Heavy rain and winds continue to affect public transit in Santa Clara County. Specifically, Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) bus and light rail service.
As of 1:00pm:
- VTA is still running buses instead of light rail between San Fernando and Fruitdale stations on the Green Line due to local power outages.
- Expect at least 30 min. delays on Highway 17 express bus service between San Jose and Santa Cruz in both directions. This is due to flooding near the southbound I-280/Bird exit these buses use to access downtown San Jose.
- Downed power wires on streets throughout Santa Clara County mean detours and delays for VTA bus service. Such power outages also affect stoplights, as traffic must treat these intersections as a 4-way STOP sign. This means up to 15 minute delays on the following VTA bus lines:
- In Gilroy, downed power wires near the downtown area result in delays on the 68, 84 and 85 bus lines.
- In East San Jose, the 70 and 522 Rapid bus lines due to traffic signals out at Capitol Expwy/Cunningham and Capitol Expwy/Ocala
- In South San Jose, the 37 bus due to loss of power affecting traffic signals at San Tomas at HWY 17, Camden/White Oaks.
- In West San Jose near Cupertino, delays on the 23, 59, and 523 Rapid bus lines due to flashing red signals at San Tomas Expressway and Stevens Creek due to traffic signals flashing red
- The light rail platform elevator at Milpitas light rail station remains out of service. No ETA on when service for that elevator will be restored. Typically use the Milpitas light rail elevator? Use Great Mall or Cropley stations as alternatives. Upon boarding, immediately let the light rail operator know by intercom that you need the elevator at Milpitas, and request for arrangements to be made.
If you must travel, be careful when riding public transit. We have a guide that shows you how to ride public transit in wet weather.
Follow @svtransitupdts on Twitter for the latest public transit updates and tips this week. Here’s how to keep us and others updated on our Twitter feed. Please help update us and other people on any delays on VTA bus and/or light rail service you encounter.
Please continue to listen to your local television or radio news for the latest updates on the storms this week. This includes orders to evacuate where you are at, as needed.
Stay safe throughout these storms.
Eugene Bradley
Founder, Silicon Valley Transit Users
Thank you for providing helpful updates to members of the public transit community-like me. 🌧