(The following story by Mike Rosenberg appeared on the Mercury News website on June 5, 2009.)
SAN JOSE, Calif. — Caltrain’s board of directors declared a fiscal emergency this morning, paving the way for the agency to eliminate eight trains from its schedule and hike some fees next month.
The board in May set today’s public hearing to declare the fiscal emergency, which can be called when a California government agency forecasts running out of money by the end of the fiscal year. Caltrain officials had forecast a $10.1 million deficit for the next fiscal year, which begins July 1, and did not have sufficient reserves to cover the difference.
The agency today also held a public hearing on various service reduction and fare increase proposals. The board appears poised to approve three proposals at its next meeting on July 2.
The proposals include reducing midday service from half-hourly to hourly, which would eliminate eight of the agency’s 98 weekday trains.
The board will also likely raise monthly parking fees from $20 to $30 and daily passes from $2 to $3.
Finally, board members are expected to increase the cost of a GO Pass from the equivalent of a two-zone monthly pass to a three-zone monthly pass. The ticket, popular among Stanford University workers, is an employer-sponsored annual pass that offers unlimited rides through all zones.
Declaring the fiscal emergency will allow Caltrain to implement the changes without an environmental review.
The train eliminations and parking fee hikes would take effect in September, and the
GO Pass increases would start in July.