Many San Jose students will be left behind this upcoming school year as officials cut critical bus services. The San Jose Unified School District, the largest district in the city, decided to cut bus service to more than a dozen elementary campuses as well as Willow Glen Middle School and Willow Glen High School to...
Is free public transit feasible in Santa Clara County?
At a time when VTA is struggling with long-term budget woes, service cuts and the aftermath of a mass shooting, it may seem ludicrous to imagine the agency offering free rides. Transit advocates support the idea of fare-free transit, but say reliable service must come first. The agency would also need to figure out how to...
Silicon Valley transit agency offers buses while light rail is down
VTA is launching a temporary bus service next week, offering some relief to South Bay commuters frustrated by two months without light rail. The buses will start Monday and run every half hour on weekdays from 5:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m, and hourly on weekends from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. These “bus bridges” or modified...
Families of San Jose VTA shooting victims pursue workers’ comp claims
Families who lost loved ones in the VTA rail yard shooting earlier this year are trying to obtain workers’ compensation payments—and lawsuits may be on the horizon. In closed session at a board meeting earlier this month, VTA officials discussed existing and anticipated litigation related to the May 26 shooting at the Guadalupe Light Rail Facility...
San Jose neighborhood bus stops struggle with upkeep
Spartan-Keyes neighborhood resident Aurelia Sanchez won San Jose’s Litter Volunteer of the Year award in 2012. But despite her best efforts, Sanchez says the neighborhood’s litter has only gotten worse. The latest complaint among locals is dirty bus stops. “As a longtime park volunteer and litter volunteer, it’s overwhelming, it’s very discouraging,” Sanchez told San...
Mountain View RV ban another blow to South Bay vehicle dwellers
A legal battle brewing in Mountain View highlights the increasingly desperate struggle among RV dwellers to find safe places to live in the South Bay. Last week, the Law Foundation of Silicon Valley, the American Civil Liberties Union and the Disability Rights Advocates filed a class action lawsuit against Mountain View opposing a recent parking...
VTA further delays return of San Jose light rail
Bad news for South Bay commuters—VTA may have overestimated its readiness to resume light rail service. On Tuesday, the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority announced that its light rail trains are likely to start later than the end of July, as the agency previously stated. “VTA is working diligently and compassionately to restore the service we...
San Jose to receive funding for train quiet zone
San Jose residents might get some respite from blaring trains at night thanks to new funding from the state. Senate Bill 129, authored by state Sen. Nancy Skinner of Berkeley, gives $8 million in one-time funding to partially pay for rail crossing improvements along the Warm Springs Corridor running through Japantown along Seventh, Taylor, Jackson...
VTA to discuss remodeling site of San Jose mass shooting
A mass shooting in May left San Jose without light rail service for weeks. Now that VTA has a roadmap to resume service, the transit agency will discuss a budget that, among other things, seeks to rebuild parts of the rail yard damaged in the shooting. VTA’s Board of Directors will discuss funding Tuesday to rehabilitate and rebuild...
Silicon Valley pedals closer to region’s first bicycle superhighway
Santa Clara County is planning the region’s first bike superhighway—but a route still needs to be selected. “I don’t see a bicycle superhighway going down El Camino,” Erik Lindskog, a member of VTA’s Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee, said at Wednesday’s meeting. “I think a bicycle superhighway needs to be a little more separate from...