Caltrain officials hoping upgrades attract riders

“We are constantly striving to improve the customer experience on Caltrain by providing more convenient options and better amenities. We’ve advanced that mission since the onset of COVID-19,” Caltrain Acting Executive Director Michelle Bouchard said by email.

The expanded coverage of 104 trains per weekday surpasses its pre-pandemic levels and adds more hourly trains and baby bullet express trains. The changes ensure more consistency and options for riders outside peak hours and those attending special events like concerts and sports events. The old schedule was highly weighted toward peak commuters, and the new plan is aimed at adding people transitioning back to work.

“Now there are a lot more options throughout the day for either people with nontraditional commutes or people looking to grab a train and not wanting to risk a long wait,” Caltrain spokesperson Dan Lieberman said.

Caltrain has added over 300 bike lockers, allowing bikers to park their bikes at a station with keycard access. Lockers come on a first-come, first-served basis on an hourly fee, typically averaging around a nickel an hour in costs and around 40 cents per day. The lockers are viewed as a fundamental safety improvement to bike racks, allowing people who live nearby to no longer need to bring them on trains for safety reasons. Around two-thirds of Caltrain users live or work within half a mile of the station, Lieberman said. Caltrain uses the company BikeLink as its contractor to register users online and get a card to access lockers. BikeLink has said any time not used during the day is refunded. Close to double the number of clipper readers will be added by October to the transit corridor, reducing the lines and time waiting for riders. Caltrain is also adding more ticket vending machines with upgrades.

Caltrain has also improved its South San Francisco and San Mateo Hillsdale stations to ensure passengers don’t have to cross the tracks to reach the boarding platforms. Instead, South San Francisco now has a 700-foot center-boarding platform and pedestrian underpass to reduce bottlenecks on the railroad and ensures multiple trains can use the station at a time, allowing for more flexible scheduling for future increased electrified service.

Bouchard said Caltrain’s launch of electrified service in September 2024 would be another significant step forward in transforming how commuters travel along the Peninsula Corridor. Caltrain electrification would significantly increase train service and reduce timing delays, a consistent user complaint.

Caltrain has seen a slow but steady increase in ridership in the past few months. Caltrain saw total April ridership rise to around 397,000 in 2022 compared to 124,000 in 2021, a 219% increase. The average weekday ridership is about 15,400, with 4,600 in 2021. Total ridership in 2022 is 2.9 million, a significant increase compared to 2021. Caltrain has only seen around a 25% return of its pre-pandemic baseline. The rate is behind other Bay Area transit agencies like VTA, which has had half its users return. Caltrain staff attributes this to its high dependence on office commuters still working from home.

“Weekday ridership is slowly increasing, but weekend and evening travel has been doing pretty well,” Lieberman said. “Giants season has been good for us, and Niners season is going to be good as well.”

curtis@smdailyjournal.com

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