Tag: soccer

Swiftie Transit Weekend…and More

Taylor Swift. Source: mepixels.com

You cannot avoid the hype. Taylor Swift and her “Eras” tour is in town. Specifically, Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara for shows Friday night and Saturday night.

Levi’s Stadium staff advises concertgoers to take public transportation to and from both shows.

Read on for how BART, Caltrain and Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) will get you to and from the shows – and other events – this weekend.

Soccer Weekend In Silicon Valley

Courtesy: San Jose Earthquakes

It’s that time of year again for soccer fans in Silicon Valley. As we celebrate Independence Day this coming Tuesday, the California Clasico soccer match between the San Jose Earthquakes and Los Angeles Galaxy is set for Saturday night at 7pm at Stanford Stadium in Palo Alto. Fireworks at the stadium area will follow after the game ends.

Caltrain from San Francisco, the Peninsula, and San Jose is your best bet to and from the festivities. Our transit guide to Earthquakes soccer matches shows you how to ride Caltrain to beat traffic and parking woes at Stanford for the game. Our guide also shows you how San Mateo County Transit (SamTrans)’ ECR bus line and Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) 22 local and 522 Rapid bus lines are a short walk to and from Stanford Stadium.

This year, Caltrain will provide charter train service to and from Stanford Stadium. Read here to learn how fans going to and from the game can ride the charter train.

More professional soccer in Silicon Valley will be played the day after. On Sunday, VTA will provide special bus and light rail service for the CONCACAF Gold Cup soccer doubleheader at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, starting at 4pm. The first game features Jamaica vs. St. Kitts & Nevins; the second game immediately afterward features Mexico vs. Qatar. Read here to learn more details on that special service.

More transit news will be posted here tomorrow.

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.

Labor Day Weekend Transit Update

A little more Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) light rail service was restored today. Starting today, and until further notice:

  • No more substitute bus service on the Blue line.  Instead, light rail trains will run on the Blue line will only run between Baypointe station and Children’s Discovery Museum station in downtown San Jose.
  • As for the Green Line: light rail service will only run between Old Ironsides station and San Jose Diridon Station.
  • Light rail service on all three currently running lines (Orange, Blue, Green) will run every 20 minutes on weekdays, and every 30 minutes weeknights, evenings, and holidays.
  • Service on the rest of the Blue and Green lines will be announced at a later date.  Per the statement from CEO/General Manager Carolyn Gonot at the September 5 VTA Board meeting, this is due to being short-staffed in terms of being able to make repairs to and inspect the lines.

Do you or someone you know live or work in Campbell or South San Jose and normally use VTA light rail? Please read our VTA alternate bus guide for light rail service. It lists VTA bus lines like the 60, 64A, 66 and 68, and how they can be used in place of light rail service until those parts of the line are fully restored. Yes, the trips are longer. Yes, you will need to adapt your travel accordingly. Please remember: all of this is temporary.

On Saturday at 7pm, the San Jose Earthquakes host the Colorado Rapids in Major League Soccer action on the pitch of PayPal Park. Read our revised transit guide for PayPal Park. It shows how VTA’s 60 bus line directly serves PayPal Park, and how the pitch is within walking distance of the Santa Clara Transit Center and Rail Station.

Finally, on Labor Day (September 6) all Silicon Valley transit agencies will be running a Sunday/Holiday schedule. Normal weekday service will return on Tuesday, September 7. Please plan your trips accordingly.

Thank you, and please stay safe this Labor Day weekend.

Eugene Bradley
Founder & CEO, Silicon Valley Transit Users