Caltrain fare hike talks not sitting well with riders

Staff is also proposing to raise the price of the Go Pass by 20%, effective Jan. 1, 2020, followed by a 5% increase every two years on Jan. 1, starting in 2022. The Go Pass program allows companies, educational institutions and housing complexes to purchase annual unlimited-ride passes for all eligible employees, residents or students. It currently costs either $285 per eligible user or $23,940 — whichever is greater. 

Caltrain’s Chief Finance Officer Derek Hansel said the new Go Pass prices adequately address long-standing concerns that the program has historically been underpriced.

“We think on a revenue per passenger mile basis we’ve gotten pretty close to equity relative to our other products,” he said.

Hansel doesn’t anticipate the one-time 20% price increase to lead to a “huge decrease” in revenue. He said there was some customer attrition after the price of the Go Pass increased by 25% in January of 2018, but after the price went up by the same amount in January of 2019, Caltrain sold more Go Passes than it ever had before. 

Finally, staff is proposing to either remove the 55-cent Clipper discounts for one-way fares or lower that discount to 25 cents. 

The proposals aren’t sitting well with some riders.

“These are steep fare increases,” Caltrain rider Roan Kattouw said at a meeting Thursday. “Higher fares reduce ridership. [The board] should be avoiding these fare increases.”

San Jose resident Andrew Boone echoed those concerns. 

“The fare increases are unfair and Caltrain already costs too much,” he said before reprimanding the board for plans to fund Caltrain via a sales tax. “Everything’s being paid for on the backs of the poor.” 

Boone said it costs him $21 to commute round-trip from San Jose to San Francisco and with the proposed changes he’ll be paying $25. 

Board members acknowledged those concerns and some described the fare hikes as an unfortunate necessity given Caltrain’s financial constraints. 

“I don’t want fares raised, I want the train to be free, that’s my vision. It’s rapidly becoming a train for the wealthy only, but as long as there’s no dedicated source of funding we have to,” said Board Member Charles Stone, also a Belmont councilman. 

Stone and his colleagues point to Caltrain’s participation in Metropolitan Transportation Commission pilot program as a source of relief for low-income riders. Starting this fall, those earning less than 200% of the federal poverty level would be eligible for a 20% discount off single-ride adult Clipper card fares. Board members could opt for a higher discount in the future.

Hansel said if the board approves the above fare changes and opts to just lower rather than remove the Clipper discount, then Caltrain will see small operating surpluses in fiscal year 2020 and 2021, which would be used to cover a deficit expected by fiscal year 2022. 

The board will vote on the proposed fare changes in its regular September meeting. 

zachary@smdailyjournal.com

(650) 344-5200 ext. 102