Caltrain kicks off annual ridership count

Caltrain today starts its annual onboard count of riders to collect information for service improvements.

The annual count will end in March. Typically, the count ends in February, but due to Super Bowl 50 activities on Feb. 7 and anticipated heavier ridership on public transit as a result, counts will be suspended for 10 days to avoid skewing the results, Caltrain officials said in a press release.

Weekdays, every rider on every train is counted for one week and averaged over five days. Weekends, riders on every train are counted for during a single weekend. The number of bike boardings and number of bike riders not able to board the train due to overcrowding also will be counted, Caltrain officials said.

Last year, average weekday ridership hit a new record of 58,429, according to 2015's annual count.