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’s VTA light rail trains are increasingly empty and slow
The VTA light rail system is much like the famed song “Rock Island Line”: if you want to ride it, you gotta ride it like you find it. Light rail riders find the commute to be clean, comfortable, easy to use, handicap accessible and on schedule. It can also be time-consumingly slow, with a cross-town...
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...
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...
Santa Clara County Sheriff releases body cam footage from VTA shooting
The Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Office released edited body camera footage Tuesday from last week’s mass shooting at a VTA light rail yard in San Jose. “We’ll never forget those innocent victims whose lives were taken by a crazed coward,” Sheriff Laurie Smith said Tuesday, adding that the investigation is still ongoing. The body cam footage...
Nine dead in San Jose VTA shooting; light rail service suspended
San Jose officials are reeling after a mass shooting Wednesday morning left nine people dead before the shooter — who was a VTA employee — turned the gun on himself. Light rail service was suspended at noon. “A horrible tragedy has happened today and our thoughts and love goes out to the VTA family, the...
How VTA is diversifying its contractors for BART project
With planning in the works for BART’s PHASE II Program, a $6.5 billion downtown San Jose/Santa Clara extension, one VTA official is pushing to ensure minority-owned businesses get their fair share of contracts. “It’s the right thing to do and with my position, I have the ability to make changes,” said John White, the transit...