Tag: Bus

Silicon Valley local and regional bus news.

October Transit Schedule and Fare Changes

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Changes to Silicon Valley bus and rail schedules are being made this month.  As regular service is being operated today (October 9), the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) made changes to several bus line schedules in Santa Clara County.  Some of the schedule changes enable better connections with the Caltrain commuter rail service.  Read up on the service changes here and learn how YOU will be affected by these changes.

Speaking of Caltrain: several fare changes were made on October 1:

  • The price of a monthly Caltrain parking pass was raised from $55.00 to $82.50.  This is because Caltrain changed their basis of a “month” to 15 days from 10 days.
  • Caltrain riders will pay an additional 25 cents per zone they travel
  • Caltrain 8-ride tickets are no longer available for purchase.  Current 8-ride tickets will no longer be valid after October 31.

This is in addition to the changes Caltrain made to its Monday thru Friday schedule, to increase “operational efficiency and customer satisfaction.”  These changes were approved by Caltrain’s Joint Powers Board back in August.

What are your thoughts on the schedule and fare changes at VTA and Caltrain?  Please discuss them in comments below.

Eugene Bradley
Founder, Silicon Valley Transit Users

September VTA Meeting Summary…With a Feeling

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Last month, I wanted to experiment with providing a brief summary of a Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) Board Of Directors meeting.  Your feedback demanded more information be provided for such summaries.  So, in the future, more detail will be provided for such summaries.

That said, the September 7 VTA Board Of Directors Meeting and follow-up workshops revealed a potential conflict of interest in a formed sales tax measure watchdog group. They also confirmed routing for two bus lines, once the BART extension to Milpitas and Berryessa comes online.  Finally, conflict was revealed between VTA and BART over how a tunnel for BART in downtown San Jose should be built.

Detailed information on all of this (in chronological order) is below.

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“Next Network” Next Year

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Passengers boarding the VTA 181 express bus to Fremont BART station in downtown San Jose.

Bus and light rail restructuring throughout Santa Clara County has been put off until 2018.  The Silicon Valley Transit Users just received official word from VTA that the BART extension to Milpitas and Berryessa in San Jose has been moved until June 2018 due to “system integration and testing.”

The VTA Board of Directors received word of the BART extension delay from staff at the August 3 Board of Directors’ meeting in San Jose.  This means that the VTA “Next Network” transit restructuring has been moved until at least 2018.

More on this story follows…

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Weekend Transit Update – July 28-30

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This is a big summer weekend in Silicon Valley.  First, there’s the 2017 Gilroy Garlic Festival in South County happening this weekend.  Also, you have two concerts this Saturday and Sunday night at the SAP Center in downtown San Jose.  Finally, there is a San Jose Earthquakes soccer match vs. Colorado at Avaya Stadium in San Jose on Saturday afternoon at 4:45pm.

This transit guide will detail the bus and rail alternatives to traffic gridlock and parking hassles.

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