Category: News

VTA Transit Strike Update

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Passengers boarding a white and blue VTA 68 bus heading to Gilroy, in downtown San Jose.
People boarding VTA’s 68 bus in downtown San Jose.

All bus and light rail service in Santa Clara County shut down indefinitely at 12:01am this morning. Over 100,000 bus and light rail riders in Santa Clara County will now have to find travel alternatives. The shutdown is due to a strike by 1,500 members of Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) Local 265 against the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) over wages, benefits, and grievances. The prior labor contract expired March 3.

The strike does NOT affect ACCESS Paratransit service. The service is run by a private company on another contract.

In addition to operators of VTA buses and light rail, ATU Local 265 also represents VTA’s

  • Maintenance workers
  • Dispatchers
  • Fare inspectors
  • Customer service representatives

More on the strike – and how YOU can get around during the strike – follow below.

Read more →

Transit Strike Notice Given For Monday

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Barring a last-minute agreement, prepare for a bus and light rail shutdown in Santa Clara County on Monday. At Thursday night’s Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) Board of Directors’ meeting, the letter above from Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) local 265 President Rajvinder Singh was presented to VTA Board members and staff. It sets a strike date starting this coming Monday at 12:01am.

ACCESS Paratransit services will continue to run as normal, should a strike occur.

On Thursday night, NBC Bay Area warned viewers to be prepared Monday morning for increases in vehicle traffic throughout Santa Clara County. They also warned of more demand in ride-hailing services and carpool services. CBS Bay Area reported that this is the first time in the over-100 year history of ATU Local 265 that they have been on strike.

This is on both ATU Local 265 and VTA to come to an agreement as soon as possible. More information will be posted this weekend.

Eugene Bradley
Founder, Silicon Valley Transit Users

April Showers (Of Service Increases)

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Passengers boarding a white and blue VTA 68 bus heading to Gilroy, in downtown San Jose.
People boarding VTA’s 68 bus in downtown San Jose.

On April 24, the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) made several service changes to increase bus and light rail service throughout Santa Clara County. Read more about these changes here.

Key notes on the April 24 service changes:

  • Going to the South County Courthouse in Morgan Hill? The 568 Rapid bus no longer serves the Morgan Hill Caltrain station. Instead the bus will stay on Monterey Hwy. thru downtown Morgan Hill. The stop now shares the 68’s bus stop on Monterey/3rd, a 10 minute walk to the Courthouse on 301 Diana Ave.
  • On weekends, the 27 bus no longer serves downtown Los Gatos due to area traffic and resulting delays. Those normally taking the bus to downtown Los Gatos. Bus stops for downtown Los Gatos on weekends will be Santa Cruz/Los Gatos-Saratoga (EB to Kaiser SJ), and Los Gatos-Saratoga/University (WB to Winchester LRT station).
  • Also, VTA still does not have enough light rail operators to run light rail at 15-minute frequencies on weekends. This will change as bus drivers apply to become light rail operators throughout the year. VTA is still hiring bus operators; here’s how to apply for a bus operator job.

What are your thoughts and feelings on today’s service increases? Please comment and suggest below.

More later this week. Meanwhile, have a nice day and stay safe.

Eugene Bradley
Founder, Silicon Valley Transit Users

ACE Trains Back In Service

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From 2001: ACE train arriving at Santa Clara Train Station. Double-decker train has a white roof, with large purple and blue stripes, separated by a small white stripe,
ACE Train drops off passengers in Santa Clara.

Commuter rail service between Stockton and San Jose returned to service today. This after mudslides in the Niles Canyon area forced the Altamont Corridor Express (ACE) to cancel all rail service between Stockton and San Jose in both directions last Wednesday.

More from ACE on how train service returned today:

ACE will resume normal operating service on all morning and evening trains on Monday, January 23, 2023. In addition, Union Pacific will operate ahead of all ACE trains for track inspection.

https://twitter.com/ACE_train/status/1617279654678900736

One other result of last week’s ACE service cancellations, unadvertised: business shuttle buses serving job sites from the Great America ACE station in Santa Clara were also cancelled. That shuttle bus service also returns today.

Follow @svtransitupdts on Twitter for the latest Santa Clara County public transit updates and tips. Here’s how YOU can help update us and others on any transit service delays on Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) buses, ACE, or Caltrain you encounter.

More later today…

Eugene Bradley
Founder, Silicon Valley Transit Users

Getting Warm From the Storms

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Just learned the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) is helping get folks to and from shelter on these stormy days. Until January 16, VTA is offering free rides for people to get to and from Warming Centers throughout Santa Clara County. Here’s a list of Warming Centers throughout Santa Clara County. These Warming Centers provide safety and shelter from the heavy rain, winds, and flooding predicted throughout the Bay Area this weekend.

Upon boarding, let the VTA bus driver or light rail operator know you are going to or from a Warming Center.

Please pass this on to those who don’t have a computer, for whatever reason.

Stay warm, dry and safe this stormy weekend.

Eugene Bradley
Founder, Silicon Valley Transit Users