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.
The first Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) Board of Directors’ meeting in 2017 will have a different site. Due to a power outage at the County Government Offices, the VTA Board meeting was moved to the auditorium at VTA’s headquarters at 3331 N. First Street in San Jose. Elaine Baltao, VTA Board Secretary, informed me around 11:30am about this move.
You can get to VTA’s headquarters by taking light rail to River Oaks light rail station, or the 58 bus line. Here is a map of the area.
Up for discussion at this Board of Directors’ meeting:
Note the new meeting place for tonight’s VTA Board of Directors’ meeting. See you this evening.
Eugene Bradley
Founder, Silicon Valley Transit Users
Image courtesy 321happynewyear.com
On behalf of the Silicon Valley Transit Users, I want to wish everyone a Happy New Year.
As usual, many Silicon Valley Transit agencies will run extended bus and rail service on New Year’s Eve and early New Year’s day. The Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) will have free fares for its buses and light rail from 8pm-5am New Year’s Day. This also includes a special schedule for the 181 express bus between San Jose and Fremont BART station.
Also, SamTrans in San Mateo County will have free fares for its buses from 8pm-5am New Year’s Day. Caltrain will have free fare service between San Jose and San Francisco from 8pm until about 2am New Year’s Day. They will also have four trains leaving San Francisco after midnight, making all local stops to San Jose. In San Francisco, MUNI will have free fares on its buses and light rail from 8pm-5am New Year’s Day. BART will run trains until 3am system-wide, with extra service to accommodate for the New Year’s Eve fireworks show along the Embarcadero in San Francisco.
All transit agencies will run a Sunday/Holiday schedule on New Year’s Day (Sunday) and Monday, January 2 when New Year’s Day is officially observed.
Take advantage of these free and extended services tonight. They will help avoid traffic gridlock and the possibility of getting arrested for driving under the influence. They also help you beat the “surge pricing” expected for ride-booking companies like Uber and Lyft.
Follow @svtransitupdts on Twitter for transit updates to and from these and other events. Transit reports from BART, VTA, and other transit agencies from transit riders like YOU are reported daily. Here’s how YOU can help report public transit delays.
Eugene Bradley
Founder, Silicon Valley Transit Users
I did not post a formal agenda for this meeting in time for people to peruse. Also not helping: the Loma Fire in the Santa Cruz Mountains that may affect Highway 17 express bus service thru the area. I’m watching that personally.
Still, we will continue to discuss on our email list, whether to support or oppose Measure B – VTA’s latest transportation sales tax proposal. We will have a formal decision on this issue shortly.
More news coming up…
Eugene Bradley
Founder, Silicon Valley Transit Users
On behalf of the Silicon Valley Transit Users, I want to wish everyone a Happy Labor Day. Today, let’s honor the working people who help make this country great.
All transit agencies in Silicon Valley such as VTA, Caltrain and SamTrans are running on a Sunday/Holiday schedule today. In addition, there are no Altamont Corridor Express (ACE) trains between Stockton and San Jose today. Normal transit service will return on Tuesday.
Please stay safe and sane today while we all celebrate the working class people in our country today.
Eugene Bradley
Founder, Silicon Valley Transit Users