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DIY (Do It Yourself) Complaints & Compliments
That Get Results!

MAKING YOUR CASE The Basics Schedule of VTA Board Meetings for 2011 Making your voice heard at a VTA Board Meeting or Workshop Sample Letters and Letter Writing Tips VTA Board Contacts (by City and Area) San Jose Los Altos, Los Altos Hills, Mountain View, Palo Alto, Santa Clara, Sunnyvale Campbell, Cupertino, Los Gatos, Monte Sereno, Saratoga Milpitas, Morgan Hill, San Martin, and Gilroy Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors Contacting Other Elected Officials San Jose/Silicon Valley Chamber of Commerce - Contact Public Officials sccvote.org form Call the Santa Clara County Registrar's Office at (408)299-8683

Do you have a compliment or complaint about Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) Bus and Light Rail service? Do you want to be better informed on VTA's Board meetings and workshops? We can help - from letting you know the right official to contact, to helping you write effective letters. Here are several steps to best register your concerns:

1. Select your complaint or compliment category from the list below.
2. Compose a letter to that official (or officials).
3. Send a copy of your correspondence to VTA General Manager Michael Burns and to the Silicon Valley Transit Users, P. O. Box 390069, Mountain View, CA 94039-0069 (email: info@svtransitusers.org).
4. When contacting any official above by telephone, try to call only during normal business hours (9am-5pm) and BE POLITE when you call! Make sure to take down the name and title of whoever answers your telephone call.
5. If you notice others with the same issue you have, get them involved as well and have them use the same steps here.  Remember: there is strength in numbers.

What is your compliment, complaint, or inquiry about?

Keep in Mind:

• We have plenty of advice for making your case. See the grey sidebar on the right for details. When making your case, state your name, address (physical, NOT a Post Office Box!), and phone number to verify constituency within the area.
• Make sure to contact VTA Customer Service FIRST at (408)321-2300 or via their "Tell Us" web form. Ask for a request number and make a record of it in a notebook. Keep this information and refer to it if repeat incidents occur, so that a proper history can be kept.
• Email addresses of VTA contacts are always firstname.lastname@vta.org  unless otherwise noted. For example, if a VTA contact's name is John Doe, the email address for the contact is john.doe@vta.org.
• All attempts are made to keep this information as accurate as possible. If you see any information that has changed, please contact us immediately.
• The information listed here is for YOUR convenience and is useless if you do not use it. Remember: your tax dollars and transit fares help pay the salaries for the contacts listed below. 
• PERSISTENCE IS THE KEY!

Addresses for Complaints or Compliments

All letters should be sent to the individual department that you are issuing a complaint or compliment about. A copy or separate letter should then go to the VTA's General Manager, Michael Burns.

Michael Burns, General Manager
Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority
3331 N. First Street, Building B
San Jose, CA 95134-1906

phone (408)321-5559 
fax (408)955-0891

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VTA Bus/Light Rail Service and Drivers

For compliments or complaints about VTA bus and light rail service, let VTA's Customer Service know about the issue FIRST at (408)321-2300.

When contacting VTA Customer Service, please let the operator know the following information: 

• The number of the vehicle, found at the front, sides, and back 
• The route number and destination, time of day where the incident happened
• The bus or light rail operator's badge number, found on the right sleeve of his/her uniform
• Full details of your compliment or complaint on the VTA bus or light rail train you used

Ask for a case number from the operator and request they contact you in writing, or by telephone. Follow up by calling back VTA Customer Service if you have not heard back from them within seven (7) business days.

If no satisfactory resolution to your issue has been made, contact the following person within VTA management:

Donald A. "Dan" Smith
Chief Operating Officer
Operations Administration Division
Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority
3331 N. First Street, Building B
San Jose, CA 95134-1906

phone (408)321-7004
fax (408)922-0143

Provide in writing the same information you gave VTA Customer Service, as well as they case number they provided you.  Ask that he contact you in writing.

If no resolution has been provided to you within seven (7) days, make time to bring your case up to the next VTA Board of Directors meeting.

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Bus Stops

To find out whether a bus stop near you will be getting a new bus shelter soon, or to qualify a stop to receive a bus shelter, please contact Mona Babauta, head of VTA's Bus Shelters program, at (408)321-5769.

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Customer Service and Community Outreach
(Please include the full name and title of anyone you spoke to in Customer Service)

Patrick Griffin
Customer Service Manager
Marketing and Customer Service Division
Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority
3331 N. First Street
San Jose, CA 95134-1906

phone (408)321-7506
fax (408)955-0893

VTA's Community Outreach program runs workshops that describe various transit and highway projects taking place within Santa Clara County.  They also manage some public input for these projects. You can contact them at:

Community Outreach
Marketing and Customer Service Division
Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority
3331 N. First Street
San Jose, CA 95134-1906

phone (408)321-7575 
fax (408)321-7576

VTA's Community Outreach, as well as other areas of Customer Service, can be contacted thru the web form on VTA's web site or by calling (408)321-2300 during daytime hours.

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Police and Security
(include date, description of, place, and time of incident. Include badge number if possible)

Santa Clara County
Office of the Sheriff
55 West Younger Ave.
San Jose, CA 95110-1721
phone (408)299-2101 
fax (408)283-0562

Captain Luther Pugh
Chief of Security, Protective Services
Operations Administration Division
3331 N. First Street
San Jose, CA 95134-1906

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Paratransit/OUTREACH

OUTREACH is the public paratransit provider for the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority. You can reach them thru their website at www.outreach1.org or

OUTREACH
926 Rock Ave., Suite 10
San Jose, California 95112
phone (408)436-2865
fax (408)382-0470
TDD (408)436-0155
email admin@outreach1.org

Issues regarding OUTREACH paratransit should also be directed to VTA's Chief Operating Officer as well

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VTA Policy

Send to VTA's General Manager, Michael Burns with a copy sent to the VTA Board of Directors.  

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Caltrain

Caltrain is a 77-mile commuter rail system that serves communities between San Francisco, San Mateo, Palo Alto, San Jose, and Gilroy. Caltrain's Customer Service number is 1(800)660-4287 while their administrative number is (650)508-6200.

Compliments or complaints about Caltrain should go to its CEO, Michael J. Scanlon, in addition to their Customer Service department:

Michael J. Scanlon
CEO, Caltrain/SamTrans
1250 San Carlos Ave.
San Carlos, CA 94070-1306

The VTA has three (3) local representatives on the Caltrain Joint Powers Board (JPB). Here is how to contact them:

Liz Kniss
County Supervisor, District 5
Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors
70 West Hedding Street
San Jose, CA 95110
Phone (408)299-5050
email: liz.kniss@bos.sccgov.org

Ken Yeager
Samta Clara County Supervisor, District 4
County Government Center, 10th Floor 
70 W. Hedding Street
San Jose, CA  95110
email: Supervisor.Yeager@bos.sccgov.org
phone: (408)299-5040

Ash Kalra
San Jose City Councilmember, District 2
200 E. Santa Clara Street
San Jose, CA  95113
(408)535-4902

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Altamont Commuter Express (ACE)

The Altamont Commuter Express (ACE) is a commuter rail system that serves communities between Stockton, Fremont, and San Jose.  The service runs on weekdays only, with several trains running between Stockton and San Jose during the morning rush hour and midday, and several trains running between San Jose and Stockton during the midday and evening rush hour.

Compliments or complaints about the Altamont Commuter Express (ACE) commuter rail service should go to Stacey Mortensen at the address below, in addition to their customer service. The Customer Service number for ACE is 1(800)411-7245.

Stacey Mortensen, Executive Director
Altamont Commuter Express
Stockton Metropolitan Airport
5000 South Airport Way
Suite 201
Stockton, CA 95213 

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Amtrak's Capitol Corridor

Amtrak's Capito l Corridor serves destinations between San Jose, Oakland, and Sacramento. The service is governed by the Capitol Corridor Joint Powers Board  (CCJPB).

The CCJPB consists of officials from the Placer County Transportation Planning Agency, Sacramento Regional Transit District, San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District, Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority, Solano Transportation Authority, and the Yolo County Transportation District.

Please address Capitol Corridor service questions and/or commments to:

The Capitol Corridor Joint Powers Authority
1000 Broadway, Suite 604
Oakland, CA 94607
email: info@amtrakcapitols.com

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VTA Board of Directors
(including information on their mailing list for various meeting agendas and notes)

The Board of Directors of the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) set the policy for Santa Clara County's mass transit system. They also set the policy for highway construction and maintenance in the county. Send comments regarding current and proposed VTA policy to:

Office of the Board Secretary
Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority
3331 N. First Street, Building B-2
San Jose, CA 95134-1906

phone (408)321-5680
fax (408)955-0891

This will forward your comment to each of the twelve (12) members of VTA Board.

This same contact can be used to place you on the VTA Board of Directors mailing list by stating your name and address to the Board Secretary. This list features VTA Board, workshop, and committee meetings as well as agendas. Members of the local press get information on VTA-related news and information from this list.

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Downtown San Jose/East Valley Bus and Light Rail Project

Learn more information about this project at http://www.dtev-vta.org/. The project extends light rail from Alum Rock, along Capitol Expressway past Eastridge Mall, up to the Capitol Light Rail station. The project a lso provides for enhanced, light rail-style bus service along Monterrey Highway from downtown San Jose to Santa Teresa light rail station.

You can learn more about this project at the contact below, where you can also send in any comments you have:

Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority
Planning and Programming
3331 N. First Street
San Jose, CA 95134-1906

phone (408)321-5744
email downtown.eastvalley@vta.org
TDD (408)321-2330

Information on this project in Spanish, Vietnamese, or Chinese (Mandarin dialect) is available via VTA's Customer Service at (408)321-2300 (TDD at (408)321-2330).

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Silicon Valley Rapid Transit Corridor Project
(also known as BART to San Jose)

Learn more about the BART extension from Milpitas to San Jose and Santa Clara via the web site VTA created for the project.

More information, as well as an outlet for comments on the project, can be obtained via the following contact:

Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority
Planning and Programming
3331 N. First Street
San Jose, CA 95134-1906

phone (408)321-5744
TDD (408)321-2330
email: vtabart@vta.org

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Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC)

The Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) is the San Francisco Bay Area's transportation planning and financing organization. Every few years, transit agencies like the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) must submit their long-term plans for transit and highway projects to the MTC to qualify for state and federal funding.

The following contact information below can be used to get onto the MTC's mailing list, where information on meetings regarding regional transit is distributed. It's the same information Bay Area politicians and the media receive.  

Metropolitan Transportation Commission
Joseph P. Bort MetroCenter
101 Eighth Street
Oakland, CA 94607

phone (510)464-7700
fax (510 464-7848
TDD/TTY (510)464-7769
email info@mtc.ca.gov

You can also use this contact to send in your comments regarding the state of Bay Area mass transit.

Currently, three (3) officials represent Santa Clara County as Commissioners at MTC. Here is how to contact them:

Ken Yeager
Samta Clara County Supervisor, District 4
County Government Center, 10th Floor 
70 W. Hedding Street
San Jose, CA  95110
email: Supervisor.Yeager@bos.sccgov.org
phone: (408)299-5040

Dean J. Chu
1278 Mandarin Drive
Sunnyvale, CA  94087
phone (408)981-6663

Dave Cortese
Santa Clara County Board of Supervisor, District 3
County Government Center
Tenth Floor - East Wing
70 West Hedding Street
San Jose, CA. 95110
Phone: 408/299-5030
Fax: 408/298-6637
email: dave.cortese@bos.sccgov.org

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Highway 17 Express Bus Service

The Highway 17 Express Bus Service runs between San Jose and Santa Cruz via Interstate 280, Interstate 880, and Highway 17.  Select trips serve the Soquel Park-and-Ride lot next to Dominican Hospital.

The service is a joint effort between Santa Cruz METRO (who operates the buses), the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority, and Amtrak California (a.k.a. Caltrans Division of Rail).

The following contact information can be used to send compliments or complaints about the Highway 17 Express Bus service.  Make sure to send copies of correspondence to all parties listed below, to ensure they are on the same page.

Les White, General Manager
Santa Cruz Metropolitan Transit District
370 Encinal Street, Suite 100
Santa Cruz, CA 95060
phone (831)426-6080

Michael Burns, General Manager
Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority
3331 N. First Street, Building B
San Jose, CA 95134-1906
phone (408)321-5559
fax (408)955-0891

Warren Weber, Chief
Division of Rail
California Department of Transportation
P.O. Box 942873
Sacramento, CA 94273-0001

This is in addition to sending copies of your correspondence to VTA Customer Service as well as Santa Cruz METRO customer service. 

You can reach Santa Cruz METRO customer service by calling (831)425-8600.

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