Empty trains cost money
Rather than hike taxes in five counties to “rescue VTA,” transit bureaucrats could find easy savings if they wanted. For example: a yearly $15 million that goes to fund a diesel train to Gilroy that serves hardly anybody. Here are five reasons the South County Caltrain is not exactly chugging along, courtesy of Gilroy City Councilmember Zach Hilton writing for the Gilroy Dispatch.
1. Who rides the train?
“I’ve seen the June South County Caltrain ridership numbers (Monday-Friday, four trains north in the morning and four trains south in the evening): Gilroy 126 riders/day; San Martin 22 riders/day; Morgan Hill 104 riders/day; Blossom Hill 68 riders/day; Capitol 45 riders/day.”
2. Ridership hopes, meet reality…
“VTA, Caltrain and South County communities do minimal to increase South County Caltrain ridership, so the expectation that suddenly ridership on Caltrain will increase is not a reality today.”
3. $15 million for a handful of riders “not fiscally responsible”
“It’s not fiscally responsible to fund Caltrain South County at $15 million for 365 riders/day M-F when they aren’t serving the current commute travel patterns and while VTA is facing a fiscally constrained FY26 and FY27 Transit Operating Budget. Caltrain is heading into a deficit for FY27 too.”
4. There’s this thing called a bus
“As of June 2025, the VTA’s Frequent 68 (San Jose to Gilroy every day) runs every 15 minutes and averages 4,309 daily boardings; and the Rapid 568 (San Jose to Gilroy Monday-Friday) runs every 30 minutes and
averages 853 daily boardings.”
5. Caltrain can’t reduce congestion
“South County Caltrain service doesn’t have the impact needed to relieve congestion on U.S. Route 101 today or historically… Gilroy isn’t the starting point for traffic any longer. San Benito County and Monterey County drivers contribute to it as well.”
Read the whole thing here.
Follow Opportunity Now on Twitter @svopportunity
We prize letters from our thoughtful readers. Typed on a Smith Corona. Written in longhand on fine stationery. Scribbled on a napkin. Hey, even composed on email. Feel free to send your comments to us at opportunitynowsv@gmail.com or (snail mail) 1590 Calaveras Ave., SJ, CA 95126. Remember to be thoughtful and polite. We will post letters on an irregular basis on the main Opp Now site.