Category: Transit Guides

Silicon Valley transit tips and guides where appropriate.

Happy Earth Day 2023

"EARTH DAY" and "EVERY DAY" written in capital letters written in a leaf-colorful background.
Author: Linnaea Mallette Source: publicdomainpictures.net

On behalf of the Silicon Valley Transit Users, I want to wish everyone Happy Earth Day today.

To help celebrate Earth Day, we’ve learned that the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) will offer FREE fare on all buses and light rail lines from 5am today until 3am Sunday morning. VTA also notes Earth Day events in San Jose, Cupertino, and Morgan Hill you can get to by bus.

This weekend, follow @svtransitupdts on Twitter for public transit updates information and public transit tips for Santa Clara County. For more information on VTA bus and light rail service, call VTA Customer Service at (408)321-2300, or visit their web site.

Enjoy Earth Day and stay safe.

Eugene Bradley
Founder, Silicon Valley Transit Users

Transit Guides For the Holidays

Passengers board VTA's 60 bus to San Jose Airport. Bus is white with burgundy and blue stripes. Six passengers are boarding the bus.
Passengers board VTA’s 60 bus to San Jose Airport.

We’re now in the holiday season leading up to the New Year. This means people are going out shopping in malls for holiday gifts. Some people and families are traveling to other cities, in other states. All of this helps to create additional automobile traffic on our streets and highways.

Fortunately, we have Transit Guides ready to help you beat traffic and parking woes. They show you how to ride and pay fare on Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) buses and light rail for work, pleasure, or visiting others, as an alternate to driving.

Labor Day Weekend 2022 Transit Guide

Labor Day! graphic w/ 2 intertwining American flags, fireworks above them, and "LABOR DAY!" written in the style of the American flag.
Happy Labor Day!

On behalf of the Silicon Valley Transit Users, I want to wish you a Happy (and safe) Labor Day Weekend.

Temperatures in Santa Clara County are expected to reach or exceed 100 degrees this weekend. To address this, we’ve learned that the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) will provide FREE transit service to cooling centers throughout Santa Clara County. Some independently-operated cooling centers not affiliated with government will also be open on Labor Day; here’s a list of these cooling centers.

For VTA ACCESS Paratransit riders, please call (408)321-2380 to book a trip to a cooling center. Due to expected demand, please allow at least three (3) hours for pickup.

If you are going out on this hot, long weekend, we have transit guides to some sporting events in Palo Alto and San Jose.

Note that start times to these games may change due to the extreme heat in the area this weekend. Look and listen for news reports on whether or not your game has been delayed or even cancelled due to the heat this weekend.

Read on for more details.

Transit Options To July 4 Fireworks

July 4, 2022 Fireworks Schedule
July 4, 2022 Fireworks Schedule. Courtesy County Supervisor Joe Simitian.

As Santa Clara County – and our nation – still slowly recovers from the COVID-19 pandemic, more public events are returning. As you can see from the poster above, public July 4 fireworks shows are one such event. Many transit agencies serving Silicon Valley, such as the Valley Transportation Authority (VTA), Caltrain, and BART, will be running a Sunday/Holiday Schedule on Monday, July 4.