Caltrain hikes fares to address projected budget deficit

Caltrain is increasing its fares by 25 cents starting today as part of the San Francisco-to-San Jose commuter railroad's efforts to wipe out a projected budget deficit.

In 2022, Caltrain adopted an updated fare structure that included a schedule of fare increases and changes. Two of those fare increases, a 50-cent base fare increase and an increase of the monthly pass trip multiplier from 24 trips to 30, were planned to go into effect July 1, 2023. Those increases were delayed in order to avoid discouraging riders from getting on board during the post-quarantine recovery, Caltrain officials said in a press release.

Caltrain is attaining its highest ever service levels of 104 trains per weekday, and more weekend service than ever before. Since the launch of electric service, Caltrain has logged substantial ridership gains. In May, ridership soared 55% compared to year-ago ridership.

Caltrain is projecting an average annual deficit of close to $75 million between fiscal-year 2027 and FY2035. Without an injection of funding from a regional sales tax measure or other external sources, Caltrain will need to explore drastic service reductions, station closures and administrative cost reductions, Caltrain officials said.