Caltrain Hits Record Ridership and Revenue for 2008

It was great year for public transportation nationwide, and on the Peninsula, a great year for Caltrain. For the third year in a row, the commuter rail agency hit a record number for ridership and revenue.

From July 1, 2007 through June 30, 2008, Caltrain carried 11.96 million riders, up 8.6 percent from fiscal year 2007. This is the highest annual ridership in the railroad’s 145-year history.

Since the introduction of its popular Baby Bullet service in 2004, Caltrain has seen the turn-around of a dwindling passenger load, which has increased by nearly four million riders in just four years, or approximately 48 percent. (See table below for year-to-year comparisons).

With more riders comes more revenue, and Caltrain brought in $40.1 million in ticket and pass sales. That is a 15.1 percent increase over FY07. However, this was offset by the staggering increase in diesel prices, which have increased 66 percent from the beginning to the end of the fiscal year.

The increase in ridership presents other challenges, as some trains during peak periods are getting more crowded. The agency has purchased eight new rail cars, which will slightly increase Caltrain’s capacity for ridership growth, but the railroad cannot do much more to expand its capacity or the frequency of its service until it completes electrification of its system. The agency hopes to use lighter electric trains that can dramatically decrease commute times between stations, and which will more than double the 98 weekday trains that Caltrain runs today.

Caltrain mirrored a national trend, as people looked for relief from high gas prices. Last year, 10.3 billion trips were taken on U.S. public transportation – the highest number of trips taken in 50 years.

To find out how you can jump on the bandwagon, or in this case, the train, call 1.800.660.4287.

Year-to-Year Ridership and Revenue Statistics

08/04/2008 - crd
Media Contact: Christine Dunn, 650.508.6238