Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority

In 1969, Santa Clara County had three private bus companies, all of which were in serious financial trouble: Peninsula Transit, San Jose City Lines, and Peerless Stages.[2] The California Legislature passed a Santa Clara County Transit District Act in 1969.[2] However, the Act did not supply any funding for the new district. The formation of the Santa Clara County Transit District was rejected in 1969 and 1970 before it was finally approved by county voters on June 6, 1972.[2] The SCCTD took over the operations of the three old bus companies on January 1, 1973.[2]

On September 26, 1974, the county Board of Supervisors dissolved the Public Works Department.[3] Non-transit operations went into a new General Services Agency, while transit operations were placed into a new Santa Clara County Transportation Agency.[3]

In its early years the Santa Clara County Transportation District approached the task of replacing the bus fleet it inherited from its predecessors, which was in need of upgrades and repair. At first the district bought propane-fueled Twin Coaches[4] and Gilligs.[5] SCCTD switched to an all-diesel fleet after six buses went up in flames between December 1977 and April 1978.[6] At the time, critics referred to the buses as "rolling propane bombs."[6]

A 1986 Flxible Metro bus of Santa Clara County Transit

On March 6, 1976, Santa Clara County voters approved a half-cent sales tax, Measure A, to help support the Santa Clara County Transit District. In 1977, the primary Overhaul and Repair Facility was built at the Cerone Yard. Also in 1977, County Supervisors decided to change the bus fleet from propane to diesel and ordered 102 buses. By 1979, three additional bus yards were built and commissioned into service.[7]

Another issue was improving the diversity of its workforce. In December 1978, the SCCTD approved an affirmative action plan for the Transportation Agency. After a long legal battle, the U.S. Supreme Court by a 6-3 majority upheld the gender component of the plan against a civil rights challenge on March 25, 1987.[8]

Light rail trackway between Old Ironsides station and a temporary station at First and Younger, near the junction of the branch running west on Younger to VTA's Guadalupe Division, opened for revenue service as the Guadalupe line on December 11, 1987.[9][10][11] Expansion of the single line continued in sections until 1991 when the starter system was completed to Santa Teresa station in South San Jose including the Almaden spur line.[9]

On January 1, 1995, the SCCTD merged with the county Congestion Management Agency to become the SCVTA. For convenience, the acronym was later shortened to VTA.

In 1996, voters approved a half-cent general county sales tax, Measure B, and a companion list of transportation projects recommended to be funded with Measure B, called (1996) Measure A. The two measures were designed to adhere to the rule in the California State Constitution that requires a two-thirds supermajority to pass any special purpose sales tax, but only a majority vote to pass a general sales tax. The measure was challenged, but in 1998, the California Supreme Court ruled that the two measure system was valid.[12] The tax was to be collected for ten years.

In 2000, voters approved a 30-year extension of the 1996 sales tax to fund the Silicon Valley BART extension, which will eventually extend Bay Area Rapid Transit from its prior terminus in Fremont to Santa Clara. 2000 Measure A also includes funding for light rail extensions, bus service expansion, expansion and electrification of Caltrain service,[13] and connections from San Jose International Airport to BART, Caltrain and VTA light rail. The measure was placed on the ballot by the VTA and does not include funding specifically for highway projects. The measure passed with 70% of the vote. Revenues from the sales tax would not begin being collected until April 2006.

After 2000, due to the dot-com bust, existing revenue sources declined and VTA was forced to cut service and increase fares. VTA introduced a series of fare increases between 1998 and 2005.[14] VTA's farebox recovery is approximately 13% and the Authority is focused on increasing the ratio. VTA contemplated service reductions in 2003 [15] to address its budget problems.[16] Instead, VTA changed routes to respond to customer demands and by 2008 saw increased ridership numbers.[17]

In the process of obtaining the federal funding necessary to build the BART extension, the Federal Transit Administration issued a "Not Recommended" rating in January 2004.[18] The FTA was concerned about the ability of VTA to operate BART and other bus services at the same time. VTA continued to design BART and prepare the required environmental documents.[13]

In 2006, the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors placed a half-cent general sales tax increase for unspecified transportation projects along with other county services. It was advocated by supporters of the BART extension and labor groups.[19] The measure would have funded improvements to local hospitals, clinics, and transportation.[20] On June 6, 2006, voters defeated the measure by a margin of 58% to 42%.[20] In December 2006, the VTA board authorized $135 million in contract amendments to continue engineering work and environmental clearance on the extension,[21] with a proposal to bring a tax increase to operate the BART extension in 2008.[22]

VTA is building the first ten miles (16 km) phase of the Silicon Valley BART extension to the future Berryessa Transit Center in San Jose. Work continues for the second phase of the extension, which is proposed to include a 5-mile-long subway tunnel through downtown San Jose and extend the BART system from the planned Berryessa Extension terminus for approximately six miles, ending at-grade in Santa Clara near the Caltrain Station. VTA will cede operations of the line to the Bay Area Rapid Transit District upon completion.[23]

By a two-thirds majority, Santa Clara County voters approved Measure B in November 2008, implementing a 30-year, 1/8-cent local sales tax dedicated solely to funding the operating and maintenance costs associated with VTA's BART Silicon Valley Extension. The 2008 Measure B sales tax took effect in July 2012.[24]

In keeping with 2000 Measure A, VTA needed additional funding to deliver the full 16-mile (26 km) BART Silicon Valley Extension. Measure B, added to the November 2016 ballot, would raise $6.3 billion for transit projects via a half-cent increase in sales tax. This included up to $1.6 billion for the BART extension, as well as funds for Caltrain electrification, grade separation, and road improvements.[25][26] Voters passed the 2016 Measure B, which required a two-thirds majority vote.[27]

A lawsuit was filed in January 2017 by Cheriel Jensen to challenge the validity of the measure. It was initially dismissed with prejudice in July 2017,[28] but an appeal was subsequently filed in August 2017 to the 6th District Court of Appeal.[29] Pending a resolution, the funds collected by taxes introduced by 2016 Measure B were held in an escrow account.[30] The appeals court upheld the dismissal,[31] and on January 23, 2019, the state Supreme Court refused to hear the final appeal.[32]

Climate activists pushed the VTA to reallocate funds away from road projects and into more transit improvements, but were voted down at the San Jose City Council, which controls a majority of the VTA's board.[33]

VTA bus arriving at Foothill College in Los Altos Hills

VTA operates 50 regularly operating bus routes as of January 2020, including 37 regular bus routes, 3 rapid limited stop routes, and 5 express routes. Many of these routes connect to VTA light rail service, and Caltrain stations. In addition, VTA operates a special service for Levi's Stadium events, 8 school trip services, and 8 free shuttle routes connecting to ACE commuter rail services.

VTA's longest and most-used bus route is the 22, which connects VTA's Eastridge Transit Center in East San Jose with the Caltrain station in Palo Alto, which serves as a transfer point for SamTrans buses from San Mateo County. Line 22 is the only line with 24-hour, 7 days-per-week service, including night bus service as part of the regional All-Nighter Network. One side effect of Line 22's 24-hour schedule is that it doubles as a moving homeless shelter.[36][37] Line 22's fleet of coaches primarily consists of articulated low floorbuses.

On January 14, 2008, VTA implemented major updates in its bus service. Some routes became part of a community bus network that utilizes shorter buses and charges a cheaper fee than standard bus service. Others became part of a core network with headways of 15 minutes or less. Additionally, some bus routes underwent changes in routing, while other, less-used routes were deleted completely. The agency completed another bus service redesign on December 28, 2019.[38]

King station along Rapid 522

On July 5, 2005, VTA implemented its first rapid bus line along the VTA's busiest corridor. Modeled after the Metro Rapid service in Los Angeles, rapid bus Line 522 follows most of the Line 22 route, and features limited stops, headway based schedules, low floor fleet, and signal priority along El Camino Real. However, the current rapid bus service by VTA does not fully qualify as BRT, due to the lack of separate ticketing stations and platforms, distinctive vehicles, and special lanes (which make BRT mimic more of a light rail or tram route, instead of a bus route). Rather, it serves as a temporary rapid bus service until VTA officially opens a BRT transit corridor along the same route, which will upgrade the current 522 route.

Santa Clara–Alum Rock BRT
El Camino Real BRT to Palo Alto    Mountain View–Winchester Line to Winchester Transit Center Amtrak ACE Caltrain Diridon/Arena     Stevens Creek BRT to De Anza College Almaden    Alum Rock–Santa Teresa Line to Santa Teresa Santa Clara    Mountain View–Winchester    Alum Rock–Santa Teresa 6th Street Taylor & 10th/11th Berryessa/​North San José

VTA had planed to add distinctive vehicles, separate bus-exclusive lanes on Alum Rock Avenue, El Camino Real, and Stevens Creek Boulevard, ticketing platforms separate from other buses, and possible amenities such as wait time for successive BRT buses by 2016 (making BRT behave more like a light rail or tram system, instead of bus service). This would also upgrade the existing 522 bus service to an official BRT, and rename the entire VTA-operated BRT service to VTA Rapid, differentiating it from VTA's buses division.

This plan involved reducing general traffic lanes from 3 lanes in each direction which was unpopular and the plans were abandoned in January 2018.[39]

An additional rapid line, the 568, along the current route 68 is proposed to replace the current 168 express as part of the 2021 Service Plan.[40] This plan was put on hold to direct resources to reducing passenger pass-ups due to capacity limits during the COVID-19 pandemic.[41]

Paratransit service is door-to-door shuttle service available to disabled people that meet the requirements of the 1990 Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. MV Transportation, a for-profit agency, is the contract paratransit broker for VTA.

VTA released a request for information in July 2019 to solicit concepts for a grade-separated system that would connect Diridon Station with the San Jose International Airport (SJC), a distance of approximately 3 miles (4.8 km). Potential SJC airport connector alignments include either an underground route following existing streets, or an aerial route partially along State Route 87. The RFI also asked potential bidders to design a continuation to De Anza College along Stevens Creek Boulevard. One major goal of the RFI was to determine if new technologies could be used to deliver a solution "at significantly lower costs than traditional transit projects."[42][43]

VTA operates a vintage trolley service seasonally. It operates between Civic Center and the San Jose Caltrain stations. Information on this service can be found on VTA's website.