VTA is postponing voting on a contract for a work culture consultant following a furious outburst from the head of the agency’s largest union. The VTA board of directors unanimously agreed Friday to defer approving a $1.9 million two-year contract with Deloitte Consulting to aid with transforming the agency’s work culture. The board made the decision...
Travelers still masking on flights at San Jose airport
Travelers across the country can now drop their masks in airports, but some flying through San Jose said they’re keeping the protective layer on. “I’m very anxious going on this flight,” Silicon Valley resident Ashu Garg, who’s flying to San Diego with his family, told San José Spotlight. “It’s more comfortable to travel without a...
Silicon Valley’s VTA ends COVID-19 mask requirement
VTA is ending the COVID-19 mask requirement on its buses and light rail trains, making it one of the first major Bay Area transit agencies to change course. Agency officials announced the end of the mask mandate Wednesday, though strongly recommend passengers and employees wear masks aboard buses, light rail or paratransit vehicles. The agency ended its...
Bay Area poll shows support for high-speed rail
A new poll suggests strong public support for California’s ambitious high-speed rail project, but the challenges of stretching it to San Jose are daunting. UC Berkeley’s Institute of Governmental Studies reported voters in California favor continuing the high-speed rail project by a five-to-three margin. The poll, which examined a range of issues voters want the state...
San Jose makes slow progress on most dangerous streets
Joe Herrera was waiting for his friend, Maria, to return from a 7-Eleven at the intersection of Tully and Senter roads last May. She never made it back. Maria, an unhoused person living on Quinn Avenue, was hit by a car crossing Senter Road around 11 p.m. last year. Herrera, another unhoused person, said by...
Caltrans can’t keep trash out of the bay, Silicon Valley activists say
Environmentalists are concerned Caltrans isn’t doing enough to keep trash from washing off its properties into the San Francisco Bay. The state transportation department has been under a cease and desist order since 2019 requiring it to reduce trash over the next seven years. The order covers more than 8,000 acres of its property in the...
A vision of seamless Bay Area transit gets another chance
A campaign to unify the Bay Area’s 27 different transit agencies into one seamless system is gaining steam, but the slog toward full integration will be a long and challenging journey. Ian Griffiths, co-founder and director of Seamless Bay Area, said during a Wednesday webinar that recent legislation could pave the way toward integrating the...
VTA gives benefits to families of workers killed in San Jose shooting
VTA has agreed to pay retirement benefits to the families of workers killed in a mass shooting last May to make sure they’re taken care of for years to come. The VTA board of directors voted unanimously last week to give $4.9 million in retirement benefits to 10 families who lost loved ones in the...
San Jose wants equity in new transportation services
Scooters. Drones. Shuttles. A fleet of transportation ideas is spreading in San Jose, and the city wants to make sure everyone benefits. The City Council approved an action plan last week for emerging mobility services—shorthand for new transportation technologies and programs proliferating in San Jose. The services range from bike share programs to autonomous delivery vehicles....
San Jose officials grasp for fixes to rising traffic deaths
San Jose officials are scrambling to reduce traffic fatalities following a massive spike in deaths at the beginning of the year. Stakeholders in the city’s Vision Zero Task Force met Wednesday to discuss infrastructure fixes and communication campaigns to make the roads safer for pedestrians and cyclists. Hanging over the meeting was the fact that 24...