Caltrain Declares Fiscal Emergency to Stay on Track

Caltrain Executive Director Michael Scanlon said that yesterday's  declaration of fiscal emergency at the transit service was made so that directors could consider "radical" solutions and close a $30 million budget deficit Caltrain faces over the coming year.

The Peninsula Corridor Joint Powers Board, which governs Caltrain, declared a fiscal emergency at a meeting yesterday held at Caltrain headquarters in San Carlos, giving them a greater ability to make drastic service changes and cuts to keep its operating budget afloat in the 2012 fiscal year.

Scanlon said the solutions being considered were "radical," but "they are what businesses would do." Some of the changes could include eliminating all weekend train service; stopping service south of San Jose; closing stations in South San Francisco, San Bruno, Burlingame, Belmont and Santa Clara; and cutting weekday service in half to just 48 trains.

The meeting room was filled with Caltrain riders who were worried that their stations were on the chopping block.

To prevent a fire hazard because of the large turnout, many people were diverted to an adjacent area where the meeting was broadcast over a speaker system.

Riders from Burlingame, South San Francisco and Santa Clara County made a single-file line at the meeting, and each was allowed one minute to speak to board members and request they not slash services or stations along routes used by customers.

Several students from San Jose' Bellarmine College Preparatory and a school vice president asked directors to consider preserving service specifically at Caltrain's College Park station in Santa Clara County, which is adjacent to the school's campus.

"This is not simply a matter of convenience for the Bellarmine community," Brian Adams, the school's vice president for advancement, said.

"Caltrain has not only become a great place to do homework and study, but it has also proven to be a good place to meet new people at a new school, where I knew no one," Bellarmine freshman Jack Morris said. Morris, who lives in San Juan Bautista, began using Caltrain this year from the Gilroy station, which also faces closure.

Adams said that about 90 people at Bellmarine use train stations south of the service's Diridon station in San Jose. Those stations could be closed on July 2, when officials would implement some of the proposed service cuts.

Board directors have been evaluating which stations to close based on several factors, one of them being how frequently the station is used, Caltrain spokeswoman Christine Dunn said.

Dunn said the College Park station has one of the lowest number of riders. In addition, she said there were alternate options for Bellmarine riders, including a free shuttle offered by the school at 5:20 p.m. daily to Caltrain's Diridon station, which is currently not up for elimination.

This is the third year that directors have declared a fiscal emergency. According to Caltrain, these emergencies are allowed in state policy by an exemption in the California Environmental Quality Act, which says a transit agency can declare a crisis when revenues are insufficient to fund operations.

The act, passed in California in 1970, mandates that without a declared emergency, local agencies must prepare an Environmental Impact Report for any service decisions that may significantly affect the environment.

Shirley Johnson, a rider who made several statements to the board during public comment, said Caltrain should have prepared an EIR by now, after three consecutive years of directors declaring a fiscal emergency.

Johnson, who chairs the Caltrain Bicycling Committee, said the service has lost a potential $1 million in revenue since 2009 because of inadequate service for bicyclists. She said cyclists have been continually bumped from trains because the cars have insufficient space to hold their bicycles.

In January, more than 190 people with bicycles reported being bumped from trains, Johnson said. Scanlon replied directly to Johnson, saying Caltrain has been receiving unofficial reports about how many bicyclists have been bumped, but that he wanted to incorporate an official bike-bump report at board meetings.

He added that $300,000 will be invested in adding two spaces for bicycles on the agency's trains in the coming months. In April, directors will discuss which service changes should be implemented over the summer.

The remaining train stations that are being considered for elimination are in Lawrence, San Antonio, Hayward Park and Bayshore. Up to seven of the 10 stations being considered for termination could be suspended in July.

Officials are also considering suspending all holiday service and all service for special events.

The next meeting will be held at the San Mateo County Transit District administrative building in San Carlos on April 7 at 10 a.m.

-Bay City News