Solving Caltrain's financial problems

My job responsibilities include keeping up on the news. I was just reading this article on Caltrain's financial crisis, and the numbers at the end inspired me to pull out my calculator.

CALTRAIN NUMBERS
$2.3 million: deficit
35,000: daily riders

My calculation: $2,300,000/200 commute days per year (a conservative estimate)/35,000 daily passengers (or do they mean trips? I bet they mean trips.) = $0.33 (the amount they would have to raise fares per ticket (or possibly per passenger which means it's only half as much) to cover the deficit

BTW, demand for transportation is relatively inelastic. This means that people won't stop riding very quickly as the fare increases.

I don't know about you, but $0.33/day isn't a lot of money to me. Heck, raise the fares $0.50/day just to be on the safe side. Just accompany it with better service like more space for bikes and bullet trains on the weekend and even in the middle of the day.

train + vegetables

If this blog has a third subject after bikes and street fashion, it would be food. We talk a lot about groceries and local produce. I don't know what she's carrying--sporting a sparkly scarf, skirt and cute earrings, but it doesn't look like it came from a big box.

Cycle Chic Pali-style

KT and I were discussing Cycle Chic chez moi the other day while surfing the net when I noticed the new Cycle Chic banner for the first time. It reminded me of this photo I recently snapped at the Palo Alto Caltrain station.
If you've read my blog before, you know that I am a bike/train commuter to the Valley. If you've done that before, you know that the Palo Alto Caltrain station has more bikes than anyone knows how to store. They have a bike station, racks and lockers and still there are bikes chained to every pole and tree in sight. Meanwhile, cyclists are also frequently getting bumped from the train because there isn't enough room for them all on the train. Is the solution just more of everything? A bike share program? What do you think?

Bow Tie en Train

This man is my new favorite person in the world. Not only is he wearing a bow tie while bike-train commuting, but look at that smile!

...Alas, I also see a ring on his hand.

Dreamboat

Great bodies of literature support the idea that women love moody, thoughtful men. Exhibit Mr. Darcy and Heathcliff. Why do you think the pages of Jane and Emily get so much play. It's the way we are.

I saw this dreamboat from the train window, clearly solving some major world problem, in his black dress shoes, chinos, and collar shirt. I also have a weakness for red bicycles -- this one is a fixie.

Peninsula Bike Chyck Uniform

In SF, people wear hoodies and chains. I noted the other day that in Palo Alto, people wear girl-tees with arty, comic prints and animal socks.

Commuter Vogue

It feels like I've spent most of this week on Caltrain. Caltrain is pretty nice to be on. I bring my thermos of tea, a banana and maybe a muffin, and I don't mind being on the train at all. I would eat breakfast anyway, right?

Caltrain has some of the best intermodal facilities (geek-talk for accommodation of bicycles) I've used. One car is dedicated to bicyclists and their steeds, and I'm usually on it. Keeping an eye out for VV has been pretty frustating -- there are a lot of cyclists, but they must be changing out of their spandex when they get to work (I hope!). I see one cute girl every day (not sure if it is the same one) -- here is my attempt to capture her look: