San Joaquins now one of the busiest Amtrak routes, considering FY21 cuts

[rickycourtney]

So while COVID-19 has decimated train ridership there has been one surprising bright spot (or maybe it's just a not so dark spot): the San Joaquins trains. The route now has some of the highest ridership of any Amtrak route.

As of late May, ridership on the San Joaquins has been 21% of normal. Compare that to the Cascades at 5% of normal and the Pacific Surfliner and the Capitol Corridor both at 8% of normal.

That said, additional cuts and cost-savings measures still need to be made in Fiscal Year 2021, but instead of further cutting trains (already reduced from 7 to 4 roundtrips) they're looking at making major changes to the massive Thruway Bus Network. The San Joaquins Joint Powers Authority (the government agency that runs the San Joaquins) points out that the bus network has been largely unchanged for decades, ridership and revenue have been declining, and operations cuts have been increasing substantially.

Here are the changes they're looking at sorted by order of the importance of that route in terms of ridership, revenue, and cost recovery:

1. Route 1a (Fresno-Bakersfield-Los Angeles-San Diego): No major changes recommended.
2. Route 3 (Stockton-Sacramento-Chico-Redding): Truncate Route 3 at Chico. Work with Butte CAG to develop a partnership for them to take over Route 3 operations. Support Salmon Runner (Sacramento to Redding) when it is deployed. Eliminate Martinez to Sacramento early morning bus route (CCJPA portion of the route).
3. Route 99 (Emeryville-San Francisco): Truncate Route 99 at Salesforce Transit Center. Work with CCJPA to see if a partnership can be formed with AC Transit for Route 99. Recommended Changes for Thruway Bus Routes
4. Route 7 (Martinez-Napa-Santa Rosa-Eureka-McKinleyville): Truncate Route 7 at Arcata (eliminates McKinleyville bus stop). Eliminate stops at Rio Del-Scotia, Leggett, and Laytonville.
5. Route 1b (Bakersfield-Los Angeles-Long Beach-San Pedro): Truncate Route 1b at Los Angeles.
6. Route 19 (Bakersfield-Riverside-Hemet/Bakersfield-Riverside-Palm Springs-Indio): Truncate Route 19 at San Bernardino.
7. Route 6/56 (Stockton – San Jose): Pursue a partnership with SJ RTD for taking over operations between Stockton and San Jose. Further evaluate markets and consider replacing some or all of Route 6/56 with Route 40 (Merced – San Jose).
8. Route 1c (Bakersfield-Van Nuys-Torrance): Truncate Route 1c at Santa Monica (eliminate Westchester, El Segundo, and Torrance stops, add a stop at Santa Monica).
9. Route 10 (Bakersfield-Oxnard-Santa Barbara): Suspend indefinitely or terminate route. Consider truncating Route 10 at Oxnard in the future and bundling with Route 1a.
10. Route 9 (Bakersfield-Las Vegas): Indefinitely suspend or terminate Route 9.
11. Route 18a & 18b (Visalia-Hanford-San Luis Obispo-Santa Maria): Indefinitely suspend or terminate 18a Hanford –Santa Maria. Pursue a partnership with KART to have them operate Route 18b service between Hanford-Visalia (and potentially to Lemoore and Kettleman City).
12. Route 12 (Bakersfield-Victorville): Indefinitely suspend or terminate Route 12.
13. Route 15a (Merced-Mariposa-Yosemite Valley) & Route 15b (Fresno-Yosemite Valley): With assistance from Caltrans, renegotiate contract with YARTs which could include paying on a per passenger served basis. Terminate Route 15a & 15b if a better contract arrangement with YARTs can’t be agreed upon.
14. Route 34 (Stockton-Oakland-San Francisco): Indefinitely suspend or terminate Route 34.

Sources:
https://sjjpa.com/wp-content/uploads/SJJPA-Board-Packet-May-1.pdf
https://sjjpa.com/wp-content/uploads/SJJPA_May_29_2020_Board-Mtg.pdf