BOARD MEMBERS PRESENT: John McLemore (Chair), Maria Ayerdi (Vice Chair), Mary Janney, Arthur Lloyd, Michael Nevin, Manuel Valerio, Ken Yeager

BOARD MEMBERS ABSENT: Michael Burns, Sophie Maxwell

STAFF PRESENT: Mike Scanlon, David Miller, Joan Cassman, George Cameron, Roger Contreras, Howard Goode, Chuck Harvey, Rita Haskin, Martha Martinez, Ian McAvoy, Liz Wiecha

Chair McLemore called the meeting to order at 10:03 a.m. and led the Pledge of Allegiance to the flag.

PUBLIC COMMENT

Jeff Carter, Burlingame, reported on the very pleasant experience he had riding the new Caltrain cars. He complimented the Board and Executive Director Michael Scanlon for having acquired the cars.

CONSENT CALENDAR

The Board unanimously approved the following items under the Consent Calendar:

1. Adoption of minutes of January 9, 2003
2. Statement of Revenue and Expense, December 2002

CHAIRPERSON'S REPORT

1. Chair McLemore and Vice Chair Ayerdi presented certificates to BJ Wishinsky and Jamie Nichols commending them for their heroic act of preventing a person from committing suicide at the San Antonio, Mountain View station. Mayor Mike Karperzak, Jr. and a representative of the Police Department of Mountain View, Lieutenant. Linda Fellers, participated in the ceremony to thank Ms. Wishinsky and Mr. Nichols.
2. Chair McLemore and Vice Chair Ayerdi also presented certificates to Lt. Phillip Carr and Officer Russell Howard commending them for pulling a driver from his vehicle in Sunnyvale some 10 seconds before a southbound train struck and propelled the vehicle 200 feet down the right of way. Mayor Julia Miller of Sunnyvale and Director Valerio joined Chair McLemore and Vice Chair Ayerdi in presenting the certificates to Lieutenant Carr and Officer Howard.

MTC LIAISON REPORT

Ms. Sue Lempert, Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) reported:

1. The severe transportation budget cuts will affect the Joint Powers Board. The MTC is working very hard to make sure that projects that have already started would be completed. Also, the MTC has moved to the prime legislative agenda the reduction of threshold of votes for the sales tax reauthorization from two-thirds.
2. She announced the grand opening of new movie theater that is right next to the downtown San Mateo Caltrain station. There are hopes that the theater will help boost ridership.

REPORT OF CITIZENS ADVISORY COMMITTEE (CAC)

Mike Rodriguez reported:

1. Staff has done a tremendous job informing the CAC of the status of the Baby Bullet project. The CAC suggests that the public be informed of what is going on and let them know the certainty of its opening schedule.
2. Staff has done a wonderful job advising the CAC of the schedule changes when BART starts service. CAC members have volunteered to attend the meetings that will take place this month in the three counties.
3. Regarding the Strategic Plan, the CAC formed a subcommittee that would look at the Vision and Guiding Principles for the next 20 years for Caltrain. The Committee will represent what future riders think about the plan. They will bring to the Board recommendations that would complement the plan.
4. The next CAC meeting will be in Santa Clara as an outreach effort. They will invite people to come to this meeting to now Caltrain and find out what the CAC is all about and how they can get involved in it.

REPORT OF THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Michael J. Scanlon thanked Jeff Carter for his kind and generous remarks. He thanked Mike Rodriguez for his report and the CAC's involvement in the strategic planning, the schedule activities and the public meetings that will be held. He stated articles about the Baby Bullet have been in the papers (referring to the journalists sitting with the audience.) Publications will be run to update the public on activities. Constructions are underway. Seventeen cars already have arrived and the first of six locomotives is arriving in March. The project is moving ahead and on schedule.

Key Caltrain Performance Statistics:

1. Ridership in December was very disheartening. It was down to 24,000 from 27,000 last year, a reduction of 12.5 percent. Revenue was down 4.6 percent from $1.57 million to $1.5 million. On-time performance was down from 97.5 to 95.4. Shuttle ridership was up by 11.3 percent from 3,050 to 3,400.
2. Fiscal year-to-date, average weekday ridership was off 14.4 percent. Revenues were off 10 percent from $11,800,000 last year to $10,600,000 this year. On-Time performance remained very good. Shuttles were about even.
   Mr. Scanlon noted that the rain in December adversely affected ridership on all modes. Also, Christmas fell on a Wednesday this year. Many riders may have taken either the Monday and Tuesday or the Thursday and Friday off. He advised that ridership will be looked at very closely especially now that the budget for the upcoming year is being put together.
3. Since tickets are now sold through the vending machines, which is different from the actual counts that were done in previous years, there may be some distortions in the ridership numbers.
4. There were two more fatalities on the railroad since last month. He invited attention to the Monthly Safety Report, specifically the article pertaining to the five Operation Lifesaver presentations to students and the two Zero Tolerance Trespass Abatement programs - one in San Francisco and one in Santa Clara County.
5. The Martin Luther King, Jr. Freedom Train had 1,628 passengers going to San Francisco and 900 riding back. The rest must have taken the other revenue trains coming back. He thanked Chair McLemore for his attendance at the event and for riding the train.
6. Special service was run to and from the Arena in San Jose for the Rolling Stones.
7. Three sets of the new Bombardier cars are in service.
8. Four of the gallery cars were leased to Metrolink that needed some equipment due to an accident. Staff saw this as an opportunity not only to help but also to pick up $70,000 a month.
9. There will be modified schedule on February 17, President's Day.
10. The Transportation Authority in San Mateo County hired a consulting firm, Bay Relations, to do public information and outreach, to educate the citizens of San Mateo County on what has been accomplished with the investments of the half-cent sales tax since 1988. They will also identify what programs and projects would be included in the reauthorized measure. A second consultant, Public Affairs Associates, will be hired by the team composed of the C/CAG, Board of Supervisors, the Transportation Authority, Samceda and P3 to raise funds from the private sector and advocate to the public at large. They will also get public input on what they want to see on the reauthorized measure.

Ms. Lempert felt that the Bullet Train would also make a tremendous difference. Also, when parking becomes difficult, people will not drive going to work and public transit becomes a very attractive alternative. Some people never use public transit because they never felt the need, but she expects this to change. Director Nevin added people also need to have a job to move around.

Mr. Scanlon agreed that there is proliferation of parking spaces in the counties. On the Baby Bullet, the view is to have a full-track railroad that runs the length of the Peninsula. However, the overriding issue at present is the availability of jobs.

Presentation on Fare Study and Proof of Payment
Chuck Harvey, Chief Operating Officer, reported on the current ease of traffic on the highways as a result of jobs lost in the high-tech industry and the poor state of the economy. He talked about the Caltrain improvements that are scheduled for implementation within the next couple of years to improve service efficiency. Planning is ongoing on the fare structure, transition to Proof-of-Payment system and the Baby Bullet Project.

He stated the ticket vending machines (TVM) that started as a demonstration project are now in full operation. A graph was presented tracking the rise of TVM revenue. TVM fare collection represents 52 percent of all sales, which translates to six cash fares per train for the entire month. The ultimate goal is to have no ticket sale on board the train.

The Proof of Payment Project was begun when the off-board discount on ticket purchases was instituted. He discussed the objectives of the Program, namely, to reduce fare evasion, reduce costs of fare collection and reallocate resources and increase service.

Staff started the comprehensive study component that looked at the fare structure. Mr. Harvey stated the objectives of the Fare Study are to promote ease of use and understanding, to achieve equity and consistency, to maximize customer flexibility, maintain revenue neutrality, and enhance connectivity. They will also establish foundation for future investments in the system to determine where the next improvements should be. Mr. Harvey further discussed the public process adopted in conducting the fare study and informed that public meetings have been scheduled this month.

Construction has begun in preparation for the Baby Bullet train. Rolling stock has been received. Mr. Harvey talked about the future service parameters, design, and the simulation of modified schedule. The first express train is projected to run in December 2003. The next step to pursue the projects mainly involves presentation of the proposals to the public via public meetings and hearings.

Director Lloyd remarked he could hardly wait for the Proof-of-Payment to start. He asked if in implementing this program, additional employees would be hired. He thinks that the train conductors are the logical ones to have this authority to avoid adding more personnel. Mr. Harvey stated the current plan is to have the flexibility for people that work with Caltrain to have the authority to issue a warning or citation but this methodology would be adjustable.

Director Lloyd further inquired into the projected number of zones that would be cut back. Mr. Harvey responded staff would be recommending reduction of zones to approximately six that will be evenly and equidistantly divided.

Director Lloyd asked about the status of the CTC project and how long are the passing tracks. Mr. Harvey answered the CTC is moving forward and the passing tracks are about 2.5 miles long. Mr. Scanlon remarked at present there is only one station affected but it is a starter. Over time, there will be adjustments to lengthen the passing tracks or add more. There should be at least two or three stations that could be passed to make this effective. Staff will move forward incrementally.

Ms. Lempert inquired if the Translink cards are available at all Caltrain stations. She commented Translink cards help make the commute convenient and seamless. Mr. Harvey responded this is still a pilot program, however, in the fare study, staff came to the same conclusion that Translink is a key component to the regional integration. Mr. Scanlon added that staff is working with MTC and other various operators in the system. Recently, there was a meeting held regarding governance issues.

Jeff Carter, Burlingame, commented Translink is good but he thinks it is merely an electronic version of the totally uncoordinated fare system existing in the Bay Area. It would make fares high and discourage use. On speeding up the service, he mentioned that electrification and the new rolling stock such as the Bombardier cars and level platform loading would help. He is pleased that zones would still be in effect because having a station-to-station pricing would create a complex fare system. Looking at tickets sold by the conductors back in August 1999, his record shows that 64 percent of the single trips were sold by conductors prior to the implementation of the TVMs. In November 2002, six percent of single trip tickets were sold by conductors. He questioned the need for proof of payment and deputizing conductors to issue citations. He feels that it is a customer unfriendly situation and would put the conductors on an unfriendly situation.

PRESENTATION ON STRATEGIC PLAN - VISION & GUIDING PRINCIPLES

Ian McAvoy, Deputy Chief of Development, reported the Strategic Plan would provide a general outline of what staff plans to do in order to achieve future goals for Caltrain. It will identify strategies for implementing the vision and providing future service and infrastructure alternatives for a changing world. Goals are extremely important especially in advocacy efforts. Caltrain is a major transit system that has become a catalyst in the development of the community. Staff aims to play a key role in this issue and make people want to use Caltrain as their preferred mode of travel. Mr. McAvoy stated investing wisely, continued coordination between service and capital improvement, prioritization of safety improvements, promotion of regional connectivity, partnering with communities and effective public outreach are very important to achieve the vision. Transit Oriented Development becomes a key tool in working with the cities. There is a need to develop a long-range financial foundation that shows sustainability in the future. Funds that are now available must be protected. To achieve the Long-Range Vision, staff has to establish new and innovative ways to finance programs.

Mr. McAvoy noted that the vision plan being presented to the Board today, is a draft outline of what staff is looking to bring back in the future. Staff will present to the Board different scenarios to determine which one is the most appropriate. The three scenarios are the "Baseline," the "Enhanced Caltrain" and the "Build-Out Caltrain." He briefly described the scenarios and said each will provide service plan, capital plan and financial plan. The bottom line is to get more riders into the system. In order to achieve this, there must be quality service - service that the future riders want. Staff will come back and ask the Board to adopt some vision and guiding principles. In August, staff will present a draft of the Strategic Plan that will incorporate all the discussions. An extensive public review will follow and in October. Staff will request the board to adopt the Strategic Plan. Some of the opportunities out there right now, are the reauthorization of Measure A in San Mateo County and the High-Speed Rail bond.

Director Ayerdi thanked and commended Mr. McAvoy for the presentation. She looked forward to the CAC's and the public's comments as this project moves forward. She agreed in the importance of the three agencies working together on this. She was pleased that Transit Oriented Development is being considered in the plan and the goal of attracting people who normally do not ride Caltrain, to patronize the service. She suggested mentioning on page 15 of the plan various transportation operations that come into the Transbay Terminal because this is a regional project and it serves Caltrain, High-Speed Rail, Muni, SamTrans, Golden Gate Bridge and other transit operations. Also on the theme of Transit Oriented Development, she suggested mentioning the 4,700 new residential units that form part of the project. On page 17, she agreed that it is important to establish partnership with private entities and public entities to explore other innovative financing options. She wondered what was being done along those lines, if there is a plan in place.

Mr. McAvoy responded there are consultants that are helping staff develop plans. They are looking at potential Federal programs and will help advocate them.

Director Yeager questioned if there are any thoughts of presenting this vision in brief form at the hearings that will be held on the fare study. He believes it ties in with the fare study. He also asked when and where the public hearings are going to be held.

Mr. McAvoy answered public outreach will be part of the draft. Staff will be working with the population of San Francisco, San Mateo and Santa Clara. They are thinking of creative ways of outreaching the communities. He agreed that in order to reach the right decision, staff has to reach the maximum of population.

Director Yeager also suggested staff contacting VTA for a presentation to them.

Director Ayerdi stated that in relation to the High-Speed Bond, staff is working on a Memorandum of Understanding with the High-Speed Rail Authority pertaining to commitments between the two entities for the shared use of the right of way. She inquired when the board is going to see the MOU. Mr. Scanlon replied staff met with the High Speed Rail Authority. He stated the MOU may be written sometime in May.

Vaughn Wolffe, RailPac, questioned why this Strategic Plan is coming out only now. It should have been done 10 years ago. He inquired what, how and who will decide what a wise investment is based upon what time schedule. He mentioned passenger protection at the stations was implemented because of the holdout rule. Now that service is being expanded, he suggested building tunnels but tunnels are much more expensive. He questioned what is considered a wise investment. He further commented that as described by Mr. Harvey, trains are going to run faster and be more efficient but if a passenger has to wait behind the crossing gate after getting off the train, the 20 seconds that have been saved by having better cars would be burned up. That consideration must be made. He also mentioned that having a fast Caltrain is a big improvement. Mr. Wolffe suggested advertising to generate revenue and it is something that should be done. Telling people about Caltrain would help get them out of their cars. He pointed out that ACE meets Caltrain in Santa Clara. Nobody in the Valley knows about it even though the service is there.

Director Ayerdi inquired if the website indicates Caltrain's link with ACE. Mr. Scanlon responded if the connection is not indicated on the website it can certainly be done. Also, multimodal advertising is possible. A Request for Proposal is coming out shortly to do revenue-producing advertising at the stations and the possibility of advertising on the exterior side of the cars.

QUARTERLY CAPITAL PROGRAM STATUS REPORT

Liz Wiecha, Director of Capital Projects Management, reviewed the accomplishments during the second quarter of the fiscal year's capital program. The South CTX contract has been awarded to Herzog Stacey Witbeck on December 9. Notice to proceed was issued with construction to start on January 20. Construction activities on the right of way will start later this quarter. In connection with the North CTX contract, construction is progressing at the Millbrae station area. Construction of the passing track at Bayshore has started. Staff anticipates completion of the Millbrae Station area in early March. The Baby Bullet procurement of rolling stock was completed and some cars have been received and are now in the service. The locomotives are currently in production and will be received later this year. The public comment period on the downtown extension project was closed on December 20. A number of comments were received and staff is working on responses to those comments and will incorporate them in the next final draft of the environmental document.

Director Lloyd inquired where the project is on the Lenzen Facility. Ms. Wiecha responded staff is anticipating a 30 percent completion of the design, for submission in February. The project is outlined on page 23 of the report. Staff is currently reviewing the final submittal for the 30 percent design and commence completion of the design phase shortly thereafter.

QUARTERLY ELECTRIFICATION REPORT

Ms. Wiecha referred to the written report in the packet. There were no questions from the Board.

REPORT OF LEGAL COUNSEL

Attorney David Miller reported on the settlement of a litigation matter on terms fully beneficial to the JPB. Along with other public agencies and private parties, the JPB was named in a lawsuit initiated by the City of Redwood City to recover the costs of environmental remediation incurred as part of the Jefferson Avenue Grade Separation Project. Once served with the suit, the JPB tendered defense and requested indemnification from Union Pacific Railroad Company, asserting the provisions of the environmental indemnity agreement negotiated as part of the JPB mainline purchase. Union Pacific accepted the tender. Union Pacific has entered into a settlement agreement under the terms of which Union Pacific will make a contribution toward the cost of cleanup; the JPB will be required to pay nothing and will be released from all liability.

CORRESPONDENCE

Already distributed.

DATE/TIME OF NEXT MEETING: Thursday, March 6, 2003, 10 a.m. at SamTrans Administrative Building, 1250 San Carlos Avenue, San Carlos, CA 94070
Mr. Scanlon noted that the next meeting is scheduled to be held in this auditorium as noted above, although originally, it was scheduled to be held in San Jose. Staff has not as yet found the appropriate meeting site. The meeting in San Jose will be scheduled as soon as a location has been determined.

ADJOURNED: 11:50 a.m.