Why People Don't Take the Bus

Answer: terrible service.

I take light rail + a bus every week day. On average, every 7 days the bus is a no-show. For the average person, the first time this happens, they are back in their car. The bus made them late for a meeting, late clocking in, or otherwise made them miss an important appointment.

VTA obviously doesn't take this problem seriously. I lodge a complaint with them, and nothing changes.

No-shows 9-17 and 9-18, Route 59

On Monday, September 17 Route 59 Westbound at Karina was a no-show for the 7:30 pickup. When I called to find out what happened, I was told that the driver was out that day. I asked the representative if they had on-call drivers, and was rewarded with a canned speech asking me if i wanted rates to increase. Well VTA, if the bus doesn't come, it doesn't matter how much the rates are now does it?

Further, the representative recommended that I call then at 6am to see if my bus would be running that day. First of all, if I call at 6am, it's already too late to catch an earlier bus. That means I need to get 1/2 hour earlier each day, just to call, so I can catch an earlier bus if mine isn't running. What a great suggestion.

On Tuesday September 18, the same bus was again a no-show. This day, the representative at VTA had no idea where the bus was or why it was missing ... "the transponder isn't working". Whatever that means.