The stage is set for Sunday afternoon in Las Vegas for Super Bowl LVIII. Can’t make it to the rematch of the Big Game between the San Francisco 49ers and Kansas City Chiefs? There are local parties at bars, clubs, and restaurants throughout Santa Clara County – and beyond. Read on for more details.
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.
Yes, you read that correctly. The Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) has just formalized a proposal to radically increase bus and light rail service in Santa Clara County. That proposal will start to go thru various committees at VTA starting this week.
Fellow public transit advocate Monica Mallon informs us that VTA’s “Visionary Network” proposal envisions an 83% increase in bus and light rail service throughout Santa Clara County. This would take place over the next few years, should the proposal be approved by the VTA’s Board of Directors at their June 1 meeting. Read Monica’s blog for details.
Here’s more on VTA’s service increase proposal, how transit riders will benefit, and how YOU can help make it happen.
On April 24, the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) made several service changes to increase bus and light rail service throughout Santa Clara County. Read more about these changes here.
Key notes on the April 24 service changes:
What are your thoughts and feelings on today’s service increases? Please comment and suggest below.
More later this week. Meanwhile, have a nice day and stay safe.
Eugene Bradley
Founder, Silicon Valley Transit Users
Severe rain and high winds are forecast for Silicon Valley today and tomorrow. Because of this, if you must travel, allow extra time for your commute. Especially if you ride Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) buses and light rail.
Based on events during recent storms, be prepared for delays of at least 20 minutes on BART, ACE Trains, and Caltrain. Also, be prepared for delays of at least 15 minutes on SamTrans bus service as well as all VTA bus and light rail service. They may need to traverse and detour around flooded streets and downed trees this week.
If at all possible, please stay home. Here’s how to report flooding you see in your part of Santa Clara County. Do you need to find warmer shelter? Here’s a list of warming centers throughout Santa Clara County. Other Warming Centers in Santa Clara County are also in county libraries. Many of these Warming Centers are near VTA bus and light rail lines. We’ll alert you when we learn from VTA whether or not they will offer free transit rides to and from these Warming Centers.
If you must travel, be careful when riding public transit. We have a guide that shows you how to ride public transit in wet weather.
Follow @svtransitupdts on Twitter for the latest public transit updates and tips this week. Here’s how to keep us and others updated on our Twitter feed.
Listen to your local television or radio news for the latest updates on the storms this week.
Eugene Bradley
Founder, Silicon Valley Transit Users