From: VTA Board Secretary Sent: Monday, July 8, 2019 3:35 PM To: VTA Board Secretary <
[email protected]> Subject: From VTA: July 5 and July 8, 2019 Media Clips VTA Daily News Coverage for Fri., July 5 through Mon., July 8 1. Grand jury report blasts VTA for inefficiencies, poor oversight (Mountain View Voice) 2. Opinion: Why BART ridership has declined despite booming economy (Mercury News) 3. High Speed Rail Authority picks SF to SJ, Silicon Valley to Central Valley route (ABC 7 News) 4. Radical thinking needed to solve South Bay traffic woes (Mercury News) Grand jury report blasts VTA for inefficiencies, poor oversight (Mountain View Voice) Report: 'A case can be made for dismantling or phasing out the light rail system altogether' The taxpayer-funded agency in charge of offering transit solutions to Santa Clara County's traffic jams is currently embroiled in a mess of its own. The Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA), the multi-billion dollar agency that plans and operates the county's road and transit network, has been called out as one of the most inefficient organizations of its kind. A new county Civil Grand Jury report released last month found that VTA is spending more and accomplishing less than nearly every other comparable transit agency in the United States. Just over the last decade, the cost of running VTA's buses and light rail system has nearly doubled, mainly due to labor costs. Meanwhile, fewer riders appear to be using VTA transit services than they have in the last 30 years.