Please see the information below regarding the proposed schedule change.

At the San Joaquin Regional Rail Commission board meeting on Friday, June 26, the Commission took up the item of the proposed ACE schedule change (reference in an earlier post).  Staff presented the proposed schedule along with a summary of all comments received from the public.  In all, 43 written comments were received from passengers; 23 of which were complimentary toward the change and 20 expressed some reservation, especially with regard to the change of ACE 05.  The board approved the proposed schedule change with direction to staff to look into possible ways of reducing the 20-minute change to ACE 05.  As such, while the new schedule will not be made effective until the fall, staff will work with Union Pacific Railroad and Amtrak on any possible resolution to the ACE 05 schedule challenges.  We will continue to alert the passengers throughout the process of making the train schedule as efficient as possible.

Transit agencies everywhere are slashing service and raising fares in response to the escalating unemployment figures and the resulting loss in transit ridership.  Newspapers and transit journals are plastered with headlines about the deep cuts that need to be made for transit to stay afloat and the uncertainty over whether even those will be enough.  The downswing in the economy is also wreaking havoc on the state and local funding sources that cover the costs for operations and maintenance.  But enough of the negativity…

THIS IS ACE LIFE!

We have committed to you that we would get creative in times like these, that we try anything and everything to keep the ACE service whole, and that we would bear the first cuts in the hopes that you wouldn’t have to.

THIS IS THE PLAN: 

The midday train helps carry non-commuters for family and leisure or other business trips, and ACE riders working half days from time to time.  However, as many of you have seen, it is not near as productive as the peak period trains.  So our first stance against this economic onslaught is to move the midday train to regular commuter slots.  Hooray! you might say.  Another morning and evening choice!  But there are some issues you need to be informed about.  The shuttle cycle-back time for the longer bus routes at Great America is approximately one hour.  This is why our schedules have always been roughly an hour apart.  By plugging another train slot in the middle of the current trains, we have to shift most of the other trains a bit as well.

This is where most of you groan….I know you have worked hard to dial in your current train/work schedule, and shifting it is going to upset that apple cart.  But this is the only way we are going to get 4 peak-period trains into San Jose in the morning.

The proposed changes for the morning and evening look something like this:

Morning

• ACE 1 schedule remains the same
• ACE 3 will operate five minutes earlier at all stations (to provide time for VTA shuttles to return for ACE 5)  NO CHANGE
• ACE 5 will operate 20 minutes earlier at all stations
• ACE 7 will operate 2’15” earlier at all stations (7:15 am departure from Stockton)

Afternoon

• ACE 2 will move from a 12:05 pm departure from San Jose to a 6:40 pm departure, Monday through Thursday.  (Will be renumbered to ACE 10)
• On Fridays only, ACE 2 will depart from San Jose at 2:25 pm.  This seems to match up better with the current ridership patterns which are heavier on the earlier trains.

We are taking this concept to the Rail Commission Board Meeting on Friday, June 26^th (note the change in date for this special meeting) and would like to relay your comments to the Governing Board.  Additionally, you are welcome to make comments during the Board meeting via our online broadcast at www.acerail.com.  More information on the online meeting can be found at ACERAIL.com by clicking on the SJRRC Board tab.

I really do appreciate your input, and I am encouraged by your support during this time of global change.

Please email your comments to THOMAS.