Latest news with #Caltrain
CBS News
a day ago
- Business
- CBS News
Golden Gate Bridge toll increase, Bay Area transit fare hikes take effect
The cost of commuting on several Bay Area transit agencies, along with driving on the Golden Gate Bridge, has gone up on Tuesday as a series of fare and toll increases take effect. Here's what's to know about the changes, which are being implemented on July 1, 2025: Golden Gate Bridge Tolls All tolls on the Golden Gate Bridge are going up on July 1, as part of a multi-year toll increase program approved by the bridge's Board of Directors. For most drivers who use FasTrak, which include 2-axle vehicles and motorcycles, the toll has increased from $9.25 to $9.75. License plate accounts and one-time payment tolls are now $10, while invoice tolls are $10.75. Tolls for carpools have also increased from $7.25 to $7.75. Golden Gate Transit Buses and Ferries The Golden Gate Bridge, Highway and Transportation District has also raised transit fares for bus and ferry service, with most increases up to $0.25. Discount fare programs will remain in effect. Officials said local bus fares in Marin and Sonoma County, along with Giants ferry fares would not increase. Caltrain Base fares on the rail system have increased by 25 cents. Muni According to the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency, an adult single rider using Clipper or MuniMobile has increased from $2.75 to $2.85, the second increase in less than a year. Riding Muni remains free for all youth 18 and younger, regardless of housing income or residency. AC Transit Adult cash fares have gone up by $0.25, from $2.50 to $2.75, while the Transbay cash fare has increased to $6.00 to $6.50, the first fare increase since January 2020. The agency, which covers the western parts of Alameda and Contra Costa counties, said a second 25 cent increase would take effect in July 2026.
CBS News
a day ago
- CBS News
Clipper Card system outage impacting transit systems throughout Bay Area
Bay Area transportation officials announced Tuesday that the Clipper Card system is experiencing outages, impacting commuters throughout the region. The Metropolitan Transportation Commission, which operates the system, confirmed on social media that the system is out on all transit operators as of 7:15 a.m. ATTENTION: The Clipper system is experiencing an outage on all operators this morning. Please be prepared to pay your fare with another form of payment if required by your transit agency. — Bay Area Clipper (@BayAreaClipper) July 1, 2025 At the Embarcadero BART station in San Francisco, the fare gates were opened as commuters were unable to use their cards. Officials with Caltrain and Muni reported similar issues. Clipper Card officials did not provide an estimate on when the system would be restored. Tuesday's outage comes as several transit agencies, including AC Transit, Caltrain, Muni and the San Francisco Bay Ferry, were implementing fare increases. This is a breaking news update. More details to come.
Yahoo
15-06-2025
- Yahoo
Ex-Caltrain employees sentenced to jail for building ‘secret apartments' in train stations, cheated taxpayers
In San Mateo, California, a runaway train of embezzlement and theft found its way back into the station. Former Caltrain employees Seth Andrew Worden and Joseph Vincent Navarro were sentenced to 60 days and 120 days in county jail, respectively, for embezzlement of public funds. Navarro, previously Caltrain deputy director, used $42,000 of public funds to build an apartment for himself at Burlingame Station into a secret apartment. He directed Worden to hire contractors to remodel office space and keep the invoices under $3,000 to avoid detection, as going over that amount would require higher approval. Worden, a Caltrain station manager, used the same methods to embezzle $8,000 — remodeling a part of Millbrae station in 2019. He was caught just a year later in 2020 and fired when station employees found the living space. Navarro maintained his secret apartment — with its brand new kitchen, shower, heating, plumbing and security cameras — up until 2022. Caltrain received an anonymous tip exposing his living situation. Together, they embezzled over $40,000 of public funds. "When it's public money that is being stolen by a public employee, that's egregious. That takes it up a level," San Mateo County District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe told ABC7 News. Worden was also sentenced to pay $8,000 in restitution and to receive substance abuse treatment and counseling — while Navarro has been ordered to surrender to surrender to authorities for his jail sentence on Aug. 2. A restitution hearing in his case has been scheduled for Aug.15 according to CBS News. The case also reflects the extreme cost pressures facing Bay Area residents. With median home prices hovering near $1.25 million according to Re/MAX and rents among the highest in the nation, housing insecurity can push individuals toward unconventional — and sometimes unlawful — solutions. While the Caltrain scheme was deliberate fraud, as framed by the prosecution, it also highlights how a lack of affordable housing and oversight can create openings for opportunistic behavior in public systems. This article provides information only and should not be construed as advice. It is provided without warranty of any kind.
CBS News
13-06-2025
- Business
- CBS News
Push underway to restore weekday service to Burlingame Caltrain station amid growth
Take a walk down Broadway in Burlingame, and it's clear that Ross Bruce knows the lay of the land better than most. "A lot of our businesses have been here for a lot of years," he said. "We're standing in front of the Royal Donut shop where I was a busboy there in 1961." He's a longtime real estate broker at AVR Realty, located on Broadway. And for the past 20 years, he says new residents, tenants, and business owners all find themselves surprised when they find out one fact about the area. "The train station is not open during the weekdays, when a train station is traditionally open," he said. Bruce would like to see that change, saying it's long overdue and much needed. "Before Caltrain started to cut back on our schedule, we had about 2,000 people a week in terms of ridership," he said. "With 800-1,000 new units of rentals, within walking distance of here, that figure would probably go up dramatically." There's a petition circulating Burlingame that is gaining speed, urging the city and Caltrain to bring back weekday service to the area, one that is seeing both commercial and residential development. Advocates like Bruce say reintroducing this vital transportation hub will benefit both the local economy and environment. "There have been a lot of promises over the years that if just one more thing was fixed, they'd give us our service back, so we're encouraging them to follow through with that," Bruce said. Caltrain closed the station to weekday service back in 2005 when the railway launched its express service. The reason? A safety requirement known as the holdout rule, which due to the layout of the Broadway Station in Burlingame, leads to traffic and safety challenges, according to Caltrain spokesperson Dan Lieberman. "So, the decision at the time was to close the Broadway Station for weekday train travel and hold off until the grade separation could be completed so we could effectively move through the station, the holdout rule would be eliminated, and those traffic impacts and safety concerns would be resolved," he said. "When we have southbound trains, that means they're stopping the Broadway intersection for minutes at a time. Now that we've got four trains per hour per direction, you can see how complicated that would get." But 20 years later, the grade separation project has yet to break ground. "There was a pretty significant jump in the funding estimate for the project last fall," said Burlingame Mayor Peter Stevenson. "We've been working with different agencies – Caltrain, the transit authority at the county level, and obviously the state level folks – on reassembling our plan for securing the funding to make that project a reality." Stevenson said the grade separation project remains the top priority, which likely needs to come before weekday service can resume. "I love the discourse and the dialogue that the community engagement brings, and I hope that continues. But right now, our plan is really, we've got to stay focused on the grade separation," he said. "Opening a station is a difficult thing if it's at grade because of the congestion and the safety issues." CBS News Bay Area asked Lieberman if there is a world where weekday service could resume before the grade separation project is complete. "It's hard to see that. Ultimately, I don't want to say never say never, but the big concern is that if we're providing that service, we want to be doing so safely, we want to be doing so without having an undue traffic impact on the neighborhood. Once we're convinced that we can do that the right way, I think we'll be happy to move forward." From Bruce's perspective, the timetables continue to shift – so he believes the order of operations needs to change. "The grade separation, which has been on infinity hold, and then we've got 20 years' worth of promises from Caltrain offering to restore our service. So, now, there's no real reason not to restore the service," he said. "We've got pretty much everything we need already here. It would require very little money to change it over to full service."
CBS News
10-06-2025
- CBS News
Former Caltrain employee who admitted to building homes inside stations sentenced
A former Caltrain employee has been sentenced after being convicted for his role in a scheme where he built homes inside stations, including one for himself, prosecutors said. According to San Mateo County District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe's office, 63-year-old Seth Andrew Worden received a sentence of two months in county jail and one year probation at a hearing on Monday. In January, Worden pleaded no contest to misdemeanor embezzlement, as part of a deal with prosecutors in exchange for testimony against 67-year-old Joseph Vincent Navarro, who was also charged in the case last year. Worden was also sentenced to pay $8,000 in restitution and to receive substance abuse treatment and counseling. Worden was a Caltrain station manager employed by TASI, which the agency has a contract with to provide rail services. Navarro was Caltrain's deputy director of operations. According to prosecutors, Navarro directed Worden to use public funds to convert a portion of the Burlingame station into Navarro's personal residence in 2019 to 2020 without authorization. Worden hired contractors to remodel a part of a station which had been used as office space. Among the changes made to the station included a kitchen, shower, heating, plumbing and security cameras. Prosecutors said invoices were kept below a $3,000 threshold to avoid detection. Navarro used the Burlingame station as his residence until he was fired in 2022, after the agency received an anonymous tip. According to the DA's office, $42,000 was spent on remodeling the station for Navarro. Prosecutors said Worden used $8,000 in public finds to remodel a portion of the Millbrae station into a personal residence for himself in 2019. The following year, Worden was fired after Caltrain employees discovered the living space. "The misuse of public funds for private use is a violation of the law, Caltrain policy and the public's trust," Caltrain executive director Michelle Bouchard told CBS News Bay Area after the pair were indicted in March 2024. "Caltrain investigates every claim of such misconduct, and in cases where there is evidence of unlawful conduct by an employee or a contractor, we immediately act to rectify the situation and hold the individuals who are responsible accountable." Navarro was convicted Apr. 30 of felony theft and embezzlement of public funds following an eight-day trial. Prosecutors said he is scheduled to be sentenced on Wednesday.
