As Caltrain’s fare study showed earlier, Caltrain’s fare structure is currently regressive – low-income riders pay the most per ride, monthly passes that cost less per ride are used by higher income riders who can afford to pay upfront, and commuters who are provided the GoPass by large employers – on average the highest-paid set of riders – pay the least per ride.
As part of its Business Plan, Caltrain is assessing ways to improve access to a greater diversity of riders. This topic will be discussed on Wednesday at a committee of the board, which is meeting remotely and open to the public by Zoom and dial-in.
But strategies to improve equitable access to Caltrain go beyond making the fare structure less regressive. Connectivity, it turns out, is a big part of the picture.
A key strategy to diversify access to Caltrain could be bus and other transit access – Caltrain’s studies show that low income people are much more likely to take transit to the station
With transfers also, the fare structure currently has built-in inequities. Discounts on local transit are given for people who can afford monthly Caltrain passes, but no discount for bus users to take the train
Caltrain’s assessment acknowledges that “improved fare coordination could make transfers more seamless & convenient for all riders and could help Caltrain provide more equitable access for low-and-middle-income riders who are more likely to connect via transit.
Better connections
Improving local transit access to Caltrain also requires better connections.
Today, Caltrain’s customized schedule is hard for local transit to connect to, but “shifting to standardized clockface schedules with electrification will help Caltrain better coordinate transit connections.” A clockface schedule means service at regular time intervals, like 7am, 7:15am, 7:30am, 7:45am.
Caltrain’s assessment reports that providing more mid-day, evening, and early morning service – already a goal of electrification – would help improve equity by serving work schedules that aren’t 9-5, and non-work trips. Caltrain’s schedule is currently designed for white collar jobs, and changing the schedule could help a greater diversity of riders.
SamTrans riders also want better rail connections
The desire for better bus-train connections also surfaced in the recent studies conducted by SamTrans for the “Reimagine SamTrans” comprehensive operational analysis to review the bus network. In focus groups and quantitative surveys, current Samtrans bus riders place a high priority on better connections to rail.
Whiter and wealthier ridership
But is Caltrain ridership really unrepresentative of the community it serves? The study concludes that this is the case.
The study reports that Latinx and low-income people are significantly underrepresented.
Conclusions and what you can do
When considering the segregated pattern of the transit system – trains for the well-off and buses for the poor, conventional wisdom has been that this is not subject to change – high-income and low-income prefer different things. But Caltrain’s study suggests that there are opportunities to increase Caltrain ridership to be more ethnically and economically diverse, with fare and schedule integration as key strategies.
Caltrain could attract more low-income riders by:
- Expanding service during off-peak hours and non-traditional commute times
- Offering low-income fare products. Caltrain has committed to piloting low-income fare products starting this year as part of the regional MTC SMART program launch
- Evolving and simplifying fare structure so that discounts and transfer benefits accrue equitably to all types of riders
- Expanding and investing in first- and last-mile access that benefits all types of trips and people with a focus on Communities of Concern that have expressed a desire for better station access such as Bayview in SF and North Fair Oaks in San Mateo County
What do you think? Share your ideas in comments, and you can send comments to the board committee at: publiccomment@caltrain.com.
Just as seniors can get a Clipper card that automatically gives them a reduced fare, there could be Clipper card issued to qualified low-income people. I don’t have any ideas about determining eligibility.
The issue of access to Caltrain will be an important aspect in building future ridership. All modes (walking, bicycle, driving, and transit) need to be expanded. Expanding transit access will be a challenge in lower density peninsula cities. Transit will need to be frequent and cover the Caltrain operating hours, considering lack of transit funding, will this be sustainable? This is becoming more important given the findings that SamTrans bus riders, who tend to be lower income, would like better bus-rail connections.
In the 1970’s there used to be numerous peninsula city bus routes, many of which were centered around the SP train stations. In 1975/76, these routes and Greyhound mainline service were consolidated into SamTrans. Over the years increased operating costs and declining ridership led to service reductions and eventually, many of these routes being discontinued.
The cities along the Caltrain line grew out from the rail stations, so walking has always been a major access mode to the system. Burlingame and Broadway stations were the two highest walk access stations on the system. The closure of Broadway Station has led to more driving and parking at Millbrae, despite the Broadway-Millbrae shuttle.
Many Caltrain lots are at or near capacity and will need to be expanded, however, building new parking spaces is very costly, so this option is quite limited. Expanding non driving/parking alternatives needs to be taken to its maximum potential.
Addressing service frequencies will also be an important aspect in building future ridership. Infrequent off-peak and evening service is a major deterrent to increased ridership. Robust off-peak and evening service will make Caltrain more attractive to traditional commuters who are now driving, as well as being even more attractive to lower income transit users, as they tend to be more non-traditional commute hour users. Caltrain needs to get away from the “commuter rail” ideology. Off-peak and evening service needs to be a good mix of local, limited, and bullet service, which will attract more ridership than just “clockface” local service. People don’t like to wait or build their life around the schedule; they prefer to just show up and go on a good transit system. Of course, this will require robust infrastructure improvements such as level boarding and passing tracks through several stations.
[…] For more in-depth coverage from Friends of Caltrain, read “Caltrain and Partners Continue to Push November Ballot Measures” and “Caltrain’s Equity and Access Studies Show Opportunities to Diversify the Rider Base.” […]