With a black snapback hat, a gray hoodie and a new load of homework, graphic design freshman Adrian Cardona, a wheelchair user, wheels himself onto Bus 66 for his commute from school back to south San Jose.
The only problem is the ride can take up to an hour and a half longer this year, Cardona said.
Last semester, Cardona’s trip to and from school took an hour and a half, but with the Santa Clara Valley Transit Authority’s reduction of bus routes, it now takes almost three hours.
For some, public
transportation is the only option for commuting, but VTA’s discontinuance of transit routes and buses have made commuting to San Jose State much more difficult.
“I’ve been late to class. It’s pretty stressful enough to prepare for class, and on top of that you’re running late,” Cardona said as he waited for his transfer bus on First Street and Santa Clara Street.
The departure times displayed on VTA’s transit app and Google Maps have been out of sync as a result of the altered service, Cardona said, making it difficult to calculate the optimal time to leave his house.
“One thing that is inaccurate is the app. It tells me to leave at a certain time, but it’s not the actual time that the bus will be there,” Cardona said. “If you miss it, you wait up to 20 minutes for the next bus.”
While bus routes 66 and 73 had altered services in which 66 now serves the Milpitas BART station and 73 stops at Senter Road and Monterey Road, bus routes 65, 81 and 82 were discontinued. The Rapid 523 replaced the 323 and Rapid 500 replaced the 201 Dash to provide connections with the Berryessa BART station.
Sociology sophomore Tanisha Dave commutes to SJSU on bus route 42, which now only arrives every hour instead of every 45 minutes.
“I’m so annoyed about it honestly, it’s less convenient,” Dave said. “Just 15 minutes makes a significant difference because if you miss it, that’s it.”
Other students now have to transfer buses instead of taking a direct route.
“It used to be that I could just take one line and reach my workplace, but now I have to transfer,” English freshman Rose Zhu said. “I wait 10 minutes in between.”
VTA’s website and flyers announce “a more frequent bus network, improved bus routes and a new light rail line,” but several downtown San Jose commuters have questioned the new system’s benefits, which prioritizes high-ridership areas.
“[VTA is] trying to increase the frequency and the number of routes that run along those corridors; and then areas that have low ridership, they are kind of taking away routes,” said Tiffany Rodriguez, Associated Students Interim Manager of Transportation Solutions.
In addition to altering service to areas with high ridership, VTA established a new bus line to Berryessa Transit Center, foreseeing the opening of a new BART station.
Though this integration could transport more people from North San Jose to downtown, it has led others to think about prospective connections and disconnections.
“I know it’s going to keep changing and keep making edits. You don’t know how something is until you get into it,” said a VTA bus driver of four years who could not give their name because of VTA policy. “There were some pretty dead routes though, I’ll say that.”
The driver said that riders will have to adapt to changes when BART comes to Berryessa, which would most likely slash bus route 181 that currently connects SJSU to the Fremont area.
In 2018, bus route 181 changed from being free for SJSU students to $2.50.
When the new BART station is implemented, students who take route 181 will have to pay for BART, then use their clipper card from Berryessa to SJSU.
Monica Mallon, a student, transit advocate and co-leader of the San Jose Youth Climate Action Team of Silicon Valley, encourages other students to reach out to the VTA through letters, emails and public comments.
“If students are concerned about what is going on, they should start attending VTA board meetings,” said Mallon over text.
On Jan. 28, Santa Clara County voted against reallocating Measure B funds from highway projects to transit service.
“It is likely that more cuts will be made in the future if VTA does not increase their operations budget or improve efficiency by speeding up transit,” Mallon said. “This is a good opportunity for students to get involved and advocate for positive change.”
