San Bruno B.A.R.T.

  Silicon Valley's light-rail network, already ranked among the most expensive and least efficient in the nation, has gotten even worse.

  Trains that were once near capacity now carry about 15 passengers per car, among the fewest of similar trolley lines in the country. And from 2001 to 2003, fewer riders and growing expenses combined to more than double the cost of providing a trip. Last year, the VTA spent a whopping $8.42 per passenger per trip -- even though it charged those passengers $1.50.

  Data released recently by federal and local transit officials paints an increasingly grim picture of a network that does not appear to be rebounding despite the Valley Transportation Authority's efforts to clamp down on costs.

  ``It's very discouraging to hear that the cost of our light rail continues to go up,'' said Pat Dando, San Jose's vice-mayor and VTA board member. ``Clearly this is something we are going to have to get our arms around and come up with a plan to be more efficient if we are going to continue with light rail.''

  Cutting back

  And it's not as if the agency isn't trying.

  The VTA already has eliminated 550 jobs, renegotiated labor contracts, slashed service, raised fares and borrowed money set aside for new projects. Some of those changes are expected to bear fruit in coming years. But even the VTA is not predicting those changes will be enough to transform the picture.

  VTA spokeswoman Anne-Catherine Vinickas said the agency's reform efforts can only accomplish so much because of underlying factors, such as employees' wages and benefits, the need to provide a minimum level of service and the stagnant economy.

  The agency is opening two rail lines -- to East San Jose this summer and to Campbell in 2006 -- moves that it hopes will attract new riders. When the valley economy rebounds, officials believe, riders will board those lines and return to the existing network as freeways again become clogged.

  ``There's only so much you can cut and still maintain service,'' said Tom Rubin, former controller-treasurer of the Southern California Rapid Transit District and a nationwide transit consultant. ``When you lay people off, you have to lay the cheapest people off because of seniority, for one thing.''

  Low rankings

  The federal government recently released data for fiscal year 2002 that compares transit systems around the country in a variety of areas, and shows the VTA at or near the bottom in most. More recent data compiled by the VTA has no comparison to other trolley lines, but shows the VTA losing ground from 2002 to 2003 -- particularly in ridership.

  The daily number of riders on the system that stretches from San Jose to Mountain View and Milpitas plummeted 44 percent since the peak of the high-tech boom in 2000, from 30,383 passengers to 17,047, as of Sept. 30.

  The new data reveals another startling fact: The light-rail system became 46 percent more expensive to operate in fiscal year 2002. Costs shot up from about $37 million to about $54 million, largely because of new labor contracts that the VTA had awarded during the boom and because of a one-mile extension to Milpitas near Interstate 880.

  As a result, Silicon Valley's light-rail system sank even lower among its peers throughout the West compared with the year before. For instance, the VTA's operating cost per passenger mile for light rail shot up that year from 86 cents to $1.55, the worst compared with Dallas, Sacramento, Denver, Salt Lake City, Portland and San Diego.

  In fiscal year 2003, that cost shot up even further -- to $1.90, according to the VTA. The VTA had cut its overall annual operating expenses by then for light rail to about $51 million, but ridership continued its free fall, offsetting any major gains. This year, operating cost of light rail is projected to fall to $42 million, which would be about $5 million higher than in 2001.

  Because of the relatively low amount the agency reaps from fares, most of that cost must be met by taxes -- chiefly the extra sales taxes for transportation Santa Clara County voters have approved.

  Across country

  Transit agencies across the nation have been slammed by the economic downturn, but few performed as dismally as the VTA. Transit officials blame Silicon Valley's job losses, coupled with the unplugging of key highway bottlenecks.

  Some VTA board members point out the limitations of comparing the VTA to other transit systems, saying each one is unique because of demographics, cost of living and the sprawling nature of the valley. But transit experts consider the data to be the most comprehensive source of operating and financial statistics for the nation's 600-plus transit agencies, and a valid way of measuring those agencies' success.

  Some experts say many of Santa Clara County's light-rail problems are likely to persist once the economy improves because they are characteristic of the large county it serves, or are inherent in the design of the system, which creeps along at 3 mph through downtown.

  Despite the problems, some VTA board members want to expand the 29.5-mile network, although the agency has said expansion beyond the two lines under construction is unlikely.

  Santa Clara County supervisor Blanca Alvarado wants to forge ahead with studies to take light rail down the median of Capitol Expressway to Highway 87.

  But Dave Fadness, a longtime county transportation commissioner, said the agency should cut its losses, and even consider halting construction of the Vasona line to Campbell.

  ``What are we going to end up with over there -- 23 people are going to use it?'' Fadness said. ``And we're going to look even worse.''

Contact Tracey Kaplan at tkaplan@mercurynews.com and Gary Richards at grichards@mercurynews.com