Caltrain’s weekend Baby Bullets give ridership a boost

California's Caltrain "experiment" with providing express service on the weekends is paying off. Ridership on weekend Baby Bullet trains increased 54 percent in April compared to March. An average of 222 people boarded or alighted weekend express trains at the San Francisco station for a total ridership of 7,784 for the month. According to Caltrain's Director of Transportation Michelle Bouchard, the weekend Baby Bullet trains, as well as the local trains scheduled before and after them, have seen a 30 percent boost in ridership since the beginning of the year. "This is a strong indication that the new weekend Baby Bullet service is not just existing riders who changed to the Baby Bullet trains, but a real increase in overall ridership," said Bouchard. The service, which was suggested by Caltrain riders, was introduced as a pilot program in January. Originally scheduled to operate for three months, it has been extended because of its success. 
 The schedule features two round trips with each train making seven stops between the terminals in San Francisco and San Jose, Millbrae, San Mateo, Hillsdale, Redwood City, Palo Alto, Mountain View and Sunnyvale. 
 The success of the weekend service comes at a time when Caltrain ridership is at an all-time high. Results of the annual passenger count show that average weekday ridership is 41,442, 12.7 percent higher than last year. Overall average weekend ridership also increased 21 percent over the previous year: 13,172 customers rode on Saturday and 9,100 rode on Sunday.