ELECTRIFICATION & MODERNIZATION
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JUNE 2018 | MassTransitmag.com | Mass Transit | 19
economical, and it gets them to
where they want to go in a much
more timely manner than if they
were driving, or a much more enjoyable
manner than if they were
driving. For most, it’s a lot less costly
than if they were driving.”
Th e farebox recovery rate is over
70 percent and with advertising
and property they lease along the
right of way, he said that gets them
to over 75 percent.
“We’re very proud of our farebox
recovery but it’s a question of
how far you can go in funding your
services and the state of good repair
from the farebox,” he said. “We’re
going through our budget process
again, as we do every year, and
we’re looking at whether or not we
need to raise fares again.”
Th e state legislature passed a
law in 2017 that would allow the
Caltrain joint powers agency board
to put a measure on the ballot for
a sales tax to support Caltrain. “As
is typical in California, because
it’s not a general tax, it has to get
two thirds support collectively in
the three counties,” said Hartnett.
“Th ere are actually seven agencies
that would have to approve us putting
it on the ballot.
“It’s somewhat of an elongated
process to get something on the
ballot. It requires the three boards
of supervisors ... and it requires the
three member transit agencies to
approve it as well: the Santa Clara
County VTA Valley Transportation
Authority, in San Mateo County,
it’s the San Mateo Transit District
and Muni in San Francisco. Each of
their boards would have to approve
as well, that it’s going on the ballot.”
Looking to the future
Caltrain has a business plan underway
that is an operational
business case study for what they
expect by 2040 to be the actual
demand, what it would take operationally
and in terms of capital
investment to meet that demand.
It will also look at what policy decisions
would have to be made in
order to get there.
“It’s a multi-million dollar study
that is a real-world one,” Hartnett
explained. “We have regional support
for this to take a really good
deep-dive into both a technical and
practical perspective.”
Th ey’re scheduled to have that
plan completed by the end of the
year and that will set the stage
for a regional conversation about
what Caltrain will look like. It
also will set the stage for a strong
narrative to support a sales tax on
the ballot in 2020.
“Th e discussions have been oriented
to a 2020 ballot for that sales
tax,” Hartnett said. “It would be an
incredible thing for Caltrain.”
“We’re
very proud of our
farebox recovery
but it’s a question
of how far you
can go in funding
your services
and the state of
good repair from
the farebox.”
-JIM HARTNETT
Excutive
Director,
Caltrain &
Chief Executive
Officer, General
Manager,
San Mateo
County Transit
District
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