Mahan says the quiet part out loud re: VTA's broken model

SJ Mayor Matt Mahan sits on the VTA Board of Directors. After supporting misguided VTA expansions like Eastridge and downtown SJ BART, perhaps Mahan is awakening to VTA's systemic woes. From an SJ Inside op-ed.

If $20 a day seems like a lot it is important to remember it is actually less than what we pay now per ride for VTA’s traditional transit services. In other words, we can provide most riders right now with faster and more personalized service using rideshare than with VTA. (And that is not even considering capital costs.)

VTA isn’t sitting on endless funding. The vast majority of the money comes from sales taxes, which already hit low-income families hardest. And when service is cut to fund payroll increases, those families pay the price again—with longer waits, fewer buses, and fewer opportunities.

Go Deeper:

• Part II of III: What SJ's public transportation needs to succeed
• SCC resident brands BART extension a disastrous, inefficient, top-dollar “rodeo”
• And again: Another state audit rips local govt

Read the whole thing here.

Follow Opportunity Now on Twitter @svopportunity

Sign up to receive updates on Opp Now articles

Email Address:

First Name:

Last Name:

We prize letters from our thoughtful readers. Typed on a Smith Corona. Written in longhand on fine stationery. Scribbled on a napkin. Hey, even composed on email. Feel free to send your comments to us at opportunitynowsv@gmail.com or (snail mail) 1590 Calaveras Ave., SJ, CA 95126. Remember to be thoughtful and polite. We will post letters on an irregular basis on the main Opp Now site.