Caltrain riders will be shelling out more to use the transit agency next year, after their Board of Directors approved a significant increase for tickets and parking fees.
In a press release sent this week, Caltrain announced that as of February 28, 2016, the base fare for one-way adult tickets will be increased by 50 cents.
According to Caltrain's codified tariff, a day pass will now cost riders an additional dollar. Depending on the distance traveled, eight-ride tickets will go up by between $3.25 and $3.45. All adult monthly passes will cost $11.80 more than they did before.
In addition, daily parking fees at station lots will be raised from $5 to $5.50, and monthly parking permits will go up from $50 to $55.
If you're thinking "hey, didn't Caltrain ticket prices just go up?" you're not wrong — the transit agency increased fares for one-way paper tickets by 25 cents and cash day passes by 50 cents in October, 2014 to encourage riders to switch to Clipper, users of which got to stick with the old ticket prices.
But before you complain, Caltrain sternly reminds us that "Unlike many transit agencies, Caltrain does not have a dedicated source of funding."
"The approved fare changes are necessary to meet the rising costs of rail operations and maintenance," they say. In other words, if you want a rail system that works (most of the time), hush up and pay up.
Update: Apparently at least one Caltrain staffer is upset by my word choice! In an email sent to Jay, Caltrain Senior Advisor/Strategic Initiatives Mark Simon writes the following:
Sternly? It’s a simple, declarative sentence that has the added benefit of being factually accurate. Caltrain doesn’t have its own dedicated source of revenue and we need to solve that problem. The first step is to tell people the problem exists. At the same board meeting where the fare increase was passed, this issue was discussed extensively. I’d encourage you to attend the meetings. I hope that didn’t seem too stern.
Don't worry, Mr. Simon! "Stern" is definitely not the word I'd use to describe your email!