GILROYNative transportation and elected officers gathered early Monday morning on the Gilroy Transit Middle to rejoice the enlargement from three to 4 weekday trains from San Jose to Gilroy. The enlargement represents a shift to higher transit entry for residents of South Santa Clara County, officers mentioned – the belief of a years-long effort to enhance service for native commuters.
“Whereas we’re not but the place we’d prefer to be, this fourth prepare is a major, long-awaited step for our residents and others to higher join with the job progress of the broader Bay Space,” mentioned Gilroy Mayor Marie Blankley on the occasion, noting that whereas Gilroy’s inhabitants has elevated, its job progress has stagnated.
“Caltrain is an actual lifeline to South County households that commute north for work, and including a fourth prepare will make a world of distinction,” mentioned Santa Clara County Supervisor Sylvia Arenas in a written assertion. “4 trains means extra time at house for fogeys to spend time with their youngsters after work, it means extra choices to keep away from hectic driving on clogged highways, and it opens up new job alternatives with totally different begin occasions.”
In addition to Blankley and Arenas, the occasion was additionally attended by Morgan Hill Mayor Mark Turner and Supervisor Cindy Chavez, in addition to a number of representatives from Caltrain and Valley Transportation Authority, which administers public transportation all through Santa Clara County. After the occasion, officers boarded the very first prepare on the expanded service schedule, using from Gilroy to Morgan Hill.
Earlier than 2004, Caltrain riders south of San Jose loved 4 trains touring north and again each weekday morning. However as ridership declined, service was reduce to a few trains – and briefly to 2 on the top of the CoVID-19 pandemic.
With the present enlargement, the prepare service returns to its earlier heights for riders south of San Jose’s Tamien Station. “Getting as much as 4 trains at this level is form of a historic factor for Caltrain, and we hope we will solely transcend 4 to 5 sooner or later sooner or later,” mentioned Michelle Bouchard, Government Director of Caltrain.
The transfer comes after years of advocacy for expanded transit in southern Santa Clara County by native residents and officers. “[Former Morgan Hill mayor Rich Constantine and Mayor Blankley] simply did such a very good job of by no means, ever letting this be on the again burner,” mentioned Chavez, who additionally serves as a Caltrain board member representing the Valley Transportation Authority, on the occasion. “As a result of we will’t have South County on the again burner. It’s acquired to be identical to each different a part of the county.”
Till just lately, calls to enhance public transportation within the area had been met with considerations that there wouldn’t be sufficient ridership to benefit the enlargement. Nonetheless a number of shifts in the previous few years led to a rise in demand and out there funds. When ridership went down through the CoVID-19 pandemic, Caltrain started to downsize trains, which saved cash on upkeep and operations prices. This freed up area for a reshuffling of service.
On the similar time, many employees with distant and hybrid choices needed to maneuver to extra inexpensive areas equivalent to Gilroy, which noticed a inhabitants soar of greater than 5% over the past two years.
Extra funds can be offered by measure B, a tax measure meant to fund public transit and transportation infrastructure, which is able to present practically $1 million over the following two years to fund the rise in service.
Whereas many officers lauded the enlargement as a milestone, some additionally see it as a prelude for service to Salinas and Monterey. “I sit up for increasing Caltrain service even additional south past Gilroy,” mentioned Jeff Gee, member of the Caltrain board of administrators. “That is only the start.”
The up to date Caltrain schedule will be discovered at caltrain.com/schedules/pdfs.
