Silicon Valley Bicycle Coalition

On Thursday, February 5th, several SVBC Caltrain Workgroup members attended the Caltrain Joint Powers Board (JPB) meeting to speak in favor of the SVBC position for increasing bicycle capacity on trains and improving the onboard accommodation system.

Caltrain staff presented a plan that was developed out of operational capabilities and constraints and influenced by community input and meetings with both SVBC and SFBC members. The result will be a 50% increase in the capacity of Bombardier cars (from 16 to 24) and a 25% increase in the capacity of Gallery cars (from 32 to 40). The solution was widely publicized, including articles in the Mercury News, SF Examiner, SF Chronicle, and San Mateo Daily Journal.

The solution isn’t everything we hoped for, but it’s a significant short-term improvement for the capacity problem, and since these improvements can be made relatively quickly, they help provide the immediate relief that is needed. We appreciate staff’s willingness to work with the community and the JPB’s leadership in asking Caltrain to move forward on this important issue. We specifically want to thank JPB member Ken Yeager for crafting the motion that was adopted.

Caltrain officials Mark Simon, Special Assistant to the CEO, and Chuck Harvey, Director of Operations, have been meeting with representatives from SVBC and SFBC and are working on a plan to improve the onboard bike capacity situation, which they will present to the Caltrain JPB on February 5. Although the SVBC Caltrain workgroup has worked hard to present the community’s ideas and desires in our discussions with Mr. Simon and Mr. Harvey, Mr. Simon also wants to hear from all cyclist users of Caltrain directly about their ideas and opinions for an improved onboard service to best serve the Peninsula and South Bay.

If you need a little help getting started, the workgroup has provided a list of priority ideas and some suggested thoughts that you can use to jump-start your response. Mr. Simon can be reached at simonm [at] samtrans [dot] com, by phone (650) 508-6340, or by leaving a comment in the threads Bikes on Caltrain and Bikes on Caltrain II.

• Bikes greatly expand the range from which Caltrain can attract customers. Based on surveys, most people are willing to travel 10 minutes to get to transit, which for a bike includes most of the Peninsula between 280 and the Bay, where most of the population lives.
• Bikes let us go directly to where we need to be instead of taking a roundabout route using transit, improving the usefulness of the train as part of the commute.
• Taking bikes on the train allows us to exercise, commute, and relax before and after work.
• Cyclist customers have a very high loyalty to Caltrain, especially if they use their bikes as their primary mode of transit. We are regular riders who want to see Caltrain succeed.
• Previous investments in bike infrastructure have brought about a quick return on investment.
• Caltrain contributes to decreases in greenhouse emissions for every passenger, and cyclist-passengers are even greener than those who shorten their drive by driving to a station because they are greenhouse-free on both ends. Improving the program can help Caltrain be a leader in sustainability.

The Caltrain workgroup has held several meetings and worked on gathering, refining, and prioritizing ideas for increasing capacity on the Caltrain system and smoothing the management of existing capacity.

These ideas are partially collected from the community and we hope you'll continue to contribute new ideas and refinements. Read on for our list!