“TRANSIT U” – Public Transit Guide to Santa Clara Co. Colleges & Universities

A VTA 51 bus signed "De Anza College" awaits departure from the De Anza College bus stop in Saratoga.
A VTA 51 bus awaits departure from the De Anza College bus stop in Saratoga. Photo courtesy Google Maps.

Table of Contents

Background

Welcome, everyone, to “TRANSIT U.” The purpose of this guide is to list Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) bus and light rail service to colleges and universities throughout Santa Clara County. In some cases, information about connecting local and regional bus and rail service to these campuses in included.

Like other transit guides here, this guide is for the good of informing the general public on public transit options to colleges and universities in Santa Clara County. Used properly, it can help you beat traffic to and from campus, and parking nightmares on-campus. Neither VTA nor any college or university mentioned here had any involvement with the creation or maintenance of this guide.

All colleges and universities mentioned are in alphabetical order. Make sure to check the schedule of the buses and/or trains you need to ride to your school to help plan your trip.

Information mentioned here is as of September 2023.

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De Anza College (Cupertino)

De Anza College is located at 21250 Stevens Creek Boulevard in Cupertino. The campus is just east of Highway 85 at the Stevens Creek Boulevard exit. VTA’s 23, 25, 51, 55, and 523 Rapid bus lines serve De Anza College campus.

The De Anza College campus map will give you an idea of the bus stops in relative location to the rest of the De Anza Campus. Note that the map refers to bus stops as “County Transit” bus stops.

Stevens Creek Boulevard (North side of Campus)

  • Stevens Creek and Mary (Northwest corner) – 51 bus northbound to Moffett Park (NASA Ames)
  • Campus Drive near Staff Lot A – terminus (end of the line) for the 23 and 523 Rapid bus lines returning to downtown San Jose Alum Rock in eastern San Jose
  • Stevens Creek and N. Stelling Road (Northwest Corner) – last Stevens Creek Blvd. stop for the 23 bus. Also the 51 bus to Moffett Park (NASA Ames) stops here.

South Stelling Road (East side of Campus)

  • S. Stelling Rd. and Stevens Creek (Southwest corner) – VTA’s 25 and 55 local bus lines stop here.
  • S. Stelling Rd. and Pepper Tree Lane (at East Entrance of campus) – far side of the East Entrance gate is the VTA bus stop for the 25 and 55 bus lines.
  • McClellan, east of S. Stelling Rd. (in front of church) – 25 and 55 bus lines.

In addition, all current De Anza College students are eligible to obtain a VTA SmartPass Clipper Card.

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Evergreen Valley College (San Jose)

Evergreen Valley College is located at 3095 Yerba Buena Rd. in San Jose.

VTA’s 31 bus line (from Eastridge) and 42 bus line from South San Jose serve the campus. The bus stop for both bus lines is in the southeastern portion of campus, at the bus stop about 50 yards southeast of the Campus Theater and Performing Arts building.

On weekends and holidays, only the 31 bus serves the campus.

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Foothill College (Los Altos Hills)

Foothill College is located at 12345 El Monte Road in Los Altos Hills.

VTA’s 40 and 52 bus lines serve the Foothill College campus from Mountain View.

Both of the bus lines serve the Foothill campus at three (3) locations along the campus’ Perimeter Road “Loop”:

  • At the 2000 building (under the Pedestrian Bridge connecting the Campus Center and Swimming Pool – serves as the terminus and starting point for both bus lines)
  • Planetarium (across from the Science & Engineering Labs, and in front of the Disability Resource Center)
  • Bus stop in front of Parking Lot B and Lohman Theatre

Be advised that only the 40 bus line serves the foothill campus on weekends. The 52 bus line only serves the campus Monday thru Friday.

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Gavilan College (Gilroy)

Gavilan College is located at 5055 Santa Teresa Boulevard in Gilroy.

VTA’s 86 bus line serves the campus from the Gilroy Transit Center/Caltrain station. The bus stop is located in the northern parking lot (Parking Lot A), between the Cosmetology building and the Theatre on the northwestern area of the campus.

On Mondays thru Fridays when college is in session, the campus is also served by San Benito County Transit.  One of San Benito County Transit’s “Intercounty” bus lines connects the campus with San Juan Bautista and Hollister.

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Mission College (Santa Clara)

Mission College is located at 3000 Mission College Boulevard in Santa Clara. VTA’s 20, 57, and 59 bus lines stop inside the campus area. The VTA bus stop is at the top of the Mission College Boulevard loop by Parking Lot E, near the campus Main Building.

The main campus is about a 15 minute walk from the VTA’s Great America light rail station.

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San Jose City College (San Jose)

San Jose City College (SJCC) is located at 2100 Moorpark Avenue (off South Bascom Avenue) in San Jose. The campus is right off Interstate 280 at the Bascom Avenue exit.

VTA’s 61 bus line stops within one block of the campus on Bascom and Moorpark, on the western side of the campus. VTA’s 25 bus line stops one block south of the Sports Fields of the campus, at Fruitdale and Leigh. The same 25 bus line also stops one block south of the campus, on Fruitdale and Bascom, across from Santa Clara Valley Medical Center.

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San Jose State University (San Jose)

San Jose State University‘s campus is located in downtown San Jose. The campus is bordered by San Salvador Street, S. 4th Street, San Fernando Street, and S. 10th Streets.

San Jose State’s Transportation Solutions Department keeps an information page of VTA and regional bus and rail service to and from the main campus.

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Santa Clara University (Santa Clara)

The Santa Clara University campus is located at 500 El Camino Real in Santa Clara. The campus is bordered by El Camino Real, The Alameda, Market Street, Lafayette Street, Benton Street, and Fremont Street.

Several VTA bus lines serve the campus, via the Santa Clara Transit Center on the northeastern end of the campus area. These bus lines include:

  • 22 Palo Alto – Eastridge
  • 59 Stevens Creek/Saratoga – Baypointe Light Rail Station via Alviso
  • 60 Milpitas BART – Winchester via San Jose Airport
  • 522 Rapid (Palo Alto – Eastridge)

Across Railroad Avenue from the Santa Clara Transit Center, is the Santa Clara Railroad Station. There, the following rail services are available:

The VTA’s 22 and 522 Rapid bus lines run along the eastern and southern parts of campus along El Camino Real.

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Stanford University (Palo Alto/Stanford)

Stanford University‘s main campus is located in the unincorporated community of Stanford, just off El Camino Real and Galvez Street. The university’s Margurerite shuttle service (free and open to the public) connects campus areas with the Palo Alto Transit Center for Caltrain commuter rail connections to San Francisco and San Jose, as well as VTA, SamTrans, and Dumbarton Express bus connections.

VTA’s 22 bus line has several stops across El Camino Real from the main campus at Sam McDonald, Churchill and Serra streets. The 22 and 522 Rapid also has a bus stop across from campus at the bus stop on El Camino Real and Embarcadero Road.

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West Valley College (Saratoga)

West Valley College is located at 14000 Fruitvale Avenue in Saratoga. The campus is bounded within Fruitvale Avenue, College Circle, and Allendale Avenue.

Several VTA bus lines serve the campus at the Transit Center on the northwestern corner of the campus:

  • 26 to Eastridge in East San Jose
  • 37 to Capitol Light Rail station in South San Jose)
  • 51 (to Moffet Field in Mountain View)
  • 57 (to Great America/Levi’s Stadium area in Santa Clara)

On weekends and major holidays, only the 26 and 57 bus lines serve the West Valley College campus area.

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Conclusion

This guide will be updated with the latest information as needed. Please let us know in the comments if a college or university in Santa Clara County is not mentioned here.

Eugene Bradley
Founder, Silicon Valley Transit Users

  2 comments for ““TRANSIT U” – Public Transit Guide to Santa Clara Co. Colleges & Universities

  1. two errors:

    1) route 40 does not serve foothill college on sunday
    2) route 81 goes from Nasa to SJ via De Anza College, not 51!

    but this will all be irrelevant once BART is running.

    • Pat:

      Thanks for writing. Those corrections will be made shortly. For at least 2) that will remain to be seen, since BART won’t be going to De Anza nor NASA any time soon.

      -eugene

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