Caltrain Fares to Increase July 1

Beginning July 1, Caltrain will increase its fares (PDF, 10.34 KB) an average of 17.5 percent. The fare increase comes on the heels of a difficult budget cycle, which included a $13.6 million deficit.

To bridge the deficit, Caltrain’s board took a combination of actions, which included increasing fares, adding 10 weekday trains for a total of 96 trains, and adding 12 Baby Bullet trains for a total of 22. The board also increased its member subsidy by roughly $3 million.

Patrons will pay about one quarter more for every zone they ride through, but for many, their service options will be greatly expanded.

The average Caltrain rider crosses two zones.

Starting Aug. 1, Caltrain will completely streamline its schedule (PDF, 62.42 KB), reducing the average travel time by 15 minutes during the commute. By eliminating purely local trains and adding a timed transfer for local service in Redwood City, Caltrain was able to increase the number of Baby Bullets the agency is able to operate.

In addition, bullet service will now be offered at new stations. Currently the bullet operates between San Francisco and San Jose with stops in Millbrae, Hillsdale, Palo Alto and Mountain View and a reverse-commute stop at 22nd Street.

Caltrain also will offer bullet service between the Tamien station in San Jose and San Francisco with stops at San Jose Diridon, Sunnyvale, Palo Alto (peak-direction only), Menlo Park (reverse-peak only), Redwood City, San Mateo, Millbrae, and 22nd Street (reverse-peak only).

For full fare and schedule information, call 1.800.660.4287, or for the hearing-impaired TTY only 650.508.6448.

6/22/05