s operating expenses.
We need to say “No” & force Caltrain to run an efficient operation.
Why are the comments complaining about how the fare will affect the number of riders? Caltrain is currently over-capacity. Raising the prices to make demand match supply is just basic market economics. They can then invest the extra revenue into actually increasing capacity via electrification, which will improve things in the long run. Also basic market economics.