Tag: bart

TAKE ACTION! Ensure Public Transit Stays In the State Budget Proposal

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Riders boarding Caltrain in Mountain View station. Front of the train is on the right, with its lights on. Passengers boarding and alighting are on the left.
Riders boarding Caltrain in Mountain View.

California Governor Gavin Newsom’s latest state budget proposal cuts funding for public transit. If passed into law in June, it would result in fare hikes and service reductions for many transit agencies throughout California. This as several key Bay Area transit agencies like Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) and Caltrain struggle to regain pre-COVID pandemic ridership. This also occurs as many public transit agencies are running out of federal COVID relief funding to run their buses and trains.

Our group is part of a coalition to have the California State Legislature pass “gap” funding in the State Budget until public transit agencies pass their own operations funding means.

Read more on what’s going on, and how YOU can get involved.

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Happy Thanksgiving 2022!

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Happy Thanksgiving sign. Source: pixabay.com
Image by J Lloa from Pixabay

We’ve learned all services at the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) River Oaks headquarters was restored at 3:30pm this afternoon. This includes their Customer Service call center for transit service information.

Given that, on behalf of the Silicon Valley Transit Users, I want to wish you a Happy Thanksgiving.

A reminder: all Silicon Valley transit agencies will be running on a Sunday/Holiday schedule this Thursday. This includes Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) bus and light rail service, Caltrain, Capitol Corridor trains, SamTrans (San Mateo County) buses, and BART trains. Altamont Corridor Express (ACE) trains between Stockton and San Jose in both directions will not run Thursday and Friday.

On Friday, some Silicon Valley transit agencies will run a modified schedule. For instance, VTA buses/light rail will run a normal weekday schedule this Friday, except its five weekday commuter express bus routes will not run that day only.

Plan accordingly if you are riding public transit this Thursday and Friday. Normal weekday service on all these of transit agencies returns on Monday, November 28.

Follow @svtransitupdts on Twitter for the latest Silicon Valley public transit updates and tips. Have a nice and safe Thanksgiving Day holiday weekend.

Eugene Bradley
Founder, Silicon Valley Transit Users

Silicon Oven

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Graphic showing it's 111 degrees in San Jose. Has sun drawing on upper right. Lower right says 111 deg. / 72 deg. feels like 111 Deg. Tue, 2:26pm
Photo courtesy Juan Estrada on Facebook.

This week, temperatures in San Jose and the rest of the Bay Area are at record highs.


The extreme heat is expected to continue for several more days.

To address this, we’ve learned that the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) is providing FREE rides to Cooling Centers throughout Santa Clara County. Here’s an updated list, as of today.

If you use VTA ACCESS Paratransit, call (408)321-2380 to book a trip to a Cooling Center. Due to demand, expect at least a three-hour wait before you can be picked up.

Rail agencies like BART, Caltrain, and Capitol Corridor ran with heat-related speed restrictions so far this week. This has resulted in delays up to 20 minutes on each of these systems. Expect this to be the case the rest of this week.

Locally, VTA has had issues system-wide due to heat causing breakdowns so far this week.

If at all possible, limit when you go outside for the next few days. Let’s not hear about you having to go to the hospital due to dehydration, heat exhaustion, heat stroke – or worse.

Still need to travel outside this hot week? Follow @svtransitupdts on Twitter to keep up with the latest local (Santa Clara County) public transit updates. Here’s steps showing YOU can help keep the svtransitupdts Twitter feed updated.

In the mean time, please stay safe, cool, and hydrated this week.

Eugene Bradley
Founder & CEO, Silicon Valley Transit Users.

Happy Thanksgiving 2021

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Image by J Lloa from Pixabay

On behalf of the Silicon Valley Transit Users, I want to wish all of you a Happy Thanksgiving today.

Quick reminder: ALL Silicon Valley transit agencies (VTA, Caltrain, BART, SamTrans, et al.) are running on a Sunday/Holiday schedule today.

Read on for a more detailed look at how these transit agencies will run today and tomorrow.

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Happy New Year 2021

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Even in a global pandemic, one New Year’s Eve public transit tradition continues.  Transit agencies like Caltrain, SamTrans, and VTA will have free fares for their bus & rail service starting around 8pm.  This despite Santa Clara County’s “shelter in place” health orders in effect until further notice.

Pandemic protection rules such as social distancing and mask wearing on board will still apply.  Per health department directives, avoid crowds to help curb the spread of COVID-19.

Read on for a summary of who’s offering what services on New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day, and when.

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