Short-term recommendationsThe following steps should be taken as soon as possible:
Implementing ADA access to all stations along the Caltrain route. Communities of Concern around South San Francisco Station do not have access to an ADA-designated Caltrain Station. Commuters with disabilities are forced to take a SamTrans Caltrain Connector to a ADA-designated Caltrain Station. Assess demand and determine the feasibility of new SamTrans bus service to underserved Communities of Concern. Extend Caltrain Connection Service to Daly City Communities of Concern. Daly City Communities of Concern have access to BART via local SamTrans service. However, users will first need to ride local SamTrans to BART, take BART to Millbrae, and transfer to Caltrain in order to have access to Caltrain service. This could be avoided by having direct SamTrans Caltrain Connector service from Daly City Communities of Concern to Bayshore or South San Francisco Caltrains. Investigate improving ECR/ECR Rapid bus service along El Camino Real to become an efficient, high-frequency, reliable trunk line that can supplement Caltrain during the off-peak and weekend hours when Caltrain frequency is low. This will better serve populations living along the arterial and lessen the impact of a missed Caltrain. Improvements could include queue jump lanes/BRT, transit signal priority, and overnight service. Investigate demand for earlier SamTrans services since many of the “Caltrain Connector” routes miss the first Caltrains in the morning. This will help encourage the adoption of public transit for early commuters, if needed, who otherwise are not serviced in that timeframe. Assess impact of potential outliers like cost, overall travel times, attractiveness of transit alternatives, and others, acting as barriers against adopting public transit outside of purely scheduling difficulties. Implementing attractive, clean alternatives for local transit such as shared bike services as an additional method of incentivizing public transit. This will increase accessibility of clean, local transportation as well as increasing access to local transit providers. |
Long-Term recommendationsThe following steps should be taken in coordination with Caltrain Electrification--which will result in increased train frequency throughout the day--and Reimagine Samtrans.
Develop a new SamTrans route network that prioritizes frequency and Caltrain connection. A new “Frequent” network of bus routes--which can be based off existing “Caltrain Connectors” and by consolidating circuitous, confusing, or underperforming routes--should be developed to ensure frequent connections from communities to Caltrain. Service should operate every 15 minutes or better and meet the first Caltrain trip(s) of the day. FLEX service complementing this high-frequency service can be implemented to maximize transit access throughout San Mateo County. Evaluate destinations of Caltrain Connectors with consideration of Caltrain payment zones. Some CoCs are only connected to one Caltrain zone, meaning higher fares in one direction, while other CoCs have flat-rate samTrans access to a variety of Caltrain zones which gives more flexibility in Caltrain station choice and thus an opportunity for lower fares. Alter fare structure for equity and accessibility:
|