Hotel 22

These are the pictures shot during a late night trip on the 22 from Downtown San Jose to Palo Alto. VTA was using regular length buses rather than articulated buses, which were used during the day. The phase "Hotel 22" has been used to label the overnight trips on that line, since it is the only VTA line that operates overnight and is used by the homeless for the warmth and relative comfort from the streets.



On Santa Clara & 1st Street, the driver (upper center of the photo) pulled a passenger off (center of the photo) the front seats to make room for a wheelchair passenger. The person being pulled was sleeping and almost fell onto the floor.



The sleeping passenger got up and the driver was securing the wheelchair passenger. Notice that there's a hooded passenger (center of the photo) in front of the bus with his face masked. That person stood up at the front of the bus for the most part of the trip chatting with the driver.



That passenger found another seat and fell asleep, and the wheelchair passenger got onto the bus. The bus continued westward. Most of the homeless passengers can be identified by their baggages they carry and the clothes they wear. Many of them wear hats or hooded jackets/shirts to protect their eyes from the lights when they go to sleep. Not everyone onboard is a homeless though.



A passenger on the back of the bus rested his legs on other seats.



Once the bus arrived to Palo Alto. The driver did not kick everyone out. Some of the homeless stayed on the bus sleeping while the bus driver was taking a break.



SamTrans "All Nighter" route 397 was timed to connect with the 22 for onward service to San Francisco, where it will make connections to Muni and AC Transit. SamTrans was using an articulated bus for this trip.



Passengers were waiting for the eastbound 22 toward Eastridge.