At this morning’s meeting of the San Joaquin Regional Rail Commission, the Board voted to suspend the operation of the Midday ACE train in concept, and opened the 30-day public comment period on the service reduction. The public hearing for adoption of the ACE service reduction has been set for the October 2nd 2009 regular Commission board meeting.
Based on direction from the Board and feedback from commuters, staff developed the costs associated with moving the 4th train into a commuter slot. Keeping the 4th train in the midday slot with an average of 50 passengers in each direction, or less than 5% of the annual ridership, will cost the Commission between $700,000 and $800,000 this fiscal year, assuming a stable ridership and no increase in fuel. In addition to this current service budget, moving the Midday train to a commute-hour slot would cost an additional $560,000 because of increased shuttle fees. These costs are simply not feasible with the current economic climate.
Now, it appears that unemployment trends may be a much more powerful influence than any marketing efforts on overall ACE ridership. This being the case, a more conservative approach has been approved to suspend the operations of the 4th train – midday or otherwise – in October and wait to reintroduce the 4th train into a peak slot when the unemployment statistics begin to measurably improve.
Starting today, comments regarding this service reduction are welcome and encouraged by sending an email to the Director of Planning and Programming. Comments will be accepted until the October 2nd board meeting, and the public is invited to participate in the board meeting either online at www.acerail.com or in-person at 949 E. Channel Street, Stockton, CA 95202.
