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...
Billions of infrastructure dollars are coming to Silicon Valley
Caltrain, VTA and BART are all big winners with the passage of the federal infrastructure bill on Monday, with billions of dollars flowing into Silicon Valley. Some of the funding from the $1.2 trillion bill will be spent on local public transportation. Coming to the Bay Area is $66 billion which will enable the $7...
San Jose VTA backed off promise to hire diverse firms, activists say
Civil rights groups claim VTA backpedaled on a pledge to give substantial contract work to local minority-owned businesses on a major infrastructure project. The leader of the San Jose/Silicon Valley NAACP sent a letter to VTA CEO Carolyn Gonot on Oct. 28 complaining the agency assured the NAACP, the Asian Law Alliance and La Raza...
Only one San Jose VTA board member uses public transit
The Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority is dealing with tight budgets, low ridership and out-of-touch officials, even as they discuss expanding to new technologies. A San José Spotlight survey found that just one of the 18 lawmakers who oversee and govern the troubled transit agency—of those who responded—actually ride its buses and trains. San José...
Airlines shrug at costs from San Jose building policy
Airlines hardly notice the financial losses caused by a San Jose policy to raise building height limits in the flight path of some planes. Multiple airlines told San José Spotlight that their operations have not been affected by a 2019 city policy that raised the height limits for buildings downtown and in the Diridon Station...
San Jose delays insurance mandate that could decimate taxi drivers
Amid growing frustration from San Jose taxicab drivers, a city committee is taking another look at regulations that could hamper the industry. The San Jose Rules and Open Government Committee voted unanimously Wednesday to delay any new requirements imposed on the taxicab industry until officials come back at a later date with an analysis on...
VTA expands transit access to south Santa Clara County
In one of its first major expansions of 2021, VTA launched a new bus route that offers residents of southern Santa Clara County speedier access to downtown San Jose. Local politicians and VTA officials this week announced the launch of the Rapid 568 bus route in Gilroy. The 568, which replaces the 168 Express, offers...
San Jose wants to cut parking spaces in downtown developments
San Jose officials want to cut the level of greenhouse gas emissions downtown. The city’s solution is to eliminate parking space mandates for developers. The downtown area is expected to experience dramatic growth over the next decades, and officials want commuters to lean more toward public transit. City officials are also exploring the use of...
Is San Jose’s transit agency prepared for another catastrophe?
Between wildfires, a mass shooting and an unprecedented pandemic, VTA and other Bay Area transit agencies face constant threats to long-term stability. Some transit advocates are concerned agencies aren’t prepared for the next catastrophe. “They’re not ready for when the big 8.0 (earthquake) hits the Hayward Fault and takes out BART,” Silicon Valley Transit Users founder...