Caltrain Measure RR passes

Dave Pine, the chair of Caltrain’s board of directors and a San Mateo County supervisor, said the Measure RR revenue would help both the short-term and long-term revenue budget for Caltrain. Measure RR is expected to help Caltrain survive during the pandemic while also allowing Caltrain to expand its service, provide more frequent trains and stops and increase its ridership.

“It’s a new day for Caltrain and the communities that it serves. With the passage of Measure RR, Caltrain, for the first time in its history, will have a stable and dedicated source of revenue,” Pine said.

Pine said in a previous interview with the Daily Journal that if the sales tax had not passed, Caltrain would have been forced to stop or reduce passenger service. Pine on Tuesday night said Caltrain’s strength is also its weakness in that approximately 70% of its revenue is from ridership. The pandemic has seen Caltrain’s ridership drop by over 90%, which created a lot of financial pressure.

Caltrain gets most of its funding from fares and the three counties it runs in, but fares and funding dropped in the past few months due to the pandemic. Caltrain is also facing an $18 million budget deficit due to the pandemic. The tax increase will generate an estimated $108 million annually for 30 years to provide relief in the short and long term for Caltrain.

“With Measure RR, we should be able to bridge the shortfall until our ridership returns, and at that point, pivot and begin using the funds for expansion and the rollout of the electrified train service,” Pine said.

Proponents of the measure said having regular Caltrain service will help relieve traffic congestion when workers start traveling again. Caltrain service would also be better for the environment. Caltrain believes ridership levels will increase once the pandemic ends, as most workers will return to work and there will be further growth in the region. The measure would provide the funding needed to ensure Caltrain remains accessible and affordable for all.

Opponents of Measure RR say it would have disproportionately affected low-income residents who use the trains and won’t work as more people are working from home due to COVID-19 and won’t return to commuting when the pandemic ends. Opponents also argued that increasing taxes during an ongoing financial crisis was not the way forward for the Bay Area.

curtis@smdailyjournal.com

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