MEMBERS PRESENT: John McLemore (Chair), Michael Burns, Don Gage, Jim Hartnett, Arthur Lloyd, Michael Nevin, Ken Yeager, Sophie Maxwell (10:32 a.m.)

MEMBERS ABSENT: Audrey Rice-Oliver

MTC LIASON: Sue Lempert

STAFF PRESENT: Michael Scanlon, David Miller, Roger Contreras, Howard Goode, Chuck Harvey, Rita Haskin, George Cameron, Raymond Lee, Martha Martinez, Jennifer Buhr

Chair McLemore called the meeting at 10:06 a.m. and led the Pledge of Allegiance to the flag.

PUBLIC HEARING: ESTABLISHING CALTRAIN SERVICE LEVELS

Chuck Harvey, Chief Operations Officer, reported that at its regular board meeting in January, the Board of Directors set today's public hearing. The purpose of the public hearing was to receive testimony on the proposed service level changes effective spring 2004, pending the outcome of the JPB budget process. Mr. Harvey gave a presentation outlining the proposal. Included in the presentation was information regarding Caltrain history/current system status, competing objectives, elements of the Baby Bullet Program, service level establishment, public involvement process, revisions to the proposal and what the next steps will be.

Director Burns commented that he had not received the timetable for Option D and wondered if it was available.

Mr. Harvey provided him with a copy of Option D.

Director Hartnett requested clarification on the statements that were made in connection with being able to operate, within the current budget constraints, any of the A-D options. Director Hartnett questioned if that is assuming that Caltrain is able to make up the projected $5 million - 7 million gap that is currently being forecast.

Mr. Harvey responded that that is correct.

Director Hartnett questioned that if Caltrain is not able to make up the gap, will the service described in Options A-D have to be changed downward.

Mr. Harvey answered yes and commented that additionally the prescribed schedule on the weekday service may also have to be changed, which is even more critical to peak ridership.

Director Hartnett questioned, in connection with establishment of budget and selection of service options, when it is expected that the service changes will take effect.

Mr. Harvey responded that staff felt Baby Bullet and new services could be implemented in spring of 2004.

Michael Scanlon, Executive Director, commented that staff is still projecting spring of 2004. The construction contracts are going well with one exception, the signal work. The signal work has fallen behind schedule somewhat. However, staff is working with the contractor to try to make up the time as best as we can. When the construction is completed, a system safety certification then has to be completed. Additionally, the train engineers will need to be trained. The hope is to open the weekend service and implement the new schedules all at the same time in order to minimize any confusion with the riders or the public.

Director Gage questioned whether there was a staff recommendation as to a preference over any of the proposed options.

Mr. Harvey responded that on the weekday service, staff is much more constrained with what can be done because of the starter set and because of the desire to have all of the trains continuously moving. Any changes or major adjustments in the weekday schedule that has been established, is very difficult. There is more flexibility on the weekends because it is essentially all local service. Staff doesn't have a preference because each can be operated efficiently. Mr. Harvey stated that the stations that were selected for two-hour service, in the hierarchy of the stopping patterns, were done so directly based on ridership, which was the reason the options evolved through A, B, C, and D.

Director Yeager requested clarification regarding the statement that 60 percent of the people access Caltrain by driving to the station and the fact that there are many adjacent stations along the track. Director Yeager questioned if there is an implication that many people will have an option of which station they can drive to and questioned if that was taken into consideration.

As an example, Mr. Harvey commented that Atherton is a station that doesn't have a particularly high ridership, so it is being served hourly. However, there are people who would like to access the train more frequently. As long as they make the decision to drive to the station there are adjacent stations to the south and to the north that are being served more frequently. If the hourly service time matches their pattern, they can access the local station. If they want to access a faster train, or a train at a different time, both of the stations are fairly close by and there is available parking at both stations.

At the request of Chair McLemore, before public testimony was heard Board Secretary Jennifer Buhr, reviewed the steps that were taken to inform the public of the issues involved.

Chairman McLemore stated that staff will be compiling a survey of the speakers, so he requested that each speaker state whether or not they submitted an email regarding the Caltrain service levels.

Public testimony was received by a total of 48 people. Speakers included: Neil Overmon, Shirley Trevino, Jeff Carter, Norman Rolfe, Christopher Cobey, Evy Schiffman, Marge Bushman, Ross Bruce, James Janz, James Seebold, Fred Smith, Vaughn Wolffe, R. Paul Marcelin-Sampston, James Gantrell, James Purcell, Richard Mlynarik, Andy Chow, Marshall Loring, Margaret Monroe, Ken Feldstein, Kathleen Maxwell, David Sauter, Ed deLanoy, Greg Perry, Robert Cronin, Margaret Okuzumi, Tara Smith, Patrick Moore, Carla Campbell, Don Rothballt, Frances Wong, Henry Riggs, Rob Costante, Rosemary Maulbetcsh, Gene Cavanaugh, Peter Warner, Greg Tinfow, Kevin Pardo, Doug DeLong, Augustine Chow, Alan Rorie, Jim Kelly, George Freisleben, Jonathan Ei-Bizri, David Varnum, Matt Pear, Julio Magalhnes and Shabana Jameel.

David Miller, Legal Counsel, reported that staff has had extensive outreach and has completed a public hearing. The testimony will be taken under submission both by the Board and staff. Recommendations will be presented at the next meeting for a proposed course of action.

The motion to close the public hearing passed unanimously.

Mr. Harvey clarified that there needs to be time for maintenance, which conflicts with running a late night train schedule. Mr. Harvey acknowledged the comments in regard to limited service and noted that some want the limited service and some want all locals, which staff has been working with. Mr. Harvey also clarified that, in addition to reducing travel time, the service in the midday is also to accommodate the need to turn trains and crews. In regard to the comments made for Atherton, Mr. Harvey reported that there are 27,000 riders on the system and staff is constantly adapting and changing the system to the growing need of the overall community.

Director Yeager questioned if there was a response in regard to the comments that were received for San Antonio station.

Mr. Harvey responded that staff based decisions both on patronage and the need to be able to get limited and express trains by the locals. There may be some slight adjustments that can be made to the stopping pattern. Mr. Harvey expressed that it is necessary to get the overall travel time and the crewing within the cost containment that we need. There may be an option of moving which limited and locals stop at particular stations.

Director Lloyd stated, in regard to the comment of the cross platform transfer at San Jose Diridon between trains from Gilroy to the Bullet trains, normal running time is 7 minutes from Tamien to Diridon. He noted that staff has built another 3 minutes in. Therefore, instead of 6 or 7 minutes connection, there is a 10 minute connection, subject to UP dispatching.

Mr. Harvey pointed out that it is the staff intent to work very hard at the dispatch level to coordinate those trains.

Director Gage commented on the trains that start and stop in Gilroy and noted that their times have changed. Director Gage stated that there is a window of opportunity where UP allows Caltrain to run the trains between certain hours so unless they break down in the middle of the night or late in the day, there will not be a blockage. Director Gage asked if the changing in the time from Gilroy to San Jose was based on the new schedules.

Mr. Harvey responded that the Gilroy train times were adjusted because the entire schedule has been shifted, given the total level of service moving north as opposed to south. Mr. Harvey noted that those trains continue up the line and become locals, so it is necessary to make sure they arrive at San Jose at an appropriate time so that they can continue northbound. Mr. Harvey reported that about 80 percent of the riders on the Gilroy line get off the trains by the time that they get to the end of Santa Clara County. The rest of the riders commute north. However, a large majority of them stay on the local train and get off before or at Palo Alto.

Director Gage commented that the Gilroy station is a destination station for three other counties, San Benito, Monterey and Santa Cruz. Director Gage also noted that at some time VTA would like to run lines down there, but currently those areas are served by car or shuttle and the parking lots are full at drop-off locations until other service are available.

Director Burns requested that the issues brought up regarding Bayshore, specially the large gaps, be looked at. Also, Director Burns requested an opinion on the CEQA review that was brought up.

Mr. Harvey responded that staff will look at Bayshore issues and report back.

Director Hartnett requested that the comments raised by the public relating to particular stations be addressed either in a written form in the staff report or at the next meeting. Director Hartnett commented that it is his impression that the staff probably agrees with a lot of the public comment that relates to having more service, that it be faster and that it be predictable. When service is cut, it has an impact on the number of riders as a direct, and potentially long-term, result. Director Hartnett expressed concern because even the level of service that is being proposed, is dependent on securing another $5 million -7 million for the next fiscal year.

Director Maxwell questioned if there was an opportunity for further modifications to be done as we look forward six to eight months down the line.

Mr. Harvey clarified that the staff proposal was to open the new service and within six months, complete an exhaustive analysis of how it is operating. The analysis would include spending some dollars to do full counts, not just estimates.

Director Maxwell questioned whether it was only going to be the amount of passengers or if there was going to be other criteria for the analysis.

Mr. Harvey responded that although ridership will be a prime reason for adjusting service, staff also will consider the infrastructure that is in place, public comment and fiscal realities.

Chair McLemore emphasized that this is a six-month trial plan. After six months, staff will review the impact of the service. Chair McLemore suggested that the public remain active during the six-month trial period and continue to provide input. Chair McLemore also referenced the handout that Jeff Carter distributed, which included a deep analysis of ridership by period, peaks and valleys, etc. and requested that staff review the handout and report back next month.

Mr. Harvey commented that staff always appreciates Mr. Carter's comments and will respond back to the Board.

Chair McLemore also requested a breakdown of the 2,000 comments that were received in combination with the input that was received today.

Mr. Harvey responded that staff will work on the breakdown and noted that there was a summary in the Reading File, which will be updated.

PUBLIC COMMENT

Patrick Moore, Mountain View, commented that every Caltrain user and commuter considering Caltrain, will be picking up the new schedule, assuming Baby Bullet service is inaugurated. Mr. Moore noted that it would be a great opportunity to advertise to attract riders. He feels the current schedule format does a poor job because of the layout of the system map, legend, and absence of unique information.

Doug DeLong, Mountain View, reported that in doing, more or less, weekly inspection rides of Caltrain to monitor the construction progress, he has observed that there are about eight major signal cutovers that remain to be done. Mr. DeLong noted that is seems that the contractor does one a weekend so it would take them until about the first of April to complete the signal work. However, Mr. DeLong commented one every two to three weeks is probably more likely, which means the it would bring the completion date to the first of June or beyond. In terms of managing expectations, Mr. DeLong stated it is looks like it is going to be really late spring before the signal work is complete.

Jeff Carter referred to the handout that was submitted during the public hearing and commented that the background information that accompanies the work is available for review.

Peter Warner, Hanford, reported that he has been in constant phone contact with various people in the planning department regarding the schedule changes. Also, on the issue of connectivity, Mr. Warner suggested that the last train out of San Jose on Sunday night be at 9:15 p.m. rather that 9:00 p.m. in order to preserve the connection with the Capitol Corridor.

Director Lloyd reported that there is work being done to have Capitol's stop at Santa Clara.

Margaret Monroe commented that the Caltrain trains are always very clean. Also, Ms. Monroe thanked staff for putting in asphalt road crossings at Atherton.

Don Rotherlatt commented regarding the ticketing arrangement by requesting the Day passes and One-way passes be arranged so that they are good for 30 or 60 days, like the 10-ride passes are. Mr. Rotherlatt stated that tickets would still need to be validated and a great benefit would be that a number of people, who don't ride the train that often, can get their tickets ahead of time.

CONSENT CALENDAR

The Board unanimously approved, by roll call, the following items under the Consent Calendar:

1. Adoption of Minutes of January 8, 2004
2. Statement of Revenue & Expenses, December 2003

CHAIRPERSON'S REPORT

Chair McLemore reported:

• Recognized Liz Wiecha, Director of Capital Project Management, for the excellent job she has done on Caltrain projects, such as the Caltrain Maintenance Facility. Ms. Wiecha will be leaving Caltrain to work with Maria Ayerdi on the Transbay Terminal Joint Powers Authority.
• The Freedom Train was a great success on January 19.
• The 2004 APTA General Managers/Transit Board Seminar, which took place this past weekend, was very informative and a great conference. The next APTA conference will be the Legislative Conference in Washington D.C. the second week of March.
• Director Lloyd commented that Bay Rail Alliance held its 20th anniversary party this past weekend. Director Lloyd reported that the Alliance was very appreciative of the letter that was sent from Chair McLemore on behalf of the JPB.

MTC LIAISON REPORT (SUE LEMPERT)

No report this month.

REPORT OF CITIZENS ADVISORY COMMITTEE (CAC)

Bruce Balshone reported:

• At the last CAC meeting, the CAC unanimously supported the proposed weekday schedule and had four votes favoring Option A, one vote for Option B, and three votes favoring Option C for the proposed weekend service. A resolution supporting the 86-train weekday schedule, including Baby Bullet service, was included within the Reading File.

REPORT OF THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Michael J. Scanlon reported:

• Key Caltrain Performance Statistics:
1. December ridership went from 591,181 to 592,114 riders, a .2 percent increase.
2. December average weekday ridership was down 4.6 percent, from 23,958 weekday riders to 22,863.
3. December total revenue was off 7.3 percent from $1.5 million to $1.39 million.
4. On-time Performance decreased 1.8 percent with 93.7 percent for December.
5. December shuttle ridership had a decrease of 21.7 percent with 2,863 riders, down from 3,656.
• Lawerence station is nearing completion. The new platforms will be open for service February 16. The community celebration will be held on March 5.
• The new BART schedule begins February 9. Changes will be made with Millbrae and SFO, which will result in an improvement of a 15-minute airport shuttle throughout the base of the day and going to 20 minutes in the late afternoon. All trains will be scheduled to leave Millbrae at the platform that is adjacent to Caltrain.
• The Monthly Safety and Security Report was distributed.

FY 2004 MID-YEAR DBE STATUS REPORT

Raymond Lee, DBE Officer, commented that the report was for information purposes only and no action would be required.

QUARTERLY CAPITAL PROGRAM STATUS AND ELECTRIFICATION REPORT

Howard Goode, Chief Development Officer, stated that within the report is recognition that the signal contractor is behind schedule for the CTX project. New resources are being brought in and there is prospect of a short delay. As closure is reached with the contractor, staff will report back.

Chair McLemore questioned what the delay timeframe is.

Mr. Goode responded that it would be in terms of weeks.

REPORT OF LEGAL COUNSEL

None.

CORRESPONDENCE

Previously distributed.

DATE/TIME OF NEXT MEETING

Thursday, March 4, 2004, 10 a.m. at the San Mateo County Transit District Administrative Building, 1250 San Carlos Avenue, San Carlos, CA 94070.

ADJOURNED

Meeting adjourned at 12:40 a.m.