Why does Caltrain not run additional services on special event days?

[Texan Eagle]

This weekend was unusually packed in San Francisco Bay Area since there was the annual Fleet Week with air shows scheduled for Sat and Sun, Giants baseball games on Sat and Sun both, Stanford's football game, Madonna concert in San Jose and a couple of other events, and ALL of these event organizers had suggested their audience to use Caltrain to travel to and from the venues instead of driving. Sound advice I agree, but since Caltrain operates only once an hour during weekends, it led to insane amount of crowding on trains and inconvenience to thousands of passengers. The trains running once an hour would take way too long to get so many passengers in and out at stations, thereby getting delayed and increasing frustration for waiting crowds at subsequent stations. I traveled to San Francisco and back both days and the trains were PACKED. No seats left, no standing room, people sitting down in the aisles, no bicycle spots left and people being turned away and asked to wait one hour for the next train. All this happening when San Francisco 4th and King station was overflowing with Caltrain equipment just sitting there, not scheduled to run. Today evening there were eight trainsets just sitting idle at the station while a thousand people tried to cram into one train.

So, since Caltrain has the equipment, has the line for its dedicated use, why doesn't it run additional services on weekends if the train is so immensely popular among the local population? Ok, I know they have two additional services planned for tonight after the Giants game, but what is stopping them from running more, say even run a full weekday schedule for one weekend when there is so much happening in the area? Is it because their staff are such spoilt kids that they won't report to work even for ONE weekend in months? Does Caltrain have zero contingency funds to pay wages to their staff for one weekend worth of extra service? If you search for the term "caltrain" on Twitter, you will see thousands of tweets over this weekend from frustrated passengers writing "hate mail" to Caltrain. I find it amusing that Caltrain remains such an adamant uncooperative entity. Wonder why?

 

[sechs]

It does.

http://www.caltrain.com/riderinfo/specialevents.html

 

[Texan Eagle]

It does.

http://www.caltrain....cialevents.html

It'd help if you read the entire post before replying. I acknowledged they ran TWO extra services this weekend to cover potentially several thousand additional passengers, but that was nowhere enough. Since Caltrain does not have the problem faced by some of the other train systems in the country of having difficulty finding slots among freight railroads, if they wanted they could have very well run a full weekday schedule to accommodate the rush. Now before you jump saying that the trains go for maintenance on weekends so they cannot run, let me tell you I went to SF on Saturday as well as Sunday and both the days there were EIGHT trains just sitting idle at the platform at 4th and King, not being maintained or repaired or anything. Those trains, if run as additional services, could have helped thousands of passengers who had to go packed like sardines in one train departing per hour. I am interested in knowing if it is a union/employee issue that they won't report to work, a financial trouble, or just plain un co-operative attitude.

 

[jis]

Usually funding, or lack thereof is the issue. Since running each train in the net costs money as the farebox recovery is below, well below 100%, there has to be money available to make additional runs.

I am sure if the potential riders were willing to pay the actual cost of running the train Caltrain would happily run many trains. But potential riders, like everyone else wants as free a lunch as possible.

 

[sechs]

It'd help if you read the entire post before replying. I acknowledged they ran TWO extra services this weekend to cover potentially several thousand additional passengers

Or potentially zero additional passengers.
You seem to be inventing a problem based on a one-off experience. Hindsight is always 20/20.

 

[DET63]

It'd help if you read the entire post before replying. I acknowledged they ran TWO extra services this weekend to cover potentially several thousand additional passengers

Or potentially zero additional passengers.
You seem to be inventing a problem based on a one-off experience. Hindsight is always 20/20.

Fleet Week is an annual event. The Giants going to the playoffs is never a certainty until just a few days before the games (many of which are "if" games, contingent on winning or—sometimes—losing a prior game) are played. Regular-season football and baseball games are known in advance, but don't always occur when a bunch of other things are going on.

In short, Caltrain would have had to add extra services on short notice, meaning calling in staff, making sure that crews are not going to "die on the law," etc.—all for one or two days of unusually increased ridership that probably cannot be projected with any degree of certainty. Caltrain most likely did the best that it could.

 

[roadman3313]

One could argue they did... others could argue that there were projections and many of the other Bay Area Transit Agencies added service...

Cost is always a factor. Unfortunately there is no blanket system for event holders to pay to mitigate the effects on traffic/transit of having their events. Often times the city is encouraging more events to boost the economy so they are trying to bring in what market they can by presumably offering a good deal. It is expensive to run any form of transit and quite frankly most agencies do not have the needed resources to add the capacity they need.

Yes, the trains are physically there but they are set up there just as they would be any other weekend to be ready for weekday service. Could Caltrain have added more service? Probably. But it takes coordination with crew schedules, and Union agreements, and assuring the train sets are set up properly for the weekday commute. If they had to choose between adding another 2 trains on the weekend but evening them out by taking 2 trains away the previous Friday and the following Monday what would the passengers prefer?

In this day and age transit is expected to do more with less. Are their faults? Of course... I work in Public Transit in the Bay Area but also ride transit in the Bay Area. Nothing like going to an event in the city and having bus after bus pass you up after because they are too "full" or the operator is out of service time and having to deadhead back to the yard. It is frustrating, but at the same time many of the agencies don't have the extra funds to pay the overtime to have the employees to staff the events.

It is frustrating explaining to a passenger why there are buses sitting right in front of them when their bus is late or cancelled why we can't just pull that bus parked there for to cover the run we missed for them. It is frustrating being a passenger in line when my bus is cancelled trying to get home after work.

Trust me... if the Overtime is out there you will find people who are willing to take it. Transit Agencies in the Bay Area pay very well comparatively so I'd highly doubt it unwillingness on behalf of the contracted train staff. Probably just has to do with overhead and logistics.

Now back to what you said... these event organizers suggested their attendees use Caltrain (public transit) to help do their part to mitigate traffic as I'm sure they are required to do... but are they paying Caltrain to run service to accommodate the extra passenger load? They are the main reason for the problem so shouldn't they contribute to the solution?