By Joseph Rodgers Over 1.2 million people in the Bay rely on transit according to recent Clipper data. That’s more than double the entire population of Wyoming! But despite playing such a vital role to our regional and state economy, transit agencies around the San Francisco Bay Area face large budget deficits and are in […]
This past year was the most successful year yet for Transbay Coalition’s work to improve transit, biking, and street safety throughout the Bay Area. Thank YOU for helping make that happen. Whether you donated, volunteered, came to an event, or spoke out for a better transportation system in the region, you made our region a
Caltrain starts a soft launch of electric train service tomorrow, August 11. A few electric trains will be in service tomorrow, interspersed with the old diesel trains and still running the current service. Caltrain isn’t announcing which trains will be electric during the soft launch period. More electric trains will be added in incrementally, and
For Pride Month, the Transbay Coalition was thrilled to partner with Queer Silicon Valley and Liveable Sunnyvale for a special happy hour celebrating the theme of inclusion & solidarity: \”Everyone on the bus, no one under it.\” Advocates from around the Bay came out to “Off The Rail Brewing” on the car-free outdoor plaza on
Tonight at a meeting starting at 7pm, Redwood City City Council will be giving direction on grade separation options (Agenda 9B) The Council will be deciding among three alternatives. Alternatives 1A and 1B separate the Caltrain tracks from roads across the entire city. Both options elevate the tracks. Option 1A closes Maple to cars and
In September, BART changed its schedule to be more regular throughout the day and week. The new schedule eliminates 30 minute waits on evenings and weekends, providing at least 20 minute frequency throughout the week. The tradeoff for the additional service was a reduction of frequency from to 20 minutes at some stations during
Recent customer surveys of BART and Caltrain riders show similar patterns in trip purposes. For both brands, 61% of trips are work commute trips. About a quarter of trips using both services are for social, recreational, and other non-commute purposes. The agencies ask the questions slightly differently so the responses aren’t completely comparable. In
This coming weekend and next, come join exciting, fun and informative Transit Month activities on the Caltrain corridor and around the region. Saturday, September 23, tour the new Caltrain electric trains in San Francisco between 10am and 2pm. The train tour in San Jose this summer drew 4,000 people – so please register if you’d
Caltrain is rolling out marketing plans to regrow transit ridership after steep pandemic declines. The strategies encourage people to take the train for more kinds of trips and for current commute patterns. Coasters at bars encouraging people to have fun safely with a train as the designated driver. Family and group day passes making excursions more
At its May board meeting, the Caltrain board advanced a 2-year budget with plans to provide steady service, and with the likelihood of partner contributions to the capital budget. Choices that Caltrain makes within the next two years have the potential to make a significant difference in ridership regrowth and revenue. Operating budget with steady
On Thursday, February 2, the Caltrain board will discuss short-term opportunities to regrow transit ridership. Caltrain is looking at single agency strategies that it can fully control. These strategies will be helpful, but this narrow focus on short-term independent actions underestimates the depth of the challenge Caltrain is confronting. The railroad is struggling to break
On January 31, the State of California announced that it is awarding $367 million to Caltrain to finish its electrification project, which is scheduled to be completed in Fall 2024. The funding for Caltrain complements $43 million in federal funding, adding up to the full $410 million gap needed to complete electrification, which will enable
The Federal omnibus spending bill included $43 million to help complete Caltrain electrification. Additional funding is expected in early 2023 from the state’s Transit and Intercity Rail Capital Program (TIRCP), which has funding guidelines that favor projects that reduce greenhouse gas emissions and are currently under construction. The electrification funding may help defer the fiscal
This week, SamTrans and VTA are considering next steps to speed buses in San Mateo and Santa Clara Counties. Wednesday: SamTrans ECR Bus Speed and Reliability Study Buses on El Camino Real could travel 25-30% faster compared to 2019 travel times along the 25 mile El Camino Real corridor if improvements in a new SamTrans
Caltrain will be the first major agency in the Bay Area to face a fiscal cliff, as federal relief funding runs out and ridership grows back more gradually. This could result in cuts to service and/or maintenance starting this coming year. To address the transit fiscal cliff as a region, the MTC has requested that
At the September board meeting, Board Chair Steve Heminger reported that had requested that staff bring back recommendations for potential service cuts. His remarks are at 2:33 in the meeting video. Heminger noted that Caltrain’s strategy to regrow transit ridership has included running more frequent all-day service. However, Caltrain’s ridership recovery from the pandemic is
On Tuesday April 5, Redwood City Planning Commission is reviewing an updated version of the city’s plan for the Sequoia station area. The area has been proposed as the site of a new large mixed-use development that would enable a major improvement to Caltrain corridor rail service – an updated transit center with a 4-track
At a board budget workshop on March 21, the Caltrain board will contemplate challenging years ahead with the prospect of changed post-pandemic travel patterns. Business surveys predict that office workers will be commuting an average of three days per week, reducing Caltrain’s pre-pandemic ridership base. Federal funding has kept transit afloat in the Bay Area
Contributed by Sustainable South City The next phase of the 101 managed lanes project, a segment through South San Francisco, is in the works. A coalition in South San Francisco, coordinated by members of Sustainable South City wants the project to avoid adding a new lane to the highway. Rather than adding these lanes by
At a special board meeting on December 6, the Caltrain board approved updates to the price tag and schedule for the electrification project. Based on an in-depth review, and a settlement of disputes with the contractor Balfour Beatty, the price tag has increased by an additional $100 million, and the scheduled delivery date is
