Caltrain officials weigh expanding the number of trains serving the South Bay
SAN MATEO -- Caltrain has decided to hold off on a fare increase that was supposed to go into effect next month in addition to surveying riders to see if they would like service expanded in the South Bay.
John Allen rides Caltrain three days a week, commuting from South San Jose to San Mateo. But if he gets a late start in the morning, the nature of his commute drastically changes.
"Oh man, all the time," Allen said. When asked how that changes things, he answered, "Oh, you've gotta drive."
Because of where Allen lives, there are only three trains that'll get him to work in the morning, departing between 6:20 a.m. and 7:20 a.m. Similarly, there are only three that'll get him home in the evening, departing between 4:30 p.m. and 6:40 p.m.
However, he may soon have some additional flexibility. Caltrain is exploring adding a fourth daily round trip to and from southern Santa Clara County, as well as adjusting arrival and departure times for those trains.
The five stops the change would impact includ Capitol, Blossom Hill, Morgan Hill, San Martin, and Gilroy.
"Hopefully later," Allen said. "Hopefully they wouldn't add it earlier."
Though Caltrain's overall passenger demand is still down -- with an average weekday ridership of around 18,600 passengers compared to around 60,000 pre-pandemic -- Caltrain's Dan Lieberman says there is a lot of potential demand coming out of southern Santa Clara County.
"It's a fast-growing community, there are a lot of people heading out there with a lot of transportation needs," he said. "What Caltrain riders want is what all transit riders want – increased frequency and better reliability. Providing an additional route heading down to Gilroy will provide both of those things."
He says more options would mean more flexibility, which could help get more people riding on trains.
"Ultimately, if you don't have a commute that fits your needs, you're not going to get on the train," he said. "So, making sure that we can increase that service and make sure that people have more options to get on board is the best way to make it easier for people to take a ride with us."
Despite diminished ridership, Caltrain is still running 104 trains a day, said Lieberman.
"We've still gotten a good deal of support both from Measure RR, which was passed by the voters in 2020, and from Sacramento and Washington D.C. making sure that we can keep operating," Lieberman said.
The expanded service isn't a done deal yet. Caltrain just closed a survey to riders on Sunday.
"Discussion will take place over the summer and we should be ready to implement by the fall," he said.
The sooner, the better, says Allen.
"I think it would just give me more options, which would make life a lot easier," he said.