Head Of Santa Clara VTA Determined To Speed Up Service
SAN JOSE (KCBS)—The head of the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority wants to speed up the light-rail train system.
VTA General Manager Nuria Fernandez , who was hired last October was the former COO of the New York Metropolitan Transit Authority, thinks rail service in Silicon Valley can be sped up.
"It's a very effective system; the problem is it's just too slow, just because of design decisions made given funding 28-plus years ago, " she said. "So there's an opportunity to institute a series of light-rail efficiency projects that would help us speed up the commute," she said.
VTA light rail slows to about 10 mph through downtown San Jose, she said. "That just adds minutes to the commute." She said if it were a straight track, underground or if the rail used a different type of alignment that things could run much smoother.
Meanwhile, she's been accepting feedback from riders through a customer survey. VTA was widely criticized for service to and from the 49ers Levi's Stadium during the home opener and a soccer match.
According to Fernandez there has been 320,000 more trips on light rail—an increase of three percent over the last 12 months.
Over the last year, the number of trips on light rail has increased by three percent.