Caltrain searching for long term budget solutions

By Mary Chamaki

A temporary solution for the Caltrain crisis stalls for time as brainstorming continues for a long term fix.

As Caltrain executives and partners proceed to gather the remaining $3.5 million still needed to cover the previously estimated $35.7 million deficit for fiscal year 2012, an underlying problem still remains in that no long term plan has yet to be established.

"Although the crisis is over, it is not solved. If a long term plan is not set in place, students will lose their ability to expand their cultural values with travel to San Francisco, along with everyday traveling necessities to school or to the local airport. We can not lose these services in the future. A long term solution is a must," said Michael Miller, IT Student Service Manager.

On Tuesday, Santa Clara and the Silicon Valley Leadership Group hosted a meeting to discuss potential solutions for Caltrain's financial problems. Subsidizing Caltrain through taxpayers has been one of the leading suggestions made by the public. Although not everyone uses Caltrain, the argument was brought up by several individuals present that because roads are subsidized for drivers by the government, Caltrain users should seek the same benefits from tax dollars.

Caltrain officials have stated that the emergency crisis announced earlier this year is no longer prevalent in their financial analysis of the current situation.According to Todd McIntyre, Caltrain community relations manager, during the previous crisis resulting in a net $30.3 million deficit, a 48 Train Service Proposal had been given in order to close the gap between the perceived revenues and expenses for fiscal year 2012. It was eliminated when public, elected officials and members of local Chambers of Commerce, along with Caltrain representatives met last Thursday, April 21 to discuss possible alternative solutions. According to Bena Chang, senior associate of housing and transportation of the Silicon Valley Leadership Group, the crisis has been withheld by a "temporary band-aid," calling for a 25 cent raise in ticket prices along with a $1 increase for day parking passes to fend off the deficit for approximately a year. The 86 trains per day schedule will be maintained, and all stations will be kept with extensions reaching all the way down to Gilroy, California.

While Caltrain may be facing a financial dilemma, an ironic reality is that passenger usage and fare revenue is at a record high. Each year, approximately 44 - 47 percent of the company's revenue is received from fare revenue, second only to Bart, which sees an approximate 55 percent revenue from fares. In addition, since the recent increase in Bay Area employment opportunities rebounded from the great 2006 economic downturn, Caltrain received a record passenger rating in its February 2011 estimates, with 41,000 passenger usage recorded.

Both the Silicon Valley Leadership Group and Friends of Caltrain have provided ample amounts of public forums and have been actively gaining public support through their grassroots campaign efforts.

Throughout the month of April and continuing into May, Silicon Valley Leadership Group has been hosting town halls from San Francisco to Morgan Hill to discuss possible funding solutions as part of their Save Caltrain Initiative.

"The purpose of these events is to find a long term solution to our fiscal budget in advance so we do not face another crisis in the future. We are gathering the best ideas we receive from the people present at these events and sending them to our financial analysis team to organize an adequate solution" said Chang.

Dozens of solutions have been documented so far, including accessing bridge toll funds, enacting a sales tax measure, implementing Caltrain ticket cost entry fees, establishing a National Infrastructure Bank, and securing a TIFIA Loan.

A town hall meeting still remains for members of the community looking to get involved: UCSF Mission Bay Campus in San Francisco will also be hosting an event on Wednesday, May 4, at 6:00 p.m. in their Genentech Auditorium.

"We have a positive outlook on the situation at hand and we are looking for input and participation from the entire Bay Area community in order to finally find a long term solution to this looming budget crisis," said Samantha James, communications associate at the Silicon Valley Leadership Group.

Contact Mary Chamaki at mchamaki@scu.edu or call (408) 554-4546.