Editor:
While we may not know who will be our president for the next four years, we do know, thanks to the good voters of the three counties that compose the San Francisco Peninsula, that the commuter rail system will continue to serve communities from San Francisco to Gilroy for the foreseeable future.
As a frequent Caltrain rider, I want to thank everyone who voted yes on Measure RR. Frankly, due to the low ridership caused by the pandemic, I questioned whether the measure would even receive a majority vote, let alone the two-thirds threshold needed for passage in San Francisco, San Mateo and Santa Clara counties.
A big thank you to retiring state Sen. Jerry Hill for authoring the legislation that enabled this historic vote that allowed the three Peninsula counties to act as a region, connected by a historic rail line central to its development and will now play a critical role in a climate-challenged world as it transforms from polluting diesel to zero-emission electric power.
If you haven’t taken the train recently, please consider doing so. Most conductors are vigilant about enforcing the mask requirement — announcing that it “must cover your nose and mouth;” there are lots of available seats to ensure social distancing, and on many trains, the connecting doors between cars are propped open to improve ventilation.
Now that we’ve saved Caltrain — let’s use it!
Irvin Dawid
Burlingame
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(4) comments
Yes, a big thank you to everyone for subsidizing transit costs for a railroad primarily used by affluent commuters, for the $30 million to pay for the leaning Millennium Tower of SF fiasco and millionaire owners of these luxury condos, and for paying those pensions and benefits of retired workers.
Terence,
Take the train. People from all stripes use it. It's called "public transit" for a reason.
Mr. Dawid - if one has a "regular" job, the train works, but even then, the final mile to get to one’s destination may render the train inconvenient. If one has to drop off/pick up kids or run errands/shop before/after work, riding the train is problematic.
What benefit do riders receive from the $30 million paid out for the leaning Millennium Tower or the recent $50k raise to the CEO? What benefit do riders receive in paying higher pensions, benefits, or having money siphoned away? It remains to be seen if riders will reap any benefits from this tax increase, but if history serves, riders won't see any benefits, rather they'll see more taxes/fare increases, sooner, rather than later.
Hi, Terence
There's gotta be a better way to move people up and down the peninsula. The overhead paid by taxpayers and subsidies to keep the trains moving is staggering. I sometimes feel like we are watching a game of Three-card Monte.
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