The Green Caltrain blog is sponsored by BayRail Alliance, an all-volunteer non-profit organization supporting green rail transit in the Bay Area. This blog and BayRail have no affiliation with Caltrain.Calendar of Events
For upcoming events relating to Caltrain and regional transit, see the Calendar
Archive for the ‘BayRail Alliance meetings’
Event: Summit to Save Caltrain (January 29)
The future of Caltrain is in your hands. Thanks to you the riders, Caltrain is running the Baby Bullet on the weekends, but without further funding, there may be no weekend trains at all. We can work together to find solutions to ensure the future viability of Caltrain.
Caltrain generates among Bay Area public transit’s highest fare revenue per dollar of operating cost. Caltrain operations are 2x more self-sustaining than MUNI, 3x more self-sustaining than SamTrans, and 4x more self-sustaining than VTA. Despite this exemplary financial performance, Caltrain faces a severe fiscal crisis! Unlike every other transit agency, Caltrain has no dedicated source of funding to cover the remainder of its operating costs. What it managed to scrounge together in past years is no longer available, blowing a $30 million hole in a $100 million budget.
As residents, commuters and taxpayers, we must speak up and support solutions leading to Caltrain’s survival and long term viability and modernization. We will need operating funding help, with or without high-speed rail.
You are invited to participate in a Summit to Save Caltrain
Location: SamTrans Auditorium,
1250 San Carlos Avenue, San Carlos (near Caltrain)
Date: Saturday, January 29, 2011 Time: 8:30 am to 2:30 pm.
Tentative event schedule – Please check here for updates
(All speakers to be confirmed unless noted)
| 8:30 – 9:15 | Registration & Coffee |
| 9:15 – 9:45 | Keynote: Congresswoman Jackie Speier; Michael Brune (Sierra Club) |
| 9:45 – 10:45 | Panel 1: The Caltrain Story
Speakers: Chuck Harvey or Michelle Bouchard; Sean Elsbernd; Silicon Valley Employer & Go Pass Member; Peninsula Mayor Moderator: Sue Lempert |
| 10:45 – 11:00 | Break |
| 11:00 – 12:00 | Panel 2: Seeking Sustainable Funding model for Caltrain (and priming pump for your ideas)
Speakers: Rebecca Long, MTC; Jim Bigelow (pre-tax dollars); Carli Paine, Transform (regional rail, faith groups, unions); Jessica Zenk, SVLG, Clem Tillier (service design), Shirley Johnson (bikes/last mile) Moderator: Jay Thorwaldson |
| Lunch | |
| 12:30 – 2:00 | Empowering Grassroots in Breakout Rooms |
| 2:00 – 2:30 | Wrap-up and Next Steps: “Building the Momentum” |
Palo Alto Patch’s report on 11/9 Friends of Caltrain event
Palo Alto Patch: Grassroots Effort To Save Caltrain Rolls Forward
With catastrophic service reductions looming on Caltrain’s horizon, a concerned group of residents and civic leaders, including former Palo Alto Mayor Yoriko Kishimito, has formed a grassroots group to try save the beleagured transit agency…
11/9 Event: Saving Caltrain, the Bay Area Connection
Caltrain is a mainstay of Bay Area transit. Though ridership has increased dramatically with baby bullet service, and rider-based funding is among the highest in the Bay Area, Caltrain is facing a financial crisis. Unlike other Bay Area transit services with stable, dedicated funding, Caltrain depends on year-by-year funding. The recession has torn a $30 million hole in this year-by-year budget. How can Caltrain be saved and put on stable financial footing? How does Caltrain’s situation fit into the overall risks and opportunities for Bay Area transit overall?
On November 9, Friends of Caltrain is hosting an educational event where you can learn more about the situation and what you can do to help. Carolyn Clevenger of the Metropolitan Transportation Commission will present preliminary findings from the MTC Transit Sustainability project. Yoriko Kishimoto, former Mayor of Palo Alto, will discuss funding opportunities for Caltrain, and opportunities to get involved.
Come learn how to save Caltrain. And if you can’t come to the event, sign up to stay posted on what you can do to help.
Location: Menlo Park Library, 800 Alma Street, near Caltrain
Time: Tuesday, November 9, 7-9 pm
Sponsors:
Friends of Caltrain
BayRail Alliance
Sierra Club
Menlo Park Green Ribbon Citizens’ Committee
BayRail Alliance general meeting (5/20) – Transbay Terminal/Caltrain Downtown SF extension update
BayRail Alliance general meeting (5/20) – Transbay Terminal/Caltrain Downtown SF extension update
Time/date: Thursday, May 20, 2010 6:45PM -8:30 PM
Robert Beck from the Transbay Joint Powers Authority will provide an update on the project to extend the rail alignment for Caltrain and California High Speed Rail to a new Transbay Transit Center in downtown San Francisco. This project has made a tremendous progress since last year. Later this year, the current terminal is expected to be demolished and AC Transit operation will be transferred to a temporary terminal.
Mr. Beck is the Senior Program Manager with the TJPA. With an engineering degree from Masters in Business Administration from UC Berkeley, he is a licensed Mechanical and Civil Engineer. Mr. Beck joined the TJPA from the San Francisco Department of Public Works where he was the Deputy Director of Engineering and City Engineer. During his 18 years with Public Works and the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission, he oversaw a wide range of major capital projects and programs for the City and County of San Francisco.
**Meeting location**
This meeting is free and open to the public. RSVP is encouraged (info@bayrailalliance.org).Location: Cafe Yulong, back room, 743 W. Dana St., Mountain ViewDate/time: Thursday, May 20, 2010 6:45PM -8:30 PM
Cafe Yulong is located two blocks from the Mountain View Caltrain Station (between Castro and Hope Streets). We meet in the back room of the restaurant. Dinner will be available for a $11 charge, your choice of beef, chicken, pork or tofu.
