Along With Caltrain System, San Bruno Station Dodges Budget Bullet

Decked out in orange and black on a recent evening, Terry Piccolotti waited to board Caltrain at the San Bruno station. Piccolotti was among dozens of Giants fans heading to AT&T Park for a match between the defending World Series champs and Los Angeles Dodgers.

“It is the cheapest way to get to the ball park,” said Piccolotti, adding that it costs her $5 roundtrip.

At one point San Bruno was among the stations on an initial closure list, as Caltrain grappled with how to offset a for next fiscal year.

The Moss Beach resident said if the San Bruno station closed she would take BART to baseball games, which would be slower and not as fun as taking Caltrain.

Now it looks like San Bruno riders won’t have to worry about getting passed by Caltrain anytime soon.

Board wants to maintain current schedule

The Caltrain board of directors has directed staff to find funds to plug its remaining $3.5 million gap so that Caltrain can continue its 86-train schedule.

“My intention is to keep all 86 trains and keep all the stations open,” said Caltrain Director and San Mateo County Supervisor Adrienne Tissier.

At its April 7 board meeting, Caltrain staff proposed a 76-train schedule that would have kept most stations open during the week but .

San Bruno wouldn’t have lost any service under this scenario.

Caltrain staff factored in ridership as well as proximity to other stations in determining which stations would have closed, said Caltrain spokesman Mark Simon.

“It’s not like (San Bruno) dodged a bullet," Simon said. "It’s more like the whole train system did.”

After receiving a new ridership report that showed a 12.7 percent increase in weekday riders this year, the Caltrain Board rejected any cutbacks.

Tissier said maintaining the current schedule, including the popular Baby Bullet service, will make it easier to pursue a long-term funding solution, such as a sales or parcel tax, down the road.

“I won’t go out to the public and say, ‘We want you to support this broken system and we hope we can fix it someday,’” she said.

The Caltrain board will hold a special meeting at 10 a.m. April 21 in San Carlos (1250 San Carlos Ave.), where staff is expected to lay out a plan to balance the budget with one-time funds along with a 25-cent fare increase and higher parking fees.

San Bruno ridership on the rise

Caltrain’s continued service is good news for San Bruno city officials, who have been counting on a new Caltrain station and $147 million to serve as a catalyst for .

San Bruno’s Caltrain station averages 441 weekday riders, an increase of 71, compared to last year, according to the 2011 ridership survey.

Last year, San Bruno’s ridership dropped 19 percent and the station was ranked 20th  in passenger count out of 29 Caltrain stations.

San Bruno’s ridership, although on the rise, is still far below its peak of 844 weekday boardings in 2001.

Commuters glad to hear Caltrain will keep running

Back at the station, Jose Perez waited for a southbound train with his mountain bike. Perez is a cook in a San Bruno restaurant and commutes from East Palo Alto.

He said he relies on Caltrain to get to work because he doesn’t have a car. Although he could have used the Millbrae station if San Bruno was on the chopping block, Perez said he is glad that he will be able to catch a ride close to his job.

Matthew Suiki was also waiting to head home to Sunnyvale after working a temporary job in San Bruno. Although he is not a frequent Caltrain rider, he said it’s a good thing that Caltrain will be able to keep its stations open, and not just run during commute hours.

“That would have been a real pain,” Suiki said.