tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-110217192024-03-07T16:03:06.436-08:00VTA WatchA blog unequivocally dedicated to everyday transit ridersaccountablevtahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14035365902584938185noreply@blogger.comBlogger365125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11021719.post-19678043341054857022016-10-07T11:50:00.000-07:002016-10-07T11:50:17.511-07:00Vote NO on Measure B this November<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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16 years ago, VTA perpetuated a fraud which was Measure A. This time the same characters are doing the same thing with Measure B. Unlike last time, the Measure B includes funding for highway projects and is sold by SVLG primarily as a highway tax.<br />
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Measure B again will have some money for BART. The same project that VTA could even partially complete for 16 years. They couldn't make this a marquee project because voters cannot be easily fooled. The rest of the transit funding is insignificant because they weren't even enough to restore transit back in year 2000 level, and many transit expansion projects promised in Measure A will remain unfulfilled.<br />
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The most disappointing is that some "transit advocacy" groups like Transform are support this. Transform knows that the highway projects would offset reduction in greenhouse gasses from the transit elements. But their final excuse is that: We know it is bad anyway, but we must get along with the program. The reality is that these groups rely on foundation funding to provide staffing, and that they don't want to cross SVLG because doing so can cost them their jobs.<br />
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The obvious choice is to vote NO. VTA has not changed. Its obsession for BART and highways is hurting transit all over the county. VTA does not need more taxes, but needs reform. accountablevtahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14035365902584938185noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11021719.post-33917338953143292522011-12-02T01:18:00.000-08:002011-12-02T02:16:22.262-08:00December updates<b>VTA service changes</b><div><br /></div><div>VTA will implement a number of <a href="http://www.vta.org/nbs/index.html">service changes early next year</a>. Nearly all the changes were approved by the board earlier in the Spring. A number of commuter express routes will have new hybrid buses with better seating and free wifi. Those include lines 102, 103, 120, 121, 122, 182, and 183. Line 183 will be a new route from the Evergreen/Eastridge area to Fremont BART via Hostetter Light Rail. It is a route requested by VTA's MTC liaison Dave Cortese. </div><div><br /></div><div>In addition, line 23 will have frequency going from every 12 minutes to every 10 minutes to address the recent overcrowding. Line 22 will have additional trips. Line 16 in Morgan Hill will lose service during the midday hours.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Caltrain</b></div><div><br /></div><div>Earlier today the Caltrain board approved a public hearing over possible fare changes. While the details has yet to be released, Caltrain staff is planning to raise the fares on the paper ticket and eliminate the 8-ride ticket for Clipper (while the regular fare for Clipper stay the same). Under that scenario, Caltrain would follow Golden Gate Transit to provide discounts for all Clipper users. The 8-ride ticket is a headache for many Caltrain users. Many riders have to purchase the ticket online, wait a few days to load, and then still have to tag on and off for every ride. If a rider has an 8-ride ticket for zone 1 and 2 but wants to travel to zone 3, that rider can't deduct a ride off the ticket and pay an upgrade, but instead will have to pay a one way fare for the entire trip.</div><div><br /></div><div>The Clipper implementation is mostly a disaster, but MTC is making transit agencies to do it with the threat of withholding funds.</div><div><br /></div><div>Besides Clipper, Caltrain is almost completing the station reconstruction at Santa Clara and platform additions in San Jose. At the Santa Clara Caltrain Station, there will be a new center platform for the northbound Caltrain as well as Capitol Corridor and ACE trains operating on the Union Pacific track. When the construction is scheduled to finish sometime later this month, both ACE and Capitol Corridor trains will stop at the new platform, which riders can transfer to the line 10 bus to San Jose Airport.</div><div><br /></div><div>ACE used to stop at the Santa Clara Station from 2001 to 2005, when Caltrain essentially evicted ACE when it added Baby Bullet service. ACE had to switch to the northbound Caltrain track in order to make a stop at Santa Clara.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>SamTrans</b></div><div><br /></div><div>Next month, SamTrans will introduce a day pass but will eliminate paper monthly passes. Riders will need to have a Clipper Card to load monthly passes. </div>accountablevtahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14035365902584938185noreply@blogger.com20tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11021719.post-54999971053342032262011-10-31T20:08:00.000-07:002011-10-31T23:22:03.149-07:00Fall transit updatesThis summer is relatively quiet on transit. There are a few good news. The first is that Caltrain service is stabilized for the remainder of this year and next year. However despite the stability, Caltrain advocates will need to come up with some type of funding source to be placed on the ballot box next November. Among the plans is a sales tax measure just for San Mateo County. A San Mateo County only tax does not require state approval (compared to a three county tax), and would address most of the funding problem since the Caltrain fiscal crisis was initiated by SamTrans, which has provided funding to Caltrain through its own sales tax but also has a structural deficit.<div><br /></div><div>Besides San Jose State, <a href="http://www.deanza.edu/ecopass/">De Anza College</a> also recently joined the Eco Pass program for its students. Today, students with a valid campus ID card can request a sticker which they can ride all VTA services free. The Eco Pass program is funded by a mandatory student fee approved by the student body. The fee for part time student is $4 per quarter and for full time is $5 per quarter.</div><div><br /></div>This fall, SamTrans will host a series of community meetings in San Mateo County as a part of the process to restructure the service:<div><br /></div><div><div>Monday, Nov. 7 – 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.</div><div>Menlo Park Senior Center, 100 Terminal Avenue, Menlo Park</div><div><br /></div><div>Thursday, Nov. 10 - 6 to 8 p.m.</div><div>Ted Adcock Community Center, 535 Kelly Ave., Half Moon Bay</div><div><br /></div><div>Tuesday, Nov. 15 – 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.</div><div>College of San Mateo, Building 10, Room 468, 1700 W. Hillsdale Blvd., San Mateo</div><div><br /></div><div>Wednesday, Nov. 16 – 1 to 3 p.m.</div><div>San Mateo County Transit District., 1250 San Carlos Ave., San Carlos</div><div><br /></div><div>Thursday, Nov. 17 – 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.</div><div>San Mateo Central Park, Central Recreation Center, Rooms A & B</div><div>50 E. 5th Ave., San Mateo</div><div><br /></div><div>Saturday, Nov. 19 – 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.</div><div>Belle Air Elementary – cafeteria, 450 Third Ave., San Bruno</div></div><div><br /></div><div>Lastly, riders on the Dumbarton Express should expect changes in December. The Dumbarton Express service, which is jointly funded by AC Transit, Union City Transit, BART, SamTrans, and VTA, will change its contract operator from AC Transit to MV Transportation. The funding partners believed that the service provided by AC Transit is too expensive and they selected MV Transportation as the new contract operator. Currently MV Transportation is the contract provider of Union City Transit and some SamTrans routes (such as the KX).</div><div><br /></div><div>As a part of the new contract, there would be changes in service as well. Some trips would be eliminated or rescheduled. The DB3 service (which runs in reverse-commute direction via East Palo Alto) is also planned to be discontinued. AC Transit will hold a public hearing regarding those service changes <a href="http://www.actransit.org/2011/10/29/public-hearing-on-dumbarton-express-service-changes-set-for-november-16/">on November 16 in Oakland</a>.</div>accountablevtahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14035365902584938185noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11021719.post-44883838715861609452011-07-16T12:30:00.000-07:002011-07-17T18:58:35.259-07:00SamTrans's version of the COA: The SSP<div>To address a mounting structural deficit, SamTrans is conducting a comprehensive operational analysis hoping to boost productivity and reduce costs. SamTrans calls the process the "<a href="http://ssp.tmdinc.net/">SamTrans Service Plan</a>." The agency is planning public meetings throughout the county in the next few months and plans to wrap up the process next year.<div><br /></div><div>SamTrans's process is particularly overdue because its financial problem has threatened Caltrain service earlier this year. This process is being conduct in parallel to MTC's Transit Sustainability Project, which is a region-wide effort to address the transit funding shortfall.</div><div><br /></div><div>Unlike most transit agencies in the Bay Area, the transit corridor in San Mateo County centers around Mission Street/El Camino Real, which is also served by BART and Caltrain nearby. The county also has areas of low income, high transit demand communities like East Palo Alto as well as extremely wealthy, low transit demand cities like Hillsborough and Atherton. San Mateo County also have strong intercounty commute particularly to and from San Francisco.</div><div><br /></div><div>Besides the large number of cities, the county also has many city and employer sponsored shuttles, with some of the service created to fill the gaps left by SamTrans (e.g. Foster City). One of the reasons SamTrans was established was to unify the transit operations that were operated by the cities. Because of service reductions by SamTrans, many cities used their own funding to operate shuttles. While shuttles are valuable to cover the service gap, the transit system is no longer unified.</div><div><br /></div><div>A problem SamTrans has is poor schedule planning, which resulted in duplicative service. This is especially apparent between routes 390 and KX between San Mateo and Palo Alto. There are many weekday and weekend trips that these two lines depart and arrive at the same time. When that happens, there's wasted capacity and that riders who can't make the schedule have to wait 30 minutes or more for the next bus. If the trips are staggered (like VTA lines 22 and 23), then the effective frequency would be every 15 minutes, a big difference especially for riders trying to connect with VTA in Palo Alto.</div><div><br /></div><div>Let's see whether this effort will help SamTrans address those planning issues, which if done correctly it could have an immediate improvement in service and increase in ridership.</div><div> </div></div>accountablevtahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14035365902584938185noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11021719.post-54651105864929393062011-07-15T10:35:00.000-07:002011-07-15T11:04:02.170-07:00Light rail is now offering wifi on all trainsToday VTA is making a claim to be the first transit agency in the world to offer free onboard wifi on all light rail vehicles. VTA is hoping that the new wifi system would attract new riders by making the slower trip on light rail more productive. VTA initially introduced free wifi on special "express" trains last October. Already, many private employer shuttles, Highway 17 Express, and MST buses are offering onboard wifi. <div><br /></div><div>As a part of the wifi promotion, VTA is conducting a contest this weekend and offering a prize of two Giants vs. Dodgers tickets and Caltrain tickets to the game. To enter the contest, just ride the light rail and log in to wifi.</div><div><br /></div><div>If commuters are pleased that VTA is offering wifi on all light rail vehicles, they would be more pleased if Caltrain offers free wifi as well. While wifi has been one of the most requested service on Caltrain, the agency has not been very responsive to that demand, even though Caltrain would stand to benefit much more than VTA from increased ridership and fare revenues.</div><div><br /></div><div>Since VTA provides operating subsidy to Caltrain, it wouldn't be a bad idea for VTA to provide technical assistance to Caltrain on installing wifi.</div>accountablevtahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14035365902584938185noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11021719.post-65344005372990207942011-07-05T19:21:00.000-07:002011-07-05T20:01:47.996-07:00VTA July 2011 service changesNext Monday VTA will implement its regular quarterly service changes. Most bus routes and all the light rail lines will have new schedules. The two main lines (Santa Teresa-Alum Rock and Mountain View-Winchester) will have minutes added to each trip time. The express trains will also have a new time in the southbound direction.<div><br /></div><div>Line 102 will also have a round trip added to the schedule. Line 37 will have Saturday service between Winchester and Capitol light rail stations.</div>accountablevtahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14035365902584938185noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11021719.post-4190694899664774532011-05-26T15:54:00.000-07:002011-05-26T17:45:32.720-07:00New fareboxes for VTA and SamTransRecently, VTA <a href="http://www.vta.org/farebox/">introduced new fareboxes </a>on selected buses as part of the testing phase. Last year, VTA approved the replacement of fare boxes as the original fare boxes become obsolete.<div><br /></div><div><img src="http://www.vta.org/farebox/farebox.jpg" width="400" /></div><div>As part of the transition to new fareboxes, VTA will also change the way it sells day passes onboard buses. For many years, VTA preprints day passes and distributes to the drivers daily. Riders using the day pass can just show the pass to the bus driver. After the transition to the new equipment, the new fareboxes will encode and print a "smart" day pass once the fare is paid. Riders using the new day pass will tag the pass on the sensor located on the farebox (pretty much like how riders using Clipper cards to pay the fare, except Clipper users tag on the Clipper reader, not the farebox).</div><div><br /></div><div>When riding the light rail with the "smart" day pass, just present the "smart" pass to the inspector upon request. When riding the bus with the day pass purchased from a light rail ticket machine, just show the pass to the driver.</div><div><br /></div><div>The new fareboxes will also feature a magnetic stripe reader. If you ride using a Highway 17 Express or MST passes, just slide the pass on the reader.</div><div><br /></div><div>In the meantime, SamTrans also <a href="http://samtrans.com/farebox.html">ordered new fareboxes</a> from the same manufacturer, and will rollout the new fareboxes this summer just like VTA.</div><div><br /></div><div>With the new fareboxes, SamTrans will provide two new features. The first is the change card, which is given to riders that put more money into the farebox than the fare itself. The riders can then use the change card for future rides on SamTrans. The second new feature is the long awaited day pass (to be introduced in 2012 after a fare study and public hearings).</div><div><br /></div><div>Because getting change beforehand can be very difficult, the new change cards will certainly benefit cash riders and reduce boarding times. Rather than holding the bus and digging into the pocket for exact change, or ask fellow riders for change, the rider can just put a $20 bill in and knowing that he or she is not overpaying. The exact change requirement at many agency is a barrier for bus usage (whereas ticket machines at light rail, Caltrain, or BART can give change).</div><div><br /></div><div><a href="http://samtrans.com/images/farebox-image-diagram-04-06-2011.gif" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img src="http://samtrans.com/images/farebox-image-diagram-04-06-2011.gif" border="0" alt="" style="cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 445px; " /></a></div><div><br /></div><div>Unlike VTA, SamTrans is not planning to implement "smart" day pass. Riders with Summer Youth Pass or day pass will slide the pass by the magnetic stripe reader. Riders with change card will dip the card onto the top slot. Like VTA, Clipper users will tag the card on the Clipper reader located separately from the farebox.</div><div><br /></div><div>The co-current introduction of new fareboxes and Clipper marks a dramatic transition of fare payment at both agencies. Eventually, preprinted passes would become history. As agencies and riders become more accustomed to new fare media, new features like fare cap and 31-day passes (instead of pass based on a calendar month) are becoming possible.</div>accountablevtahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14035365902584938185noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11021719.post-4495697513182730882011-05-19T12:02:00.000-07:002011-05-19T13:30:32.241-07:00VTA revises bus change proposalAfter a series of public meetings, VTA staff came up with a revised bus change proposal for this July and next January.<br /><br />The <a href="http://www.vta.org/news/service_changes/annual_service_plan.html#jully_2011">key revisions</a> from the original proposal are to maintain routes 101 and 104, postponement of adding a new route 105 (Fremont BART to Mountain View), and an extension of route 120 (Fremont BART to Lockheed) from Lockheed to Mountain view. On the other hand, under the revised plan, route 10 would have reduced service in the evening and all day on weekends because of funding cuts from the City of San Jose. Line 180 would also lose a late evening trip in favor of adding a Milpitas stop for line 181.<br /><br />Also under the new plan, line 37 would have Saturday service between Winchester and Capitol LRT stations. Service span on lines 48 and 49 would remain the same.<br /><br />The revised plan is certainly an improvement. At the community meetings, staff said that under the proposed biennial budget, there would be a 1% increase in service (considering that less than 2 years ago VTA reduced service by 8%.). While VTA was saying that there would be an increase in service, the original plan still proposed to discontinue some in-county express routes like line 104, which staff originally planned to cut the route back in 2007.<br /><br />Cutting line 104 and starting 105 was not justified. Without line 104, residents from East San Jose and Milpitas would not have a viable transit option to the Palo Alto area. The next best alternative would require multiple transfers between light rail and bus, or travel all the way to Downtown San Jose to make a transfer. On the other hand, line 105 would primarily serve out of county commuters. Even without the extension of line 120, East Bay commuters can take ACE or Capitol Corridor train and transfer to an ACE Shuttle at Great America to Mountain View.<br /><br />The VTA Transit Planning and Operations Committee will review the revised plan today at its regular meeting at 4:30pm. The committee meeting location is the VTA headquarters at 3331 North 1st Street (conference room B-104). If the committee supports the plan, the VTA Board will consider approving the plan at its meeting on June 2 at 6:00pm at the Board of Supervisors Chamber.<p></p>accountablevtahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14035365902584938185noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11021719.post-88658402975793926012011-05-09T15:31:00.000-07:002011-05-09T16:10:37.009-07:00San Jose City Councilman, VTA Boardmember, Caltrain Boardmember Ash Kalra arrested on a DUI chargeOver the weekend, San Jose City Councilman Ask Kalra (also sits on VTA and Caltrain JPB) was arrested on a DUI charge. At 1:30am last Saturday, Kalra got pulled over in Downtown San Jose by CHP for a broken tail light. The officer detected an odor of alcohol coming from him.<div><br /></div><div>After spending a few hours in jail, he was released. Later he told his colleagues and the media about the situation. He said that it was a terrible error in judgement and apologized.</div><div><br /></div><div>One of the many reasons we need a well funded and well designed transit system is take people home when they're not suitable to drive. For the driver, being arrested for DUI can be traumatic. The fines, the cost of fighting the charge, and the subsequent increase in insurance premium are high. DUI can also hurt your career if driving is a part of the job. For the community, drunk drivers pose a hazard for all road users.</div><div><br /></div><div>The police are cracking down hard on drunk drivers especially at nights and around certain holidays. It is more likely to get pulled over for the little things (like broken lights, or just speeding a little bit) than at other times so that the cops can check whether you're sober.</div><div><br /></div><div>If you drank, you should avoid driving. If you don't have a sober friend to drive you home, a train ride, a bus ride, or a cab ride is worth it. Even if you have to pay $20-30 for a cab, it is still cheaper than a ride on a police car to jail after being caught.</div>accountablevtahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14035365902584938185noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11021719.post-78273448373524769532011-04-18T23:01:00.000-07:002011-04-19T00:07:51.563-07:00VTA to hold meetings on future bus plansVTA is planning to hold meetings early next month on bus change proposals that would be implemented this July as well as next year. The bus plan is a part of the VTA's proposal biennial budget.<div><br /></div><div><div><div>Monday, May 2 at 6:00 p.m.</div><div>City of Mountain View</div><div>500 Castro Street, Mountain View, 94041</div><div><br /></div><div>Tuesday, May 3 at 3:00 p.m.</div><div>County of Santa Clara, Isaac Newton Senter Auditorium</div><div>70 West Hedding Street, San Jose, 95110</div><div><br /></div><div>Tuesday, May 3 at 6:00 p.m.</div><div>Dr. Roberto Cruz Public Library, Community Room</div><div>3090 Alum Rock Avenue, San Jose, 95127</div><div>Served by VTA Bus Lines 25, 45 and 71.</div><div><br /></div><div>Wednesday, May 4 at 6:00 p.m.</div><div>City of Morgan Hill Community & Cultural Center Hiram Morgan Hill Room</div><div>17000 Monterey Street, Morgan Hill, 95037</div><div><br /></div><div>Monday, May 9 at 6:30 p.m.</div><div>County of Santa Clara, Isaac Newton Senter Auditorium</div><div>70 West Hedding Street, San Jose, CA 95110</div><div><br /></div><div>Tuesday, May 10 at 6:00 p.m.</div><div>Campbell Community Center, Mary Campbell Room</div><div>1 West Campbell Avenue, Campbell 95008</div><div><br /></div></div><div>For full details click on the title.</div><div><br /></div><div>For this July, VTA proposes minor changes for the following routes: 35, 47, 54, 65, 68, 82, 102, 181. </div><div><br /></div><div>Line 102, which goes from Santa Teresa to Palo Alto is experiencing overcrowding and the staff is surveying riders for the preferred trip time as they plan to add another run. </div><div><br /></div><div>On line 181, the staff plans to add short trips between Milpitas and Fremont to make a 20 minute headway, but the frequency between Milpitas and Downtown San Jose will remain the same.</div><div><br /></div><div>For January 2012, VTA plans the following:</div><div>Minor changes (involve some trip eliminations, shortening of some trips) - 10, 13, 18, 22, 25, 31, 35, 39, 46, 51, 55, 60, 64, 66, 68, 73, 77</div><div><br /></div><div>Major changes</div><div>16 - Midday service would be eliminated.</div><div>23 - Weekday frequency would be improved to every 10 minutes.</div><div>26 - Short trips would be added between Lockheed and El Camino during commute hours.</div><div>45 - Saturday service would be eliminated. Weekday service would be shortened an hour early.</div><div>48, 49 - Weekday and weekend service all have reduced service hours.</div><div>57, 58 - Reduction in frequency</div><div>61, 62 - Slight reduction in frequency and service hours.</div><div>81 - Sunday service would be eliminated</div><div>101 - Service would be eliminated because it doesn't meet ridership standard.</div></div><div><div>102 - Stops in San Jose will be reduced to the Santa Teresa, Snell, and Ohlone light rail stations, and the line would also use new "premium express" buses.</div><div>103 - This line would use new premium buses and one more round trip would be added.</div><div>104 - This line would be eliminated. (VTA tried to get rid of it as early as 2007)</div><div>105 - This would be new line from Fremont BART to the Shoreline area (Google HQ) in Mountain View. This line would use the new premium bus and would have four round trips.</div><div>120, 121 - This line would use new premium buses.</div><div>122 - This line would use new premium buses, stops would be reduced, and one more round trip would be added. (Back in 2007 VTA staff recommended to cut the route)</div><div>180 - Some trips would be eliminated.</div><div>182 - One of the two round trips would be eliminated and stops would be reduced.</div><div>183 - This would be a new line from the Evergreen area to Fremont BART (Dave Cortese's pet route). This line would use new premium buses and would have 3 round trips.</div><div>328, 330 - One more round trip would be added.</div><div><br /></div></div><div>For July 2012, VTA proposes the following:</div><div>11, 17, 34 - Ridership is still below standard and these lines are slated for elimination in 2012 unless ridership improves. Another public meetings would be held in early 2012. Line 11 and 34 have had ridership problems in the past, but because they go by senior facilities, a lot of people don't want these routes cut.</div><div><br /></div><div>522 - VTA plans to extend service hours on weekdays from about 7:30pm to about 10:30pm. Saturday service would also be expanded and there would be service on Sundays.</div>accountablevtahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14035365902584938185noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11021719.post-72987656229087822562011-02-16T22:50:00.000-08:002011-02-17T00:07:35.535-08:00VTA accepts ClipperVTA today formally accepts Clipper for payment.<div><br /></div><div>Some Clipper tips:</div><div>E-cash and monthly passes can be loaded onto Clipper cards. With e-cash you pay one way fares. There's no day pass option at this point. If you want to ride light rail or the bus all day you should buy the light rail excursion pass or day pass with cash.<br /><br />Transfer privileges automatically apply when transferring to VTA from AC Transit, BART, Caltrain, or SamTrans. There's no transfer privileges with Highway 17 Express or MST if you pay with Clipper.<br /><br />To ride the bus you basically place the card on top of the blue logo on the Clipper reader. The reader is located in front of the bus to the right of the fare box.<br /><br />To ride light rail you place the card on top of the blue logo on the Clipper reader at the light rail station. Once your card is approved (green light), you can ride light rail for the next 2 hours.<br /><br />If you transfer between light rail you don't need to "tag" your card again. If you do so you will pay another fare, even if you have paid for light rail less than 2 hours ago.<br /><br />The Clipper readers at light rail stations are generally located next to the ticket machines. That means that they are located on the platform at street level stops, and located at the station entrances for Hwy 87 stations. Some ticket machines will not have the Clipper reader next to them.<br /><br />At the downtown San Jose light rail stops, only one Clipper reader is available on each street for each station. The reader is located at the front end of the station (north end on 1st St, south end on 2nd St) between the raised platform and the ticket machine.<br /><br />What is not clear at this point is whether you must tag (that means if you don't you get a citation) before you board the light rail if your card has a monthly pass. The FAQs on VTA and Clipper sites say that you need to. On the other hand, you don't need to do that on Caltrain. Because of the number and placement of the Clipper readers at the light rail stations, having tag on every time with a monthly pass is a problem. If you ride, say the 82 to the light rail station on 2nd Street and the light rail pulls in, you won't have time to walk to the front of the front car to tag the card and get on.<br /><br />The Clipper readers for light rail and Caltrain all look the same, which can be confusing at some intermodal stations especially San Jose Diridon. At that station, Clipper for light rail is located on the light rail platforms only. Readers located anywhere else (inside tunnel, inside station building) at that station are for Caltrain only. At Tamien, light rail readers are located next to VTA machines. Caltrain reader is located next to the Caltrain machines.<br /><br />You need a youth or senior Clipper card to pay for any youth or senior fare. Standard cards are restricted to pay for adult fares only. Getting one of these cards is not convenient, you basically need to bring a proof of eligibility to a VTA office and apply in person, and wait to receive the card in the mail.<br /><br />If you have a RTC Discount Card, which is necessary to buy a VTA senior/disabled monthly sticker, you already have a senior/disabled Clipper card. You can call Clipper 877-878-8883 to activate the Clipper account and start loading money or pass. The older RTC card with Translink logo also works on Clipper (Translink and Clipper is basically the same, just a change in name).<br /><br />If you choose to pay online you may need to wait 5 days for you new purchase to be loaded. If you pay at the VTA office or Walgreens your card is loaded immediately. The reason for the delay is that, unlike credit cards, the reader does not immediately link to the network to validate your card. The readers get your payment information only by downloading at the end of each day through a wireless network at the bus yards. Once your card is validated then you're good for subsequent transactions.</div>accountablevtahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14035365902584938185noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11021719.post-88439209496274428972011-02-10T07:34:00.000-08:002011-02-10T11:37:03.976-08:00Caltrain proposes drastic cutsLast week, the Caltrain JPB approved a set of meetings on drastic service cuts which includes elimination of all off peak service, weekend service, Giants service, Gilroy service, and service at some stops like Burlingame, San Antonio, Lawrence, College Park, and Santa Clara stations.<div><br /></div><div>If these cuts go forward, the crown jewel of Peninsula and South Bay transit would basically become another Altamont Commuter Express. The service <a href="http://www.caltrain.com/Assets/Public/48TrainScheduleDRAFT_02-09-2011.pdf">Caltrain proposes</a> is a giant step backward compared to the service Southern Pacific provided in the late 70s and <a href="http://bayrailalliance.org/files/library/1981schedulecaltrain.pdf">early 80s</a>, the time when SP proposed to eliminate passenger service and the state (with Jerry Brown as governor) rescued the service from extinction.</div><div><br /></div><div>What we lack here is a political leadership to get Caltrain out of the crisis. The Caltrain's $30 million deficit is primarily caused by SamTrans' (which manages Caltrain) structural deficit. While the SamTrans/Caltrain management doesn't want to see drastic cuts on Caltrain, yet the same folks on their SamTrans role expressed nothing but hopelessness in preventing and addressing the situation. VTA, which has been cold to Caltrain for many years, have at least proposed <a href="http://www.greencaltrain.com/2011/02/vta-puts-proposals-on-the-table-to-save-caltrain-from-drastic-cuts/">ideas</a> to address the problem. Could SamTrans and Caltrain be in a better financial shape if the agency were to tackle its financial problem more aggressively like <a href="http://vtawatch.blogspot.com/2010/04/does-vta-know-way-to-financial-recovery.html">VTA did</a> several years ago?</div><div><br /></div><div>Caltrain, which is funded by the three county trifecta, is very weak in financial stability yet delivers service better than the agencies themselves. Caltrain's farebox recovery is dramatically better than the local agencies. Over the last ten years, Caltrain ridership has gone up while some bus systems like SamTrans has declined. Also, none of the stations on the VTA light rail system has higher boardings than Palo Alto, Mountain View, or San Jose Diridon Caltrain stations. College Park station, a Caltrain stop with only 4 trains per day, has a higher boarding count than the Bayshore/NASA light rail stop, which is served by many more trains 7 days a week. Santa Clara station, which is included on the Caltrain chopping block, has more boarding than the average of all VTA light rail stations. Unfortunately it appears that productivity is not a deciding factor for transit funding.</div><div><br /></div><div>The success of Caltrain is not just the speed of the trains and the locations of the stations, but the fact that the same trains travel through the three counties serving different ridership markets. For instance, some people boarding in San Jose get off in Palo Alto and others get off in San Francisco. If somehow SamTrans has to cut funding and Caltrain has to reduce service north of Palo Alto, then the remaining trains will not be as productive.</div><div><br /></div><div>Fixing Caltrain in the long run requires us to change the way our transit institutions work, and get rid of the trifecta that threatens the existence of otherwise a productive transit route. Taxpayers don't win under any service cut scenarios Caltrain is proposing.</div>accountablevtahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14035365902584938185noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11021719.post-51549654336176287392011-01-24T21:12:00.000-08:002011-01-24T23:37:15.127-08:00The Caltrain summitsA lot of attention is focusing on Caltrain given the budget situation and the possibility that most of the train service could be eliminated.<div><br /></div><div><a href="http://www.paloaltoonline.com/news/show_story.php?id=19799">SVLG</a> held a summit last Friday at Stanford mostly attended by representatives from businesses and governments. This Saturday, "<a href="http://www.friendsofcaltrain.com/summit">Friends of Caltrain</a>" will host a "grassroots" summit in San Carlos. The goals of both summit are to find solutions to the Caltrain funding problem and to the rally support.</div><div><br /></div><div>The Caltrain situation is bring together political factions that have been at odds. SVLG, as we know, is behind the BART project and also supports high speed rail. On the other hand, cities like Palo Alto and Burlingame are lending support to preserve Caltrain service as they fight against the High Speed Rail Authority.</div><div><br /></div><div>Regardless of their true intentions, it is clear that cities and businesses will hurt if Caltrain service were to be eliminated or curtailed significantly. The high tech businesses in the valley rely on Caltrain to bring employees that prefer to live in San Francisco. The cities up and down the Peninsula take advantage of Caltrain to promote downtowns and transit oriented developments. Employers like Stanford University depend on Caltrain to reduce traffic and cut down the parking spaces that otherwise would be required.</div><div><br /></div><div>Some people, perhaps blinded by their pure hatred against high speed rail, think that Caltrain should be eliminated to kill any chance for high speed rail. At the same time, some high speed rail supporters suggest that high speed rail could be completed sooner if Caltrain were eliminated. But as history shows (Caltrain was closed on weekends from 2002-2004), there's no transit that can truly substitute Caltrain. There's also no room to add lanes on 101 without tearing down homes.</div><div><br /></div><div>Given Caltrain's performance and potential, Caltrain needs and deserves a strong regional coalition in order to survive the financial crisis. If done right, Caltrain could be a catalyst for a more integrated and efficient regional transit system. If groups on both sides of the high speed rail issue can work together to save Caltrain, it is possible that they could agree on a high speed rail scenario that is integrated, achievable, and does not create unnecessary fear.</div><div><br /></div><div><a href="http://www.friendsofcaltrain.com/summit">Friends of Caltrain summit</a></div><div><div>Location: SamTrans Auditorium,</div><div>1250 San Carlos Avenue, San Carlos (near Caltrain)</div><div>Date: Saturday, January 29, 2011 Time: 8:30 am to 2:30 pm.</div></div>accountablevtahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14035365902584938185noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11021719.post-57774805094539465112011-01-07T12:52:00.000-08:002011-01-07T13:53:04.610-08:00Clipper, Caltrain, and VTAAt yesterday's Caltrain JPB meeting, staff announced that Caltrain will stop selling paper 8 ride tickets at the end of this month and paper monthly passes at the end of February. Caltrain delayed the mandatory transition for monthly passes because VTA has yet to accept Clipper but is expected to do <a href="http://www.vta.org/clipper/">sometime next month</a>.<div><br /></div><div>For VTA, only monthly passes and e-cash for one way fares will be offered on Clipper. Day passes and annual passes will not be available for now. The only realistic solution for day passes on Clipper is the implementation of a daily fare cap. Otherwise all other alternatives are inconvenient (either putting cash at the farebox to activate day pass on Clipper, which is a process already implemented on LA's bus system, or use Clipper e-cash to buy a paper day pass).</div><div><br /></div><div>The current transfer policies with Santa Cruz Metro and MST, which are outside MTC's jurisdiction, present a problem with the mandatory Clipper transition for Caltrain and VTA. On <a href="http://www.vta.org/schedules/SC_970_FARES.html">Highway 17 Express</a>, the cost of a day pass is $4.00 with a VTA day pass or a Caltrain monthly pass. Also, riders with a VTA express monthly pass or a Caltrain monthly pass with 3 zones or more can ride MST free. Highway 17 Express and the MST 55 line are partially funded by VTA.</div><div><br /></div><div>Currently the other agencies cannot read Clipper cards for valid passes and honor the transfer discounts. Until something's changed, a transition to Clipper only tickets would mean a de facto fare increase (and a substantial one) for people who rely on these inter-agency transfers.</div><div><br /></div><div>Is it feasible to stop the mandatory transition? At this point MTC does not have a plan to transition all bus agencies to Clipper within its jurisdiction. There's no Clipper version of BART Plus ticket (which can be used as a bus pass with a number of local transit agencies, except AC Transit) available, even through BART and Muni fully accept Clipper. On one hand, it is possible that sales of paper passes be continued on a limited basis for those who intend to transfer to H17 or MST. On the other hand, people who bought passes on Clipper but suddenly want to ride H17 or MST would find themselves having to pay more.</div><div><br /></div><div>Besides H17 and MST, VTA also has transfer policies with AC Transit and SamTrans. Under the existing policies, VTA and AC Transit honor each others monthly passes at shared transfer points (including DB bus for local credit). Between SamTrans and VTA, either passes (also include VTA's day pass) are valid anywhere in Menlo Park and Palo Alto. With Clipper, <a href="http://www.vta.org/clipper/transfer/index.html">transfers to VTA will be free</a> within 2 hours after boarding another agency's bus with Clipper (no e-cash deducted).</div>accountablevtahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14035365902584938185noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11021719.post-31063741143947050182010-12-28T17:36:00.000-08:002010-12-28T18:44:39.691-08:00SamTrans quietly launches Clipper<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhC1eQY1-cbIeEdd7_uaC5OqVc12ddHJJtkQj2MuLwl5n2LHM33lNzoB-dqOrY3LCrs7PRwhGuq7soudoss-edkBNEn7AROzAgAE55GT9gVPKOLKCd5lmc5Pllf4d88eYn2P691/s1600/DSC01751.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhC1eQY1-cbIeEdd7_uaC5OqVc12ddHJJtkQj2MuLwl5n2LHM33lNzoB-dqOrY3LCrs7PRwhGuq7soudoss-edkBNEn7AROzAgAE55GT9gVPKOLKCd5lmc5Pllf4d88eYn2P691/s320/DSC01751.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5555913191842461298" /></a><br />No fanfare, no web site announcement, no whatever, SamTrans quietly accepts Clipper card for payment by uncovering the Clipper readers, which has been installed on buses for several months.<div><br /></div><div>For now, only e-cash (without discount) and monthly passes are available on Clipper for SamTrans. Occasional SamTrans riders will still need to buy bus tokens from retailers like Safeway in order to receive a 20% discount. Ironically, Muni offers a 10-ride "ticket book" on Clipper, which costs $20 and provides no discounts from cash. AC Transit also had 10-ride paper tickets which provided no discounts. These tickets were eliminated when the agency fully transitioned all passes to Clipper.</div><div><br /></div><div>For Clipper, SamTrans instituted a policy on line KX that require SF-bound riders who use Clipper to tag the card when boarding and again exiting in SF. Because line KX is a mixed local and express service, riders only pay the express fares if they ride north of SFO. The second tag in SF is basically to charge the card from local (when they board south of SFO) to express fare. It is possible for someone to evade the express fare northbound by exiting quickly (or through the back door) and not tagging the second time. It would be interesting to find out how will that policy be actually executed on the buses.</div><div><br /></div><div>On Golden Gate Transit and Caltrain, the highest possible fare is deducted on the first tag, so any passenger who ride for a shorter distance has an incentive to tag the second time to get a refund.</div><div><br /></div><div>Meanwhile, SamTrans will be introducing new fare boxes in the next few months. The new fare boxes will be able to accept and issue magnetic strip cards. One of the features planned is to provide change on a card for riders who feeds larger bills into the fare box. The rider can use the card to pay for fares in the future or possibly redeem the card for cash at the transit office.</div><div><br /></div><div>Another feature also planned with the introduction of new fare boxes is day pass. Day pass, already available on VTA, Santa Cruz Metro, MST, and countless other agencies, is a convenient way for occasional riders and visitors to pay and use the system. Day pass also reduces transfer penalties.</div><div><br /></div><div>While SamTrans staff recognizes the benefits of day pass. They have been hesitant on implementing the pass until they first introduce the new fare boxes, which can issue day passes automatically. What they don't want is to follow VTA's footsteps in making and distributing preprinted day passes.</div><div><br /></div><div>The day pass is planned to cost $6, exactly the same as VTA. However, the pass is expected to be available for local fares only. Riders will need to pay an upgrade for higher fare routes. Staff is planning to introduce the pass by the end of next year, after they roll out new fare boxes and conduct public meetings and "analysis" for something that will obviously benefits riders.</div><div><br /></div><div>What will also be helpful is to have the day pass be introduced on Clipper as a form of a fare cap. So if someone who has paid $6 on SamTrans rides in a day, all SamTrans rides will be free for the rest of day. Another thing SamTrans could do is to make all e-cash fares $1.60 for Clipper riders.</div>accountablevtahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14035365902584938185noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11021719.post-33176455016804729632010-12-02T19:01:00.000-08:002010-12-02T19:45:48.513-08:00VTA January 2011 bus changes and Caltrain weekend Baby Bullet<div>On January 10, 2011, VTA will implement a number of bus service changes: </div><div><br /></div><div>Schedule changes: 13, 14, 17, 18, 19, 22, 23, 25, 27, 32, 34, 35, 42, 46, 48, 49, 51, 57, 60, 61, 62, 66, 68, 71, 81, 88, 103, 120, 330, 522, DASH</div><div><br /></div><div>11 - Frequency will be adjusted to every 35 minutes. VTA says the actual travel time is longer than previously estimated.</div><div><br /></div><div>64 - Bus will run on 13th and Julian streets in both directions between Santa Clara Street and McKee Road. The City of San Jose is converting both Julian and St. James Streets from one-way couplets to two-way streets.</div><div><br /></div><div>180 and 181 - Line 180 will become a weekday only service between Fremont and Milpitas. Line 181 will provide service on weekends with a stop at the Great Mall. There will be no weekend VTA service along Mission Blvd in Fremont. Riders along Mission Blvd can take AC Transit local bus 217 to Great Mall.</div><div><br /></div><div>VTA says the 181 routing along 880 and Stevenson is faster than the 180 along 680 and Mission. Switching the routes on weekends will help keep buses on time.</div><div><br /></div><div>63 - Last July VTA added a southbound trip at night due to rider request. However, ridership numbers are not meeting minimum ridership standards (9 riders during SJSU session. Standards call for 15 riders). VTA is planning to cut that trip next July if ridership does not improve.</div><div><br /></div><div>On January 1, Caltrain will reduce weekday service (4 late morning/early afternoon trains) and raise fares. At the same time Caltrain will add 4 weekend Baby Bullet trains on a trial basis until March. The new weekend trips will cut the travel time between San Jose to San Francisco by more than 30 minutes compared to local service. Trains will also stop at Millbrae, San Mateo, Hillsdale, Redwood City, Palo Alto, Mountain View, and Sunnyvale.</div><div><br /></div><div>If Caltrain's partners (which includes Muni, SamTrans, and VTA) decide not to further cut funding next year, the weekend express service may continue if weekend ridership grows by 10%. See schedule below:</div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGsTxaCEUQO_yareRTbi5p4b6rEwLFb53SiXVP7HyLnJltgm_Edb84yRUG1r9-BsaqF3BszxCakN0vI8qe7HEPvIPeVTr6pTyFdAW455LYZpK2hy3umxzNy8zYm4QZM-CMvqLT/s1600/weekendbb.png"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGsTxaCEUQO_yareRTbi5p4b6rEwLFb53SiXVP7HyLnJltgm_Edb84yRUG1r9-BsaqF3BszxCakN0vI8qe7HEPvIPeVTr6pTyFdAW455LYZpK2hy3umxzNy8zYm4QZM-CMvqLT/s320/weekendbb.png" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5546295421988981650" style="cursor: pointer; width: 246px; height: 320px; " /></a></div>accountablevtahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14035365902584938185noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11021719.post-38323069774516801842010-11-23T21:16:00.000-08:002010-11-23T22:02:37.796-08:00VTA's new hybrid buses<div>Earlier this month VTA rolled out its new hybrid buses. The new buses can be found on route 66.</div><div><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-7H8TuE0v0MCwhhA6Io6XcSb5IGIMYUAuxOKqhrGROMDaY7ItPMt5IGcyMXkIz5dVcyZkK6Z7-h2h_ZAd1rkd2RrTh2LDpk1px48gmczj-yMvvl-UE4kOt3EMAfBQt3R13Yky/s1600/DSC01728.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-7H8TuE0v0MCwhhA6Io6XcSb5IGIMYUAuxOKqhrGROMDaY7ItPMt5IGcyMXkIz5dVcyZkK6Z7-h2h_ZAd1rkd2RrTh2LDpk1px48gmczj-yMvvl-UE4kOt3EMAfBQt3R13Yky/s320/DSC01728.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5542985400408030386" /></a><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-7H8TuE0v0MCwhhA6Io6XcSb5IGIMYUAuxOKqhrGROMDaY7ItPMt5IGcyMXkIz5dVcyZkK6Z7-h2h_ZAd1rkd2RrTh2LDpk1px48gmczj-yMvvl-UE4kOt3EMAfBQt3R13Yky/s1600/DSC01728.JPG"></a>The hybrid buses look pretty much like the older buses VTA bought 8-9 years ago. In comparison, SamTrans new buses come with a new style and paint scheme. VTA actually has a pretty good paint scheme for the small community buses, but for some reason it is keeping the old scheme on the hybrids.<br /><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-7H8TuE0v0MCwhhA6Io6XcSb5IGIMYUAuxOKqhrGROMDaY7ItPMt5IGcyMXkIz5dVcyZkK6Z7-h2h_ZAd1rkd2RrTh2LDpk1px48gmczj-yMvvl-UE4kOt3EMAfBQt3R13Yky/s1600/DSC01728.JPG"></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzKxOWHQl9e9ZwO95jCVPQouKMgE-zfptDftPVXjiRQEIdADlqv0JXjlJ4qVnjRhzmsZimGwf8iSHj56Hta-YpeLPNXoI72_vLTCsoRjxb-46bzCIRYBnQO4lakqQ_JTJgNduS/s1600/DSC01733.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzKxOWHQl9e9ZwO95jCVPQouKMgE-zfptDftPVXjiRQEIdADlqv0JXjlJ4qVnjRhzmsZimGwf8iSHj56Hta-YpeLPNXoI72_vLTCsoRjxb-46bzCIRYBnQO4lakqQ_JTJgNduS/s320/DSC01733.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5542985310748445218" /></a></div><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzKxOWHQl9e9ZwO95jCVPQouKMgE-zfptDftPVXjiRQEIdADlqv0JXjlJ4qVnjRhzmsZimGwf8iSHj56Hta-YpeLPNXoI72_vLTCsoRjxb-46bzCIRYBnQO4lakqQ_JTJgNduS/s1600/DSC01733.JPG"></a>The hybrid buses have a "hump" on the rear end.</div><div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSiXuVkUz3lPxBmPzIToHNuiIYXHiSXQncR_NR13BQEwKZuqEAyAB3ngQirxsqaozSCR5C2dAu7ABV7AeUSqlYkY_3Qik9mkutlgzFis7_NLx-d_MKz8h7i_6nmOEK9bLwtrJ-/s1600/DSC01729.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSiXuVkUz3lPxBmPzIToHNuiIYXHiSXQncR_NR13BQEwKZuqEAyAB3ngQirxsqaozSCR5C2dAu7ABV7AeUSqlYkY_3Qik9mkutlgzFis7_NLx-d_MKz8h7i_6nmOEK9bLwtrJ-/s320/DSC01729.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5542985193939508610" /></a></div><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSiXuVkUz3lPxBmPzIToHNuiIYXHiSXQncR_NR13BQEwKZuqEAyAB3ngQirxsqaozSCR5C2dAu7ABV7AeUSqlYkY_3Qik9mkutlgzFis7_NLx-d_MKz8h7i_6nmOEK9bLwtrJ-/s1600/DSC01729.JPG"></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhw1M2HNSQkylS1xf7XDhNDMoAtWAttrrccqK_T1KkTBMvJjnoBFvDZhC3bTWlx_xp_HvSYtY3wmk3moqLAklOuyrDYTUcxcZSRjxEesZiOjc_ufNYkLdwo_7bvsEF4fYcNAipL/s1600/DSC01731.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhw1M2HNSQkylS1xf7XDhNDMoAtWAttrrccqK_T1KkTBMvJjnoBFvDZhC3bTWlx_xp_HvSYtY3wmk3moqLAklOuyrDYTUcxcZSRjxEesZiOjc_ufNYkLdwo_7bvsEF4fYcNAipL/s320/DSC01731.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5542985124221304786" /></a></div><div>The new buses are noticeably different from the older buses on the inside. The new buses have new wheelchair tie-ins to reduce driver workload, along with new seats. </div><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhw1M2HNSQkylS1xf7XDhNDMoAtWAttrrccqK_T1KkTBMvJjnoBFvDZhC3bTWlx_xp_HvSYtY3wmk3moqLAklOuyrDYTUcxcZSRjxEesZiOjc_ufNYkLdwo_7bvsEF4fYcNAipL/s1600/DSC01731.JPG"></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdsKDtbyypzIN3wGjZqMkmglm24g_EB7z2NIeMI8mbbhouJ_6X6F0dKVC-Ff0UURNZ1NBoir6_EFBPTZ9MuhS2yJPeg3NPfy7iVr3Yq_G8dZGVnp2lwu65cnHNporMGiErVkEx/s1600/DSC01730.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdsKDtbyypzIN3wGjZqMkmglm24g_EB7z2NIeMI8mbbhouJ_6X6F0dKVC-Ff0UURNZ1NBoir6_EFBPTZ9MuhS2yJPeg3NPfy7iVr3Yq_G8dZGVnp2lwu65cnHNporMGiErVkEx/s320/DSC01730.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5542983325154781938" /></a><br />The new buses also have a wider rear door.</div></div>accountablevtahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14035365902584938185noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11021719.post-6092048327106381682010-11-10T12:14:00.000-08:002010-11-10T13:56:20.137-08:00AC Transit and union reach agreement, prevent weekend cutsToday AC Transit announced that <a href="http://www.actransit.org/2010/11/10/ac-transit-and-bus-drivers-union-reach-contract-agreement/">an arbitration panel has reached a decision</a> between the agency and the union representing the agency's drivers and mechanics. The decision finally ended the labor dispute that began in summer which resulted in lawsuits, driver sickouts and a threat to discontinue most of overnight and weekend service.<div><br /></div><div>The binding decision essentially requires union members to contribute to their health and retirement plans. The decision also require changes to work rules. Overall it would cut AC Transit deficit by $38 millions over three years.</div><div><br /></div><div>Given the declining state and local revenues, AC Transit sought savings from the new labor contract. After an unsuccessful effort to reach an agreement with the union, AC Transit board voted to impose the contract. The union fought back by bring the issue to court. The court agreed with the union by striking down the new contract. Meanwhile the drivers informally staged a sickout, which caused missed runs and more crowded buses.</div><div><br /></div><div>If AC Transit were not able to realize labor savings, AC Transit would have to further reduce service to cut costs. After two major service cuts earlier this year, AC Transit was planning another cut in December, which would <a href="http://vtawatch.blogspot.com/2010/09/ac-transits-armageddon.html">cut most overnight and weekend service</a>. After this decision, AC Transit cancelled the December cuts but warned that additional cuts may be required sometime next year.</div><div><br /></div><div>In this economy, it is counter-productive for transit unions refusing to make concessions to protect service and jobs. In San Francisco, where Muni drivers' pay was set by the city charter to be the second highest in the country (which essentially meant automatic pay raises regardless of the economy), city voter overwhelmingly approved a ballot measure last week to remove the wage provision from the city charter. Earlier in the year, Muni drivers twice voted down proposals to increase employee health and retirement contributions while maintaining charter mandated pay raises.</div>accountablevtahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14035365902584938185noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11021719.post-12169919310398844082010-10-28T10:08:00.000-07:002010-10-29T01:22:08.049-07:00Is Podcar another false promise?Since the concept of a people mover at San Jose Airport was approved with Measure A ten years ago, the project eventually proved to be <a href="http://vtawatch.blogspot.com/2006/05/is-2000-measure-becoming-lost-cause.html">too expensive to build and operate, not very useful, and ineffective</a>. Nowadays, the city is hosting a <a href="http://podcarcity.org/events/podcar-city-san-jose/">Personal Rapid Transit conference</a>, in which PRT proponents are saying that San Jose Airport could have a people mover-like system without the price tag. <div><br /></div><div>PRT, or pod car is a concept that has existed for decades, with the promise of fast, frequent, and non-stop service. Renderings of such systems often feature small cars hanging off a slim elevated track. What PRT doesn't have is a track record of daily revenue service. The PRT proponents are <a href="http://prtboondoggle.blogspot.com/">desperately looking for sponsoring cities, along with funding, to prove their concepts</a>.</div><div><br /></div><div>San Jose politicians are trying to look for a "creative" solution to a superficial problem and while dismissing realistic solutions. The simple way to bring rail to San Jose airport is to extend the light rail system from 1st Street into the airport. Light rail only needs to extend a mile to serve both terminals A and B. Light rail already serves Downtown San Jose and connects with Caltrain, Amtrak, ACE (and possibly BART in Milpitas and high speed rail at Diridon Station). Unlike peoplemover or pod car, no separate maintenance facility is needed for light rail.</div><div><br /></div><div><iframe width="425" height="350" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" src="http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?hl=en&ie=UTF8&msa=0&msid=100162742929610169258.000493b0ef6560e74d536&ll=37.367258,-121.921978&spn=0.011938,0.018239&z=15&output=embed"></iframe><br /><small>View <a href="http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?hl=en&ie=UTF8&msa=0&msid=100162742929610169258.000493b0ef6560e74d536&ll=37.367258,-121.921978&spn=0.011938,0.018239&z=15&source=embed" style="color:#0000FF;text-align:left">Untitled</a> in a larger map</small></div><div><br /></div><div>One has to wonder why San Jose is pretending to be progressive on transportation by promoting PRT while actually moving backwards by ignoring light rail. Cities like <a href="http://world.nycsubway.org/us/portland/max-red.html">Portland </a>and <a href="http://world.nycsubway.org/perl/show?72813">Baltimore</a> have light rail located directly at the terminal. Sacramento and Los Angeles are planning to extend their light rail systems to airport as well.</div><div><br /></div><div>VTA light rail is drawing fewer riders than similar systems in other cities because the light rail lacks destinations that are not convenient to drive. If the light rail can directly serve the airport, it will change how the system is used and perceived. While many people have brought up the idea for many years, it was repeatedly ignored by the City of San Jose and VTA (which the City has a controlling stake on).</div><div><br /></div><div>While the PRT proponents welcome the attention received in San Jose, it is another loss of opportunity for a more cost effective transportation. Even if the PRT has proven to be a reliable technology, it will still be slower and less convenient for riders than extending light rail directly to the airport. Even if PRT has applications beyond the airport, its proclaimed advantages can easily be met by automobile and <a href="http://vtawatch.blogspot.com/2009/11/vta-plans-for-first-bike-sharing.html">bike sharing</a>, along with better bike and ped infrastructures.</div>accountablevtahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14035365902584938185noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11021719.post-89934010522385293092010-10-04T18:10:00.000-07:002010-10-05T21:44:36.242-07:00First day of express light rail<div>With little fanfare and limited press coverage (compared to Caltrain's Baby Bullet a few years ago), VTA rolled off its express light rail trips. The new trips go from Santa Teresa to Baypointe and do not stop between Ohlone/Chynoweth and Convention Center stations. The cars used for the express trips have special blue and orange wrap and also have free wifi.</div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnhYRUhvjdXSciFxTg-KiGyT4EPUFGLXVzZzEU4dCOFo0mt1vAtacT2VN_d6ZIi5hBjkUsN0RwaDsllq7_m6Uq8zLrtfDNiaZSrzPw877kbdjFY7gnQ0nCoQfOS1gUE5cCWC8_/s1600/DSC01680.JPG"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnhYRUhvjdXSciFxTg-KiGyT4EPUFGLXVzZzEU4dCOFo0mt1vAtacT2VN_d6ZIi5hBjkUsN0RwaDsllq7_m6Uq8zLrtfDNiaZSrzPw877kbdjFY7gnQ0nCoQfOS1gUE5cCWC8_/s320/DSC01680.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5524367327970366994" style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px; " /></a></div><div><br /></div>VTA Boardmember Sam Liccardo and general manager Michael Burns were on the platform at Ohlone/Chynoweth waiting for the first train to arrive from Santa Teresa. Other VTA top brass were there as well. There were no speeches nor ribbon cutting. However some riders were treated with free Red Bulls and newspapers. Liccardo boarded the first northbound express train presumably heading to the City Hall.<br /><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeNKAIc5HOF2oUHIDf6_yPOXJ5EYeJGqfIccQnnd4NMWJ12WHmF6hbTDfoXe3VleLJ9M88lFqyip-Dz1wWOTDBqaPJ5HAeGK7EaEPuYC_-S1cAs7fd7dX1flzrAkcBY19Dwm_7/s1600/DSC01677.JPG"></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7iTicJ1cNhvWboEK6y901qtQRTIfjEyrGV7AU56NacusVEDf1lr92Chg91XqgXpi-RowmZn5SBbMXREmr48n39sJkyz8u8MTQ5abqtgH1qfNjOZouzMjZZ6uOU5EOo55lfbTi/s1600/DSC04276.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7iTicJ1cNhvWboEK6y901qtQRTIfjEyrGV7AU56NacusVEDf1lr92Chg91XqgXpi-RowmZn5SBbMXREmr48n39sJkyz8u8MTQ5abqtgH1qfNjOZouzMjZZ6uOU5EOo55lfbTi/s320/DSC04276.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5524367766045370706" /></a><div><br /></div><div>When a northbound express train arrives, another one deadheads to Santa Teresa.</div><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7iTicJ1cNhvWboEK6y901qtQRTIfjEyrGV7AU56NacusVEDf1lr92Chg91XqgXpi-RowmZn5SBbMXREmr48n39sJkyz8u8MTQ5abqtgH1qfNjOZouzMjZZ6uOU5EOo55lfbTi/s1600/DSC04276.JPG"></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeNKAIc5HOF2oUHIDf6_yPOXJ5EYeJGqfIccQnnd4NMWJ12WHmF6hbTDfoXe3VleLJ9M88lFqyip-Dz1wWOTDBqaPJ5HAeGK7EaEPuYC_-S1cAs7fd7dX1flzrAkcBY19Dwm_7/s1600/DSC01677.JPG"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeNKAIc5HOF2oUHIDf6_yPOXJ5EYeJGqfIccQnnd4NMWJ12WHmF6hbTDfoXe3VleLJ9M88lFqyip-Dz1wWOTDBqaPJ5HAeGK7EaEPuYC_-S1cAs7fd7dX1flzrAkcBY19Dwm_7/s320/DSC01677.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5524368033495402786" style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px; " /></a></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7HjogTOwMelm5jrsCocdPNfI9e5AtdmSeGRaat_QwvPxIy7kgAvIbprbzcoR37suzvEjykWEueuHdt_9ZWN5hqpFHX20Y5dXCSbykcbUrzmRc0d25dL202FSO8oqMkyrWZasu/s1600/DSC01686.JPG"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7HjogTOwMelm5jrsCocdPNfI9e5AtdmSeGRaat_QwvPxIy7kgAvIbprbzcoR37suzvEjykWEueuHdt_9ZWN5hqpFHX20Y5dXCSbykcbUrzmRc0d25dL202FSO8oqMkyrWZasu/s320/DSC01686.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5524366513677853122" style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px; " /></a></div><div><br /></div><div>At other stations, signs are in place to warn others about express trains that won't stop.</div><div><br /></div><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivRqkQEnVGGeNdXhT1IMq8H13_75M05zYBk2k7ayaLIE9S0xWcSRqFXHxoHhf4mMpHXUbL7E-LIv4JVwNly1FI58p4iSHrz_rJL6WhhgNHyFzwzZ_JAkg0ZSj14GZarxlAdTEo/s1600/DSC01683.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivRqkQEnVGGeNdXhT1IMq8H13_75M05zYBk2k7ayaLIE9S0xWcSRqFXHxoHhf4mMpHXUbL7E-LIv4JVwNly1FI58p4iSHrz_rJL6WhhgNHyFzwzZ_JAkg0ZSj14GZarxlAdTEo/s320/DSC01683.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5524367006085935314" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivRqkQEnVGGeNdXhT1IMq8H13_75M05zYBk2k7ayaLIE9S0xWcSRqFXHxoHhf4mMpHXUbL7E-LIv4JVwNly1FI58p4iSHrz_rJL6WhhgNHyFzwzZ_JAkg0ZSj14GZarxlAdTEo/s1600/DSC01683.JPG"></a>VTA is not accepting Clipper... yet.</div><div><br /></div><div>The express light rail is an experiment whether operational changes can bring in additional riders, similar to how the Baby Bullet has transformed Caltrain. MTC is conducting a regional study of transit sustainability and recently <a href="http://apps.mtc.ca.gov/meeting_packet_documents/agenda_1549/TSP-Poject_Steering_Comm_9-10.pdf">found</a> that Caltrain has raised ridership and improved cost effectiveness compared to most transit agencies (including VTA) because of the Baby Bullet. Caltrain is now considering providing <a href="http://www.caltrain.com/Assets/__Agendas+and+Minutes/JPB/Board+of+Directors/Agendas/100710+JPB+Agenda.pdf">weekend Baby Bullet service</a>, despite deficit, to draw more riders.</div><div><br /></div><div>The light rail system however is very different from Caltrain, so the opportunities to speed up service are limited. Let's see whether skipping stops and having onboard wifi will help draw riders.</div></div>accountablevtahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14035365902584938185noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11021719.post-34738109257710429852010-09-22T12:03:00.000-07:002010-09-22T12:54:50.253-07:00AC Transit's armageddonTonight AC Transit Board of Directors will consider slashing weekend service by half, along with other cost cutting measures, to eliminate a budget shortfall resulting from not getting concessions from the agency's unions.<div><br /></div><div>AC Transit already had a service cut implemented in March, another one is scheduled next month. This proposed weekend reduction would occur in December. That would be a third service cut to occur within a year.</div><div><br /></div><div>By cutting the weekend service in half, service would only be available along the major corridors. There would be no weekend bus in Newark, Castro Valley, and most of San Lorenzo. Weekend service to San Francisco would be eliminated as well. The only way to get across the Bay would be BART and ferries. On the other hand, line 217 would stay and connect with VTA light rail in Milpitas.</div><div><br /></div><div>In addition, AC Transit plans to cut all overnight service except lines 800 and 801, which serve BART stations and are partially funded by bridge tolls (RM2).</div><div><br /></div><div>This budget crisis and its unions' unwillingness to give concessions is forcing the AC Transit to consider contracting as a cost saving option. Also on the agenda is a plan to begin closing an in-house paratransit division and transfer the work to private contractors. By doing so, AC Transit can save more than a million dollars per year. The agency is also contemplating contracting out transbay and school services, which are provided mostly during the peak hours. Under the current union work rules, peak hour only service result in higher cost due to overtime, even though the work itself can be less than full-time.</div>accountablevtahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14035365902584938185noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11021719.post-716833482420780692010-09-15T20:12:00.000-07:002010-09-15T21:50:06.244-07:00VTA ridership down, bus shelters, paratransitAs expected, VTA ridership fell because of the poor economy (which caused fare hikes, service cuts, and fewer people commuting due to unemployment). During the last fiscal year, bus ridership has gone down 7.3% compared to the year before, and Light rail ridership has gone down by about 9.3%. Ridership on paratransit has dropped by 12.8%, which was partly caused by an increase in fares for premium service to $16 per trip. Same-day and open return rides fell by 38% and 64% respectively.<div><br /></div><div>While VTA is not proposing any additional service cuts in the near future, you might see dirtier bus shelters. Most of the bus shelters in Santa Clara County were built and are currently maintained by Clear Channel, which sells advertising spaces on 75% of the bus shelters. Clear Channel pays VTA and the cities a portion of the ad revenue. The ad agency also pays contractors to clean the shelters.</div><div><br /></div><div>Because of the economy, VTA was not able to attract new proposals from ad agencies to replace and maintain the shelters. Instead VTA staff has recommended to extend the Clear Channel's contract for 2 years. As part of the contract extension, Clear Channel would reduce advertising to only half of all shelters (because it couldn't sell that many) and all the shelters would have fewer trash clean ups (because it cost them too much to pick up garbage illegally dumped by neighbors). </div><div><br /></div><div>Currently most shelters are cleaned weekly with some others cleaned 2 or 3 times per week. The contract extension would cut the total cleanings by 2/3. Some of the shelters would also have the trash bins removed.</div><div><br /></div><div>VTA really doesn't have a choice here. The ad agencies are not able to offer VTA better deals and VTA cannot afford to clean and maintain shelters on its own.</div><div><br /></div><div>For paratransit riders, most of them should be pleased to know that Outreach would continue to be VTA's paratransit broker for at least 2 years. Over the years, there were rumors that VTA would drop Outreach as its paratransit broker. In 2004, as part of Pete Cipolla's cost cutting move, VTA contracted with Orthopaedic Hospital in Los Angeles for paratransit eligibility verification. The contract drew criticisms from the disabled community because of its policy to require an in-person interview. VTA finally relented and Outreach resumed eligibility process in 2006.</div><div><br /></div><div>VTA staff is stating on-the-record that its relationship with Outreach has provided better customer service and helped save VTA money. With Outreach conducting the eligibility process, it has directed some people who are not eligible for paratransit to enroll with other transportation programs that Outreach provides (and not funded by VTA). Over the years, Outreach has received federal grants to replace paratransit vehicles which VTA otherwise would have to fund. Recently, Outreach has also coordinated with other non-profits to share vehicles for paratransit rides, which reduced per trip cost by more than half.</div><div><br /></div><div>Overall, Outreach helped control VTA's cost and improve farebox recovery. Currently the farebox recovery for paratransit is 10.7%. In comparison, farebox recovery for paratransit is 7.5% in Santa Cruz and East Bay, 8.7% in Sacramento, and 3.2% at SamTrans.</div>accountablevtahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14035365902584938185noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11021719.post-12548745522239294092010-08-21T13:07:00.000-07:002010-08-21T13:35:13.363-07:00Express light rail coming this OctoberFollowing the recommendations of the light rail COA conducted last year, VTA staff is planning to implement weekday express light rail service from South San Jose effective October 4. The new trips will start from Santa Teresa to Baypointe and will run non-stop from Ohlone/Chynoweth to Convention Center stations. All other trips will remain unchanged.<div><br /></div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7ZbY5I71nSsiwIBRO_UhWz4nSEgAxqdjfTy9ioosNthZQW2mJE4943R9fVK_UVMiNVNZoJcN9WHpolyw359TTVViukkAxp4EZqX5q5OvsiU7ZuIiXKCuY51EEATLrXgj5AX5o/"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7ZbY5I71nSsiwIBRO_UhWz4nSEgAxqdjfTy9ioosNthZQW2mJE4943R9fVK_UVMiNVNZoJcN9WHpolyw359TTVViukkAxp4EZqX5q5OvsiU7ZuIiXKCuY51EEATLrXgj5AX5o/s320/lrtnonstop.jpg" style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 223px;" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5507962047266716082" /></a><br /><div><br /></div><div>The express trips are expected to save 5-6 minutes between Ohlone/Chynoweth and Convention Center, which is about 36% for those traveling between those two stations, or 12% for those traveling between Santa Teresa and Baypointe.</div><div><br /></div><div><div>Northbound express trains leaving Santa Teresa: 7:16 a.m., 7:46 a.m., 8:16 a.m.</div><div><br /></div><div>Southbound express trains leaving Baypointe: 4:07 p.m., 4:37 p.m., 5:07 p.m.</div></div><div><br /></div><div>In addition, staff is also planning to extend some night trips (9:51 p.m. and 10:21 p.m.) departing from Winchester to Baypointe instead of Civic Center. This will help riders that need to connect with the late night light rail replacement bus leaving from Tasman to Mountain View.</div></div><div><br /></div>accountablevtahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14035365902584938185noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11021719.post-7512477802491094302010-08-12T22:13:00.000-07:002010-08-12T23:14:13.811-07:00SamTrans following suit on COAFollowing the footsteps VTA took a few years ago, SamTrans is now working a COA. In addition to finding ways to improve the bus system, the agency is hoping the COA would help improve SamTrans' financial stability. Because of the economic crisis and reduction of state transit funding, SamTrans has already eliminated most express bus routes. SamTrans' trouble is also affecting Caltrain, as the agency plans to eliminate operating subsidies (the remaining San Mateo County subsidy would only come from the 2004 Measure A sales tax) the next fiscal year.<div><br /></div><div>Although San Mateo County is located adjacent to Santa Clara County, SamTrans environment is vastly different from VTA. SamTrans primarily serves a narrow corridor centered on El Camino Real. Being a smaller county, SamTrans only collects a fraction of the sales tax revenue that VTA receives, yet SamTrans provides financial support for two regional rail systems.</div><div><br /></div><div>One of the possibilities for SamTrans is to provide deviated fixed route service. Under ADA, transit agencies are required to provide door-to-door paratransit service for disabled riders who cannot use regular transit. With deviated fixed route service, the bus would stay on a regular route to serve all riders and go off route to pick up and drop off qualified disabled riders. It would help meet the ADA mandate without providing segregated service. The bus agency in San Joaquin County <a href="http://sjrtd.org/maps_and_schedules/PDF/01-02.pdf">currently provides such service</a> and it is helping the agency to control cost on disabled service.</div>accountablevtahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14035365902584938185noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11021719.post-5449187147632638212010-07-22T00:08:00.001-07:002010-07-22T00:21:18.275-07:00Free VTA schedules on your iPhone/iPod TouchVashishtha Jogi, who developed the original iPhone/iPod Touch app for VTA, has released <a href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/san-jose-transit-lite/id380983340?mt=8">a free version of the same application supported by advertisement</a>. <div><br /></div><div>The full version with additional features is available for $1.99.</div><div><br /></div><div>The current version has updated July 12 schedules.</div>accountablevtahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14035365902584938185noreply@blogger.com1