Eugene B

Super Bowl 50 (Transit Hell) Week

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Both Super Bowl 50 teams have landed and are in their hotels. This is the start “Super Bowl Week” where Sunday’s game will be hyped up. All this week, many football celebration events in San Francisco and San Jose will take place. These are detailed in the Super Bowl 50 transit guide just finished.

Monday’s Super Bowl 50 activities culminate with Super Bowl Opening Night at SAP Center in San Jose. The transit guide to SAP Center details all train and bus alternatives to driving and parking hassles.

Even with extra trains added, expect standing room only (SRO) conditions on BART, Caltrain, and especially VTA light rail as fans shuttle between events in San Jose and San Francisco. If you frequently use these transit agencies, allow extra travel time this week. If possible, leave early so that you avoid these crowds.

Also, expect standing-room only conditions on VTA bus lines serving downtown San Jose like the 522 Rapid, 323 limited stop, 22 and 64.

Keep up with the transit alerts in the San Jose area by following @svtransitupdts on Twitter.

More info later this week…

Eugene Bradley
Founder, Silicon Valley Transit Users

Web Site Changes Upcoming…

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As you can see, a new format for our web site is being tested. The new web site format format being tested is designed to work better with smart phones and tablets, in addition to desktops. If all testing works well, the new format will be rolled out next week.

All functions in the new format will be carried over as much as possible.  Please indicate in the Comments section what you think of the new web site format. Thank you for your input and time.

Eugene Bradley
Founder, Silicon Valley Transit Users

Fatal Greyhound Bus Crash In S. San Jose

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Tuesday morning’s commute from south of San Jose proved to be a nightmare. At around 6:30am this morning, a Greyhound bus from Los Angeles to Oakland overturned and crashed on Highway 101, just south of Highway 85 in southern San Jose. As of 8:30am, two people have died and 18 have been injured.

The resulting traffic gridlock on Highway 101 northbound has caused at least 30 minute delays on VTA’s 121 and 168 express bus lines from Morgan Hill and Gilroy. Also, delays are expected on Monterey-Salinas Transit’s 55 and 86 bus lines between San Jose and Monterey County.

See your favorite news outlet for more information regarding this tragic bus crash. One definitely must consider use of public transportation like VTA or Caltrain today, if you have not done so already. Let this also be a reminder to SLOW DOWN if you must drive.

Stay safe out there…

Eugene Bradley
Founder, Silicon Valley Transit Users

Happy Birthday, Dr. King, Jr.

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b/w photo of Dr. King, Jr. against American flag

Source: chatcentralgateway.com

Today, we celebrate the birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Transit agencies such as Caltrain, VTA and SamTrans will run on a regular weekday schedule. However, the Altamont Corridor Express will run on a modified schedule.  This modified schedule has three southbound trains for the morning hour and three northbound trains in the evening rush hour.

To celebrate and honor Dr. King, Jr., several events from San Jose to San Francisco will take place.

San Mateo will have a Martin Luther King, Jr. celebration at its Caltrain station starting at 8:30am. It will end at around 10:30am when the special Caltrain “Celebration Train” is due to arrive to pick up passengers going to the celebration parade in San Francisco.  That parade in San Francisco starts at the Caltrain Station at 4th/King at around 11am, when the “Celebration Train” arrives. The parade ends at the Yerba Buena Center a few blocks away, where the rest of the Martin Luther King, Jr. celebration activities will take place.

I leave you with the full (as possible) audio Dr. King, Jr.’s famous “I Have a Dream” speech from 1963…

In some ways, the Dream must still be realized. We can still realize Dr. King, Jr.’s dream – and more – when we work together.

Eugene Bradley
Founder, Silicon Valley Transit Users