Mallon: Transit projects require patience

As someone who’s spent nearly a decade advocating for transit, patience is one of the biggest lessons I’ve learned.

When I first got involved, I was a young college student who wanted everything to happen as quickly as possible. However, as time has progressed, I’ve learned big ideas, major projects and even service improvements often take years or even decades to become a reality. There are always roadblocks, whether political, financial or otherwise. But when these long-anticipated projects come to fruition, no one is worried about the struggles or how long it took. They’re just grateful for the improvements.

We’re seeing this with the Caltrain electrification project, which launched in September 2024 after being discussed for decades and facing a multitude of delays and setbacks. Now, less than six months since launch, ridership is surging. In December 2024, Caltrain ridership grew to more than half a million riders, a 41% increase over December 2023. A recent poll found 82% of respondents across the Bay Area counties Caltrain serves have a favorable view of the transit agency post-electrification. People are clearly seeing the benefits and value of electrified service.

As someone who lives car-free in Santa Clara County and primarily takes VTA and Caltrain to get around, it’s been incredible to watch all of this unfold. As a college student, I went to community meetings and board meetings and learned about the history of this project that occurred before I was even born. The improvements we are seeing today in 2025 — faster, cleaner, greener and more frequent trains — are the result of five decades of planning, advocacy and persistence in the face of challenges.

Every time I take the train and see people hanging out and laughing, kids running up and down the aisles, I think about all the work it took to get here. I think about the leaders who fought to make this dream happen and pushed through every obstacle and setback. I feel grateful they never gave up, even if they felt discouraged.

This is why it’s so important to keep speaking up for the things you believe in, even and more importantly during tough times. As an advocate, especially during moments of uncertainty like this, I’m often told to give up. But the truth is the history of transit is full of projects that suffered challenges and took years to materialize. Once they did, they changed people’s lives — and I want to be part of that.

When I look at Caltrain today, I don’t think about the political or funding fights. I think about how much better the service is, how happy people are to ride and how incredible it is to see a vision like this become a reality.

Of course, challenges will always be ahead, especially with the second Trump administration. But history has shown us that good projects can and do survive adversity. Progress may not always come as fast as we want it to, but that’s not a reason to stop fighting for it every day.

As we continue to push for future improvements — including California High-Speed Rail, BART to San Jose and Santa Clara and expanded transit service — it’s important to remember these projects will happen if we stay committed. The challenges may be frustrating, but when the improvements finally arrive, they will be worth it.

San José Spotlight columnist Monica Mallon is a transit advocate and rider in Santa Clara County. Monica’s columns appear on the first Thursday of every other month. Contact Monica at [email protected] or follow @MonicaMallon on X.