Dear Board Members and Commissioners,

On Thursday, June 2, Caltrain board deferred approving a capital budget because of a shortfall in capital contributions. Caltrain asked for $4Million per partner; SamTrans contributed $4, VTA about $3Million, and San Francisco $2 Million.

This is particularly ominous because the staff reports at the meeting showed an increasing level of delays due to mechanical failures, where cutbacks in maintenance are starting to impact service. According to the staff report, these cutbacks in capital funding would result in less money to upgrade trains, leading to more delays.

We urge the San Francisco and VTA boards to work together with Caltrain and the MTC to find a solution to this shortfall that keeps trains running reliably in FY2012.

We also encourage San Francisco, VTA, and SamTrans to work together with MTC to put together an operating budget for FY 2013.

Keeping the trains running reliably will buy time for the community to organize in favor of stable funding for Caltrain.

Sincerely,