PRESS RELEASE
For Immediate Release
December 2, 2008
Contact: Luna Salaver
(510) 874-7474
SMASHES RIDERSHIP RECORDS
Ridership Jumps Nearly 17 Percent
Over 300,000 More Train Riders This Year
Oakland, CALIF., December 2, 2008 — The Capitol Corridor Joint Powers Authority (CCJPA) announced record-breaking ridership and revenue growth for 2008. Ridership for the fiscal year, which ended on September 30, 2008, increased 16.8 percent and revenue was up 24 percent–demonstrating the Capitol Corridor intercity passenger rail service’s continued growth since 1998 when the CCJPA began managing the system.
“Despite the economic slowdown and falling gas prices, ridership on Northern California’s Capitol Corridor continues double-digit growth,” CCJPA Chair Forrest Williams said. “Annual ridership broke the 1.7 million mark, that’s more than 300,000 riders than last fiscal year and it’s not slowing down. Ridership and revenue results for the month of October 2008–the first month of the new fiscal year–remain strong even at a time when gasoline prices have fallen dramatically.”
CCJPA officials attribute the impressive increase in ridership to the comfort, convenience, affordability, and the sustained on-time performance of the Capitol Corridor service as well as passengers’ increased environmental awareness.
“We surveyed our riders and found that protecting the environment was among the top five reasons why people choose to ride Capitol Corridor trains,” CCJPA Managing Director Eugene Skoropowski said. “If we did not exist, 85 percent of our passengers would use a car to get to their destinations. By riding our trains, the additional 300,000 passengers who hopped on board this fiscal year prevented 29,600 pounds of smog and 45,400 pounds of greenhouse gases from spewing into the atmosphere.”
The CCJPA presented its service performance for Fiscal Year (FY) 2008 at the final CCJPA Board meeting of the year on November 19, 2008. The report summarizes Capitol Corridor’s performance for the fiscal year which began October 1, 2007 and ended September 30, 2008. The FY 2008 Performance Report highlights include:
Overall ridership up nearly 17 percent, continuing the ten-year trend of ridership growth every year;
Revenue-to-cost (the amount of income generated through fares by paying customers to help offset operations expenses) improved to an all-time high of 55 percent; and
Average annual on-time performance (OTP) improved to 86% (with an outstanding 91 percent OTP in the final quarter of the fiscal year).
“This is the best overall performance of any Amtrak-operated intercity passenger rail service in the country,” Skoropowski added. “We look forward to working with our service partners, Union Pacific Railroad (UPRR) and Amtrak, to deliver the best service we can this fiscal year.”
About CCJPA
The Capitol Corridor began service in December of 1991 under management by the California Department of Transportation. In July 1998, the management of the service was transferred to the Capitol Corridor Joint Powers Authority (CCJPA), who has managed the route for the last ten years. The CCJPA member agencies are: Placer County Transportation Planning Agency, Sacramento Regional Transit District, San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District, Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority, Solano Transportation Authority, and the Yolo County Transportation District.
CCJPA oversees the service with day-to-day management and staff support from the San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District (BART). The CCJPA partners with Amtrak, Union Pacific Railroad, the California Department of Transportation and the communities comprising the CCJPA to offer cost-effective, viable and safe intercity passenger rail service.
About Capitol Corridor
The Capitol Corridor intercity passenger rail serves 16 stations along a 170-mile rail corridor, and offers a convenient way to travel between the Sierra Foothills, Sacramento, the San Francisco Bay Area and Silicon Valley/San Jose. For information, visit www.capitolcorridor.org or call 1-877-9RIDECC (1-877-974-3322).
