Important: Caltrain seeks your input now!
faye steiner
you with the luxury of shuttles do sometimes partycar it, so this
applies to you as well...
------Original Message------
From: bikeso...@sfbike.org
Subject: Action Alert: Caltrain seeks your input now!
Sent: Nov 10, 2009 22:23
Dear Caltrain Bike Passengers and Supporters,
Two important actions and an update. Please read on.
ACTION #1: CALTRAIN SEEKS INPUT ON ITS SHORT-RANGE TRANSIT PLAN BY NOV 20
Caltrain’s draft Short-Range Transit Plan (FY2009 to FY2018) describes the
bike capacity increase made in 2009, but contains no stated plan for bikes
onboard going forward. This is a serious omission, because there is
insufficient bike capacity right now! Further, Caltrain intends to buy new
rolling stock for electrified trains. It is critical to plan for bikes
onboard at the onset, rather than try to shoehorn them in later, or (gasp)
eliminate bikes altogether. Please email Caltrain and let them know they
need to plan for bikes onboard, now and for electrified trains.
We recommend the following talking points:
1. Thank Caltrain for the expanded bike capacity in 2009.
2. Cyclists continue to get bumped today, so there is still unmet demand
for onboard bike space.
3. Caltrain is projecting general ridership to increase a total of only
1% through FY2014, so trains will continue to have empty seats. By
replacing empty seats with bike racks, Caltrain can increase ridership and
farebox revenue to help offset projected budget shortfalls.
4. For better service reliability, Caltrain should improve consistency in
bike capacity with 72 to 80 bikes per train in 2010 (three bike cars on
Bombardier trains and two bike cars on gallery trains).
5. Caltrain should plan for 20% onboard bike capacity on electrified
trains in 2015.
6. Caltrain must design and install bike space on electrified new rolling
stock before the equipment leaves the factory to avoid high retrofit
costs.
Send your email by November 20 to SR...@caltrain.com and copy us at
bikeso...@sfbike.org
For more details:
Read Caltrain’s draft Short-Range Transit Plan:
http://caltrain.com/srtp/pdf/2009-2018/DRAFT_Short_Range_Transit_Plan_2009-2018.pdf
Read our proposal to improve consistency in bike capacity:
http://www.sfbike.org/caltrain_bob_propose
Read our analysis of demand for bike capacity on electrified trains:
http://tinyurl.com/SFBC-Plan
ACTION #2: PLEASE REPORT BUMPS
Please, please keep reporting bumps, because without your report, Caltrain
won’t plan for more bike capacity. If you are reporting real-time to
http://twitter.com/bikecar, please also copy all four addresses:
lind...@samtrans.com, bikeso...@sfbike.org, bo...@caltrain.com,
sim...@samtrans.com
If you are reporting after the fact, please use the handy email link near
the top of our web page. It will automatically populate your email client
with the above four addresses. http://www.sfbike.org/caltrain_bob
Please report the following:
> number of bumped cyclists (even if you are not one of them),
> day,
> station,
> train number or time plus travel direction, and
> any additional information such as how getting bumped affected your day.
Caltrain really needs to hear from you directly, because we know there is
under-reporting. For example, a post to twitter/bikecar last Friday (Nov
6) reported that 25 cyclists were bumped at Sunnyvale from northbound
train 225, but we (and presumably Caltrain) received no report. Thank you
to those who have been reporting – please spread the word to others!
UPDATE ON BIKE CAPACITY
Caltrain has converted two Bombardier non-bike cars to bike cars, so now
four of five Bombardier trains are running with two bike cars for a
capacity of 48 bikes each. Unfortunately, the last conversion has been
delayed again, but is expected to be completed by the end of November. In
December, all trains will carry 40, 48, or 80 bikes. Trains with 40 bike
spaces are bumping cyclists, so we need consistency in bike capacity of 72
to 80 bikes per train to meet today’s demand. See our proposal here:
http://www.sfbike.org/caltrain_bob_propose
Thank you in advance for sending an email to Caltrain to comment on its
draft Short-Range Transit Plan. Caltrain relies on your input to improve
its service, so please send that email today!
More bikes, no bumps,
Shirley Johnson
BIKES ONboard project, SFBC
http://www.sfbike.org/caltrain_bob
Please forward to other cyclists and anyone who cares about bicycle
commuting.
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry
------------------------------------
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