Results released from Caltrain’s Pandemic Rider Survey provided insight into how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected the rail service.
This survey revealed a demographic shift that took place after the shelter-in-place order in March. The average annual household income of 2020 Caltrain riders is $95,000, down from $158,000 last year, affirming Caltrain’s decision to join Clipper START, which offers discounted rides to low-income transit users. Additionally, the amount of Latino and African American riders on board has doubled, with the former going from 12 percent to 26 percent and the latter from four percent to eight percent. Based on the survey, this is due to higher income riders being concentrated in fields that more easily allow work from home, leading to a larger percentage of essential workers using the service, a trend common throughout the Bay Area and beyond. The shift towards essential workers was a major reason Caltrain recently changed its schedule to provide increased off-peak and weekend service to more effectively meet their needs.
A major shift in rider behavior came from riders’ access to a personal vehicle. Only 12 percent of riders drove to their home station this year, down from 24 percent last year, while 11 percent of people took a bus to the station, up from one percent. This stems from the fact that only 36 percent of riders had access to a vehicle to make the trip, down from 51 percent in 2019. The primary reason for choosing to ride Caltrain, given by 46 percent of riders, is lack of access to a car, double last year’s number. Given the number of essential workers that do not have another means of getting to and from their jobs, it shows the necessity of keeping transit service operational during this time of crisis.
Rider frequency has decreased, with only 43 percent of riders using the service five days a week or more, down 10 percent from 2019. Only 39 percent of current riders are using a Go Pass or monthly pass, down from 59 percent last year, another indication that tech workers are likely to make up a much smaller share of current riders compared to before the pandemic. Only 65 percent of riders are using the service to go to work or school, down from 87 percent last year, although 20 percent said they were riding for social or recreational purposes, up from nine percent last year.
Out of current riders, 78 percent were riding prior to the shelter-in-place order, showing a substantial number of new riders in the system. Exactly 53 percent of current riders are riding as often as they were prior to March, 32 percent are riding less and 15 percent are using the system more.
Riders generally approve of the safety measures Caltrain enforces on board, with 86 percent saying mask wearing is an important safety measure, with 61 percent saying the same about social distancing, 54 percent about cleaning and sanitation practices, and 34 percent about ventilation. A mere 0.2 percent of riders said such measures were unnecessary.
Caltrain will continue to analyze the data to maximize the efficiency of the system, and support planning to improve the experience of current and returning riders. The full report for the 2020 Pandemic Rider Survey will be uploaded to Caltrain’s website in early 2021.
