Tag: board of directors

November Board Meeting Fun

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Here’s a quick preview of key items tonight’s Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) Board of Directors’ meeting at 5:30pm.

  • Item 5.2 – General Manager’s Report. Good place to bring up why VTA has provided no public notice to why there have been missing bus and light rail
  • Item 7.3 – VTA staff discuss proposals to help speed up light rail thru downtown San Jose
  • Item 7.4 – VTA staff discusses the future of light rail in Santa Clara County. Item possibly includes talk on what new light rail cars might look like.

Here’s how YOU can get involved by speaking after and only after VTA Staff and Board members discuss these Items:

Let’s follow-up more on this issue exclusively on Agenda Item 5.2 at the November 3 VTA Board Of Directors’ meeting at 5:30pm. Here’s how YOU can get involved:

Zoom meeting link- https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85914427437.

The meeting will be streamed through the VTA YouTube Channel.

You may also call into the meeting as follows:
Zoom one-tap via smartphone:
US: +16692192599,,85914427437#
or
+16699009128,,85914427437#

Via telephone dial: US : +1 669 219 2599 or +1 669 900 9128
Webinar ID: 859 1442 7437

See you all at tonight’s Board meeting.

Eugene Bradley
Founder & CEO, Silicon Valley Transit Users

An Audit Instead Of Reform

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people boarding VTA's 60 bus in santa clara
People boarding VTA’s 60 bus in Santa Clara.

Efforts to provide much-needed governance reform at the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) via the California State Legislature have been tabled. We learned via a San Jose Spotlight story on Tuesday that State Assembly Member Marc Berman and VTA Board Chair (and San Jose Vice Mayor) Charles “Chappie” Jones worked out a deal that would see VTA undergo a state audit of its governance structure.

As a supporter of AB 2181 – the VTA Governance Reform proposal – this news came as no surprise to me. Especially how some cities in Santa Clara County expressed fear of potential changes in VTA governance.

Ultimately, I feel a state-level audit of VTA’s governance is long overdue. If VTA, its staff, and current Board Of Directors have nothing to hide, they have nothing to fear. Here’s more on why our group continues to support governance reform at VTA – and why you should, too. Let’s wait and see the results of that state audit, and provide input to help make that state audit happen, as needed.

Eugene Bradley
Founder & CEO, Silicon Valley Transit Users

Here We Go Again

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Could another assault on working families, the elderly, and the disabled be on the horizon?  That may soon be the case.  This Friday morning at 9:00am, the Board of Directors of the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) will discuss a proposal to reduce bus and light rail service by as much as 30% next year.

If at all possible, speak up during Public Comment at the VTA Board of Directors’ workshop on Friday morning at 9:00am.  There, Board Members will discuss the service cut proposals on Agenda Item 3.1. Let the VTA Board know what public transit means to YOU, and that they must do whatever is needed to preserve your bus service.  One of the VTA Board members supports use of 2016 Measure B funding to preserve as much transit service as possible.

Here’s information on how YOU can be heard in the online teleconference by computer or your own telephone.

View the video of the teleconference above, starting at 9am Friday morning.

More information on what you can do to help stave off VTA’s latest service cut proposal will be posted this weekend.

Eugene Bradley
Founder & CEO, Silicon Valley Transit Users

Monica Mallon contributed to this report.

 

Needed: Directly-Elected VTA Board Members

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Inside the Santa Clara County Supervisors' chambers.

Inside the Santa Clara County Supervisors’ chambers where VTA Board Of Directors’ meetings are held.

Tired of reading story after story on how VTA wastes your money and is mismanaged?  Tired of being forced to drive in traffic gridlock because of VTA’s service cuts over the years, rooted in their mismanagement? Now is your best chance to help change it all for the better.  The Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) wants your input on how it seeks to be governed in the future.

VTA created a survey to take your input, which includes several questions.  They are also taking your phone calls at (408)952-4200 to take in your input, until December 6.  A public meeting will be held December 20 to further discuss restructuring; details will be posted when information is available.

Recall back in June on how the Santa Clara County Civil Grand Jury trashed VTA’s poor governance in their 61-page report.  A story from the Mountain View Voice on the Grand Jury report sums up one key recommendation:

The grand jury report lays much of the responsibility for this dysfunction on the VTA Board of Directors. The 12-member governing board consists entirely of political appointees who must be currently serving as city council members or on the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors. Often, board members face a steep learning curve, and it doesn’t help that they often lack any experience in transportation, finance or management of an agency of this size, the report says.

Having a directly-elected VTA Board of Directors is something our group has been fighting for since 2003. Back then, we were known as the Santa Clara VTA Riders Union (SCVTARU). A story in the November 12 edition of the Silicon Valley Business Journal gives some examples of how other transit agencies throughout the nation are governed.

In that online survey and at (408)952-4200, make sure you ask VTA to have a directly-elected Board of Directors.  You can do that on Question #6 in the survey.  In Question #7, make sure to ask for public transit service throughout Santa Clara County, not just for downtown and East San Jose.

It is past time to bring much-needed accountability to public transit in Santa Clara County.  Part of a better nation, as Internet essayist Jim Wright would remind us, starts when you elect a better government.  Let’s start fighting for some of that better government for public transit today.  Getting that better government starts when YOU take that survey and make that phone call.

Eugene Bradley
Founder, Silicon Valley Transit Users