Peninsula Corridor Joint Powers Board (JPB) Board of Directors Meeting 1250 San Carlos Avenue, San Carlos CA 94070 Minutes February 7, 2013 MEMBERS PRESENT: M. Cohen, J. Deal, A. Lloyd, T. Nolan, A. Tissier, P. Woodward, K. Yeager MEMBERS ABSENT: J. Cisneros, A. Kalra STAFF PRESENT: J. Averill, M. Bouchard, J. Cassman, A. Chan, M. Choy, G. Harrington, C. Harvey, R. Haskin, M. Lee, M. Martinez, N. McKenna, D. Miller, S. Murphy, M. Scanlon, M. Simon Chair Ken Yeager called the meeting to order at 10:03 a.m. and led the Pledge of Allegiance. SWEARING IN OF PERRY WOODWARD REPRESENTING SANTA CLARA COUNTY JPB Secretary Martha Martinez administered the Oath of Office to Perry Woodward. PUBLIC COMMENT Pat Giorni, Burlingame, said she has heard people are not always able to get a seat on the train. She asked if electrification service is capped at six trains per direction per hour, will future demand be met, and if this is something that should be looked at in the Environmental Impact Report (EIR). Roland LeBrun, San Jose, said last month the California High Speed Rail Authority (CHRSA) and Amtrak issued a Request for Information (RFI) for High Speed Rail (HSR) rolling stock. He asked when Caltrain will be issuing a similar RFI for the new electric multiple units that will be able to share common track platform heights with HSR and Amtrak. The Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) Programming and Allocations Committee is meeting next week and the Consent Calendar has an item for $10 million in project cost changes for both the Communications-based Overlay Signal System (CBOSS) and San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency’s (SFMTA) Rail Replacement Part B. Mr. LeBrun said the CBOSS Project is already over budget and behind schedule even before the final design has been completed. Doug DeLong, Mountain View, said the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority is undertaking a $1.3 million study of low income riders and asked whether there could be some type of discount program for Caltrain. Shirley Johnson, San Francisco Bicycle Coalition, commended Caltrain for its outstanding bicycle program. Bumps are rising again, bike space is maxed out and most bumps are on Bombardier cars. She said the solution is to add a third bike car on Bombardier trains. Page 1 of 12 Joint Powers Board Meeting Minutes February 7, 2013 CONSENT CALENDAR a. Approval of Minutes of January 3, 2013 A motion (Nolan/Lloyd) to approve the consent calendar was approved unanimously. CHAIRPERSON’S REPORT Certificate of Appreciation to Outgoing Citizens Advisory Committee (CAC) Chair Paul Bendix Chair Yeager said Mr. Bendix has been on the CAC since October 1999. He has a keen understanding of the service and the riders, and is an advocate for the future of Caltrain. A motion (Tissier/Nolan) to present the Certificate of Appreciation to Mr. Bendix was unanimously approved. Mr. Bendix thanked the Board for the recognition and said it has been a privilege to take part in a public process and to see Caltrain grow. REPORT OF THE CAC CAC Chair Kevin Gardiner thanked Mr. Bendix for his service. Mr. Gardiner said at its January 16 meeting, the CAC: • Held the 2013 elections. Representing San Francisco County, he was elected chair, and Adina Levin, representing San Mateo County, was elected vice chair. • Received a presentation on the Title VI requirements. There was an interest among the members to have more outreach to the North Fair Oaks area in Redwood City. • Staff provided an overview on the passenger counts currently being done on the trains. • There was interest in discussing airport connections and receiving a presentation on the passenger counts and customer satisfaction survey. REPORT OF THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR Executive Director Michael Scanlon reported: • Welcomed Director Woodward and thanked Mr. Bendix for his service as chair to the CAC. • Key Caltrain Performance Statistics o Monthly Performance Statistics – December 2012 compared to December 2011 . Total Ridership was 1,126,167, an increase of 8.6 percent. Average Weekday Ridership was 42,705, an increase of 11.2 percent. Total Revenue was $4,835,232, an increase of 12.3 percent. On-time Performance was 95.1 percent, a decrease of 2.5 percent. Caltrain Shuttle Ridership was 6,165, an increase of 6.8 percent. o Year-to-date Performance Statistics – December 2012 compared to December 2011 Page 2 of 12 Joint Powers Board Meeting Minutes February 7, 2013 . Total Ridership was 7,727,480, an increase of 12 percent. Average Weekday Ridership was 48,302, an increase of 12.3 percent. Total Revenue was $34,179,935, an increase of 17.8 percent. On-time Performance was 89.7 percent, a decrease of 3.7 percent. Caltrain Shuttle Ridership was 8,340, an increase of 22.4 percent. • Ridership on the system remains incredibly high and it makes it extraordinarily difficult to recover from a slight problem. On February 6, southbound Train 314 experienced a mechanical problem and this caused overcrowding on Trains 220 and 322. • Deputy CEO Gigi Harrington is starting to work on the Fiscal Year (FY) 2014 budgets and is in contact with the chief financial officers at the partner agencies. Director Malia Cohen arrived at 10:22 a.m. • Annual on-board passenger counts are underway. Staff will present the findings at a future meeting. • The Bicycle Advisory Committee did not meet in January. The next meeting is scheduled for March 21. • Special service: o Extra service was provided for the San Francisco 49ers playoff game on January 12 and carried an additional 1,400 riders. o The Martin Luther King, Jr. Association of Santa Clara Valley chartered two trains for their annual Freedom Train and carried more than 1,000 riders. o The San Jose Sharks are off to a good start and during the first week more than 1,500 riders were carried. o President’s Day is February 18 and a modified Saturday schedule will be operated with eight extra trains and one roundtrip to Gilroy. o Giants Fanfest is on February 9 at AT&T Park. Passengers can pre- purchase tickets by using the Fanfest button on the ticket vending machines. • Congratulated staff on the excellent Comprehensive Annual Financial Report. • The Reading File contains correspondence, the December Safety and Security Report, the President’s Day timetable, Take Ones on Title VI outreach and the Electrification Environmental Impact Report (EIR) public scoping meetings. Caltrain Modernization Program Executive Officer, Caltrain Modernization Program Marian Lee said staff issued the Caltrain Electrification EIR Notice of Preparation (NOP) on January 31. The Federal Transit Administration said the Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) issued in 2009 is sufficient and there is no need to go through a reevaluation of the Federal process, just for the State. She said staff will be following the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) law and supplementing that with additional outreach. Staff will be going through an 18-month process to prepare this document. Ms. Lee said there are four scoping meetings on the NOP and the purpose of these meetings is to hear from the stakeholders and the public about the project. There will Page 3 of 12 Joint Powers Board Meeting Minutes February 7, 2013 be an open house on February 27 in this auditorium from 3:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. during which staff will answer questions from the public, and following that from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. will be the official scoping meeting. The remaining three scoping meetings will be from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. in Palo Alto City Hall, the VTA Auditorium in San Jose and the San Francisco Board of Supervisors Chambers. The dates and locations are all listed on the Caltrain website and were included in the NOP distribution, which went out to property owners within 300 feet of the right of way, libraries in the three counties, elected officials at the local State and Federal levels, all the transportation boards and agencies, key community groups, and city and county staff. Ms. Lee said the city of San Mateo has been strongly advocating for a grade separation at 25th Avenue and the City is preparing a Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) for the entire Hillsdale Station area. The City hopes to prioritize a list of capital projects related to transportation infrastructure and develop a funding plan. The City has asked the JPB to be a partner in the development of the Plan. Ms. Lee said staff has been working with the cities of Burlingame, South San Francisco and Atherton to remove the hold-out rule at their stations. She said San Francisco is interested in redeveloping the Mission Bay area and San Francisco has asked the JPB to assess the feasibility of shrinking or removing the 4th and King rail yard. Staff will be embarking on a several- month analysis to see if the idea is feasible from an operations perspective and to understand the system-wide implications of the suggested change. Public Comment Roland LeBrun, San Jose, said this morning it took four minutes for a wheelchair to be lifted off the train. The issue is not with people with mobility issues but the method of getting them off and on the trains. Doug DeLong, Mountain View, said it won’t be long until there are 50,000 average weekday riders. He said there are going to be angrier riders as ridership increases. Mr. Scanlon said the bottom line is money. With more money, Caltrain could have more staff and trains. Chair Yeager asked if a report can be given on where Caltrain is headed and the options.