VTA LIGHT rail service is offered 7 days a week, 365 days a year. Light rail operates on 15-, 30- and 60-minute frequencies depending on time of day. FEBRUARY 2017 | MassTransitmag.com | Mass Transit | 11 Bernice Alaniz said they’ve been working with consultant Jarrett Walker to improve the frequency and convenience to make public transportation more desirable. In the Silicon Valley, in addition to the transportation network companies which have grown everywhere in popularity, there are many corporate shuttles. Th rough area studies, they’ve seen that 15 percent of the people on those shuttles would be on transit if those shuttles weren’t provided. VTA GENERAL Manager Nuria Fernandez has a background in government and major project management, which has prepared her to take on the largest project in the county, the Silicon Valley BART Extension. More on her background at MassTransitmag. com/12296309 THERE ARE 62 stations along VTA’s light rail system. “Th ere are all these options,” Alaniz said, “I think there’s a place for all of them … but how do we all work together to solve this mobility and congestion problem?” Currently VTA is 70 percent providing service where there’s the most potential and where there’s the highest ridership potential and about 30 percent is making sure it serves the south Santa Clara County, the smaller towns, the outlying areas to ensure those people have access. “Th e sweet spot was 85 percent service based on utilization and demand and 15 percent on that outlying coverage issue,” Alaniz said. “As we propose this, there are some places that will lose, but maybe public transit fi xed-route service isn’t the best solution for that area and how do we make some of those other delivery models and coordinate with them?” Th e Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) Silicon Valley project is the biggest project in the county and will be constructed in two phases. It involves a 16-mile extension of BART into the Silicon Valley, with six stations. It includes relocation of the existing Union Pacifi c Rail Road tracks and utilities, drainage improvements, grade separation projects and is being managed by VTA. Th e Berryessa Extension is a 10-mile, two station extension that is expected to begin passenger service by the end of 2017. Th e second phase will include a 5-mile subway tunnel through downtown San Jose and will extend BART an additional 6 miles and will include four stations. Part of the VTA system service redesign is incorporating that new service, and that will change the way VTA runs its trains. While a system can’t move its tracks, VTA will reallocate the way it runs its trains and its transfer points to create more direct routes to employment centers. “We’re going to have 23,000 people on opening day from the L BART system coming in to Santa
MassTransit_February_2017
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