Tag: Bus

Silicon Valley local and regional bus news.

Welcome To Super Bowl LX

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The Seattle Seahawks and New England Patriots are ready for Sunday’s big game in Santa Clara. Are you going to the game itself?

If so, the Super Bowl LX Transit Guide is for you. It will help you beat traffic gridlock and parking woes at or near Levi’s Stadium. The money you save is money you are not spending on excessively high parking fees, fuel, or event surge pricing at some ride-hailing companies. This informative guide focuses mainly on events happening in and around San Jose and Santa Clara County. You will find that Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) buses, light rail, Caltrain commuter rail, and BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit) trains will help ease your Super Bowl LX experience.

In addition to the Big Game on Sunday, this transit guide also features

  • Pre-game events and tailgating parties
  • Watch parties at bars and restaurants
  • Post-game after-parties

The watch parties are useful for those who don’t have a ticket to the Big Game, yet want to enjoy seeing the big game with fellow football fans.

The transit guide will be amended as needed. Check often for updates and additions.

Know of additional watch parties or post-game after-parties in the San Jose area? Tell about them in the comments.

On that note, Welcome to Super Bowl LX!

Eugene Bradley
Founder, Silicon Valley Transit Users

Help VTA With Its Future On Thursday

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This Thursday, VTA is having a public Open House in San Jose on its long-term Strategic Plan for 2026. The Open House will be at Roosevelt Community Center, 901 E. Santa Clara St, San Jose from 6pm-8pm.
VTA’s 22 and 23 bus lines stop within a short walk of the Community Center.

What to Expect at the Open House:

  • Meet VTA planners & staff from different departments
  • Share feedback on future bus, rail & bike projects
  • Explore a real VTA bus parked out front
  • Free refreshments + prize drawing
  • Spanish & Vietnamese language support

Everyone is welcome at this free open house. No matter if you’re a daily VTA rider, a transit advocate, or simply curious about VTA’s plans, come meet VTA staff and get involved.

Can’t make the meeting? Call VTA Community Outreach at (408)321-7575 during normal business hours.

Eugene Bradley
Founder, Silicon Valley Transit Users

Memorial Day 2025 Weekend Transit Update

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Happy Memorial Day!
Happy Memorial Day!

On this long weekend, let’s make time to honor and mourn those who have fallen while serving in our nation’s Armed Forces. Memorial Day also marks the unofficial start of summer.

On Monday, all transit agencies serving Silicon Valley will run on a Sunday/Holiday schedule. This includes but is not limited to

Also, on Monday, there is no Altamont Corridor Express (ACE) rail service between Stockton and San Jose.

All public transit service returns to normal schedule Tuesday, May 27.

Read on for transit guides to some sporting events and festivals in Santa Clara County, on this long Memorial Day weekend.

Read more →

Judge Ends VTA Transit Strike

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The Great Silicon Valley Public Transit Strike of 2025 is now over. On Wednesday, Santa Clara County Superior Court Judge Daniel Nishigaya ruled in favor of the Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) and their request to end the strike. From March 10 until Thursday, more than 1,500 workers represented by the Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) Local 265 walked off the job. This resulted in loss of VTA bus and light rail service throughout Santa Clara County.

VTA has already announced a partial return of bus service on Friday. Light rail service is expected to return as soon as Monday due to copper wire theft incidents along the Green Line between San Jose and Campbell, according to ABC 7 News Bay Area. Also, tracks and infrastructure need to pass safety inspections.

More on this story as news comes up.

Eugene Bradley
Founder, Silicon Valley Transit Users

Transit Strike Update – 3/25/2025

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VTA Mountain View light rail platform, looking north, from the southern end of the platform. Shows empty platform indicating no light rail service at this time.
Empty Mountain View VTA light rail platform.

The Silicon Valley Public Transit Strike of 2025 enters its third week. Last Sunday, the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) proposed a new labor agreement for striking workers representing the Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) Local 265. This proposal was given at a special Board Of Directors’ meeting Sunday morning.

Per NBC Bay Area, about 100,000 transit riders are affected by this strike, which started March 10. Also reported: VTA mentioned they were losing $70,000 per day in lost fares as a result of the strike.

San Jose Spotlight described details of VTA’s proposal:

The VTA Board of Directors approved the revised offer in a special meeting Sunday. It included a 11% raise over the next three years, going up 4%, another 4% and 3%. It included updates to the conflict resolution process for workers filing a grievance, before going to a neutral third party. But it also introduced other contract changes, such as reducing overtime.

Yesterday (Monday) morning, 83% of ATU Local 265 members rejected the proposal. Per Rajvinder Singh, President and Business Agent at ATU Local 265, sticking points are overtime pay, and the need for a “no retaliation” guarantee for all striking employees – including probationary employees.

Yesterday, labor negotiators from VTA and ATU Local 265 met with a state mediator.

Sadly, no results came from that meeting. Both VTA and ATU Local 265 will be in a court hearing on Wednesday at 1:30pm. That hearing in Santa Clara County Superior Court will determine VTA’s legal request to end the strike.

Meanwhile, VTA has offered strike-affected riders $5 vouchers for their rideshare trips from 7am-10pm between VTA stops.

What are your thoughts and ideas on labor negotiations, and VTA’s $5 voucher for rideshare? Please comment and suggest.

Eugene Bradley
Founder, Silicon Valley Transit Users