The local council to which today's Palo Alto Daily article refers is
CETS, Council for Expanding Train Service. The members are current and
prior local city council members. They have been advocating the
re-opening of closed train stations and adding service where no bullet
trains now stop, such as in Menlo Park.

You have read our prior emails about the fallacy in "railroad
reasoning." Caltrain's numbers, ridership, ticket sales, operating
costs, don't add up. They operate in a deficit mode, take pride in
increases in ridership, believe that they get more riders the faster
they go, and in order to go faster they drop low-use stations and so
lose riders. Because they don't understand themselves as part of an
urban transit network, Caltrain remains focused on their "train-set." At
the same time, CETS should be advocating an urban mass transit system
that connects all their towns to the places of work of their residents.
Instead, they are only beating up on Caltrain. In short, they are
looking at one of the trees and missing the forest.

Here's an interesting example of shortsightedness. Caltrain provides a
very limited amount of space for bicycles. They limit this to provide
more space for people. Although there are now relatively few bike
riding commuters, there might be many more if there were more room for
their bikes. But, that's still not enough. In addition, each city must
make bike riding much more convenient in order to get to a transit
station (train, bus, BART or whatever). And bike riding must be more
convenient at the other end. In other words, it's not the mode of
transportation, it's the connectivity. As I've said before, stop
"pushing" people out of cars. "Pull" them out by making urban mass
transit more rider-friendly and convenient.

Martin
================================

Saturday Mar 10
Caltrain chief balks at request for more service
Claims inaccuracies in cities' call for more service
By Will Oremus / Daily News Staff Writer
A resolution of local city councils calling for more Caltrain service at
certain stations has the transit agency's leaders crying foul.

Several cities, including Atherton, Burlingame and Belmont, have passed
or are considering a resolution that calls for outside evaluation and
more local input on scheduling. Most of the cities eyeing the document
are those whose Caltrain stations have seen fewer stops since the agency
added the "Baby Bullet" and revamped its schedule in 2004.

But in an e-mail to city managers sent Thursday afternoon, Caltrain CEO
Mike Scanlon called into question several elements of the resolution.

Scanlon's e-mail praised some of the resolution's general goals. But it
went on to challenge several key assertions. One is that "the reduction
in Caltrain service at many stations has made it more difficult for many
riders to use Caltrain."

Scanlon responded, "It is noteworthy that ridership is substantially
higher on Caltrain - including within San Mateo County - than it was
before the changes. ..."

Scanlon also disputed claims that the service changes have had
significant negative impacts on properties located near Caltrain
stations, and that the Measure A money that cities contribute to
Caltrain could otherwise be used for "street repairs, shuttles, and many
other transportation needs."

On Friday, Scanlon could not be reached for comment because he was out
of town, but Caltrain spokesman Jonah Weinberg said the agency's main
qualm is that the resolution was distributed behind Caltrain's back.

The e-mail says, "Should your council elect to consider this matter, we
would appreciate the opportunity to provide accurate information to you
and your colleagues about Caltrain, ridership, revenue and service."

Weinberg reiterated that Caltrain service is stretched to its limit
under the new schedule and that service has mostly been cut in stations
with low ridership that are less than a mile away from larger stations
with parking available.

Burlingame City Council Member Terry Nagel said the group that drew up
the resolution plans to respond publicly to Scanlon's e-mail on Monday.

Belmont City Council Member Bill Dickenson, also part of that group,
said Caltrain's objections are mostly a matter of interpretation.

Weinberg said Caltrain has no plans to add to its schedule until it
overhauls its service with electric trains, a change slated for 2014.

E-mail Will Oremus at woremus@dailynewsgroup.com.

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Martin Engel
1621 Stone Pine Lane
Menlo Park, CA 94025
650:323-1670
martinengel@earthlink.net
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