Three San Jose officials spent at least $8,000 in tax dollars on trips this past year—a fraction of what the city used to spend on business travel prior to the pandemic. Lawmakers traveled to Washington, D.C., Ohio and nearby cities like Sacramento for conferences and White House events—with taxpayers footing the bills, according to city documents. These...
San Jose traffic fatalities near record levels for 2021
As 2021 draws to a close, San Jose officials have concerns about traffic fatalities for the year climbing toward record levels despite ongoing investments in street improvements and educational outreach. At least 55 people have died in traffic accidents involving pedestrians, cyclists and motorcycles as of Nov. 30, making 2021 one of the deadliest years...
San Jose lawmakers establish design goals for BART extension
San Jose lawmakers and transit leaders are cautiously laying the groundwork for how to integrate new BART stations in San Jose. The City Council received an update Tuesday from VTA and BART officials on the latest stages of the BART Silicon Valley Phase II project. This major infrastructure development will extend BART service by six...
Uptick in holiday travel at San Jose airport
After a turbulent year, the Mineta San Jose International Airport is seeing a promising uptick in passengers traveling for the holidays. Approximately 300,000 passengers passed through the airport from Nov. 19 through Nov. 28. Daily traffic data is not yet available, but airport officials say overall travel volume was nearly three times higher than the...
San Jose transit agency looks to improve work culture
As VTA prepares for the end of a year marked by unprecedented tragedy and challenges, the public transit agency is exploring how to change its work culture for the better. During the VTA’s most recent board meeting, CEO Carolyn Gonot outlined a multi-pronged approach to stabilize and transform the agency after a year marked by...
VTA pulls funding from San Jose’s Charcot Avenue extension
VTA is diverting funding from a controversial highway project—the target of community outrage for years. The transit agency’s board of directors agreed to approve nearly $200 million for 11 infrastructure projects to relieve highway congestion in Santa Clara County during its Thursday meeting. At the urging of director and San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo, the...
San Jose airport taxi drivers protest fee increases from dispatcher
The Mineta San Jose International Airport taxicab dispatch contractor is asking independent drivers to pay increased fees. Some drivers aren’t having it. Dozens of independent taxicab drivers are protesting rules from Safer, LLC, the airport’s taxi dispatch contractor. According to drivers, they began a strike on Nov. 16 and plan to stay off the job...
San José Spotlight wins award for coverage of VTA mass shooting
San José Spotlight this month won a national award for its breaking news coverage of a mass shooting in May at a VTA light rail yard that killed nine transit workers. The award from the Local Independent Online News (LION) Publishers recognizes our nonprofit newsroom among the top news publications in the country. LION Publishers is...
VTA committee recommends Measure B funds for Silicon Valley highways
VTA is poised to distribute nearly $200 million for projects to reduce highway congestion following a critical committee vote. The Congestion Management Program and Planning Committee is recommending VTA’s board of directors approve funding for a list of 13 highway projects in cities across Santa Clara County. The funding comes from Measure B, a sales...
Vision for personal rapid transit system stalled in Milpitas
Rob Means dreams of revolutionizing Milpitas’ public transit by creating an environmentally-friendly track system to whisk people to destinations in small vehicular pods. But getting others to share that dream is tough. In 2019, Means, founder and secretary of LoopWorks, pitched Milpitas’ mayor and City Council on the concept of personal rapid transit (PRT), a system...