Caltrain is prepared to make severe cuts to service to help balance its $30 million budget crisis.
While it's currently uncertain what it will do, Caltrain says possibilities could be anywhere from cutting its service to 48 trains from 86, to only operating during peak commute hours.
“We are not saying that this is what we are going to do, or where we are going to end up,” said Executive Officer for Public Affairs Mark Simon, in . “But this is where we are starting.”
Caltrain is the only Bay Area transit system without a dedicated funding source. It relies on contributions from the City and County of San Francisco, the San Mateo County Transit District and the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority to balance it's budget.
The agency has already felt the sting of other cuts. For the last three fiscal years, salaries have been frozen. Employees will have taken a total of 17 furlough days from FY09 to FY11. Four weekday trains during the midday were eliminated and fares were increased 25 cents for each zone.
The Peninsula Corridor Joint Powers Board, which owns and operates Caltrain, will be asked to call for two public hearings, one on the proposed service changes and one to declare a fiscal emergency, at its Feb. 3 meeting.
