What’s Next for Caltrain?
Caltrain staff hosted a workshop earlier this month to ask the community how their future electrified fleet could be as bike-friendly as possible. Their board is making a decision in June, so make sure you sign up for updates to stay in the loop.
In many ways, this month’s workshop was an experiment. It was the first time two of Caltrain’s advisory committees met jointly, and Caltrain staff was well prepared to receive feedback from committee members and the general public.
Attendees had “game boards” where they could move around different pieces representing bike racks, seats, wheelchair spaces, etc. to understand different tradeoffs in designing the interiors of the new Caltrain cars.
Many bicycle advocates were present, including members of both your SF Bicycle Coalition and Silicon Valley Bicycle Coalition. As ideas bounced around the room, many attendees echoed a desire to see an option for three bike cars per train. We will continue working closely with Caltrain staff and strongly encourage them to explore this option as a way to increase accessibility, ensure bike security onboard and maximize the number of bike spaces.
The Caltrain Board will finalize their new car designs in June. In addition to supporting three bike cars per train, we also support the following:
- Maintaining a minimum of 72 bike spaces per train, with a goal of 96 bike spaces on seven-car trains
- Providing adequate seats in view of bikes
- Setting a goal of 20% of Caltrain passengers accessing stations by bicycle
Today, approximately 12% of Caltrain passengers arrive at stations by bicycle, and nearly all of them bring their bicycles onboard. When we think about the future of Caltrain, we believe that many more people would connect to transit by bike if options were easy and convenient. That’s why we’re excited that Caltrain has secured $3.5 million to expand secure bike parking at their stations. Combined with expanding bike share, we believe that adding secure bike parking makes this 20% goal attainable as full electrification rolls out.
With Caltrain’s decision coming up in June, now is the time to join our campaign to receive updates about Caltrain and get involved. We need your help as we work towards an even more bike-friendly future for Caltrain.