Caltrain is moving forward with a temporarily reduced weekday schedule, which will last longer than initially scheduled after a train struck construction equipment last week and while gas prices around the Bay Area continue climbing.
For more, stream KCBS Radio now.
The transit agency announced on Monday that service will be reduced in order to accommodate electrification in work in San Mateo and Burlingame, as well as repair tracks in San Bruno following last week's accident, which injured 14 people and affected service for days. Those repairs will delay electrification, the agency said, causing service reductions beyond the previously scheduled April 1 end date.
Caltrain began operating 88 trains on Monday, compared to the previous 104. Weekday midday, evening and weekend service won’t be impacted by the changes, which are listed on Caltrain’s website.
"We'll be running three trains at peak hours as opposed to the usual four," Caltrain Public Affairs Specialist Dan Lieberman said Monday. "Folks who are looking to ride with us should still be able to get on. There'll be a little bit more of a wait than usual."
One passenger told KCBS Radio on Monday he wasn’t looking forward to longer waits and more stops on his daily commute.
"This new temporary schedule I don't care for, but I guess they have to do what they have to do," Bernard, a Caltrain rider for more than 20 years who commutes from San Bruno to San Francisco rather than drive and park in the city, told KCBS Radio. "But it is an inconvenience."
Charles, a remote worker who voluntarily comes into his company’s San Francisco office, said he started to take the train again as gas prices have spiked throughout the region over the last month following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. He said that could change because of the reduced schedule.
"Maybe I'll work from a coffee shop more frequently than come to the office," he said.
Still, Caltrain is hopeful that ridership will rebound amid the region’s high gas and rideshare prices. One commuter told KCBS Radio on Monday that a one-way Uber he took to San Mateo from San Francisco following last week’s Caltrain crash cost him $50.
LISTEN to KCBS Radio
FAVORITE KCBS Radio
Facebook | Twitter | Instagram
Related
