Former Palo Alto Mayor Yoriko Kishimoto has formed "Friends of Caltrain" to help prevent the train from spiraling downhill due to lack of funds. The tri-county train faces a $30 million deficit, with a total budget of just under $100 million.
Caltrain is the only Bay Area transit agency that has no dedicated funding mechanism - it's gotten by primarily on the annual contributions of the three transit agencies that serve the tri-county peninsula from San Francisco to San Jose/Gilroy since the state spun it off in 1992. The 'Friends' are holding a summit on Jan 29.
"Kishimoto hopes "the time has come" to raise the gas tax. She thinks a Bay Area-wide one-cent increase approved by voters in November 2012 would be the most realistic option to substantially bolster Caltrain's reliable revenue.
Additionally, a tri-county payroll tax of just $20 per year could bring in $35 million, well over this year's entire deficit, according to Kishimoto. She also thinks congestion pricing and high-occupancy toll lanes are "seriously worth considering."
Kishimoto sees a Vehicle Miles Traveled tax "for wherever you're traveling" as the ideal long-term solution."
Thanks to California League of Conservation Voters
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