VTA Light Rail 902

Do not take vta to levis. Waited on the platform for 45 minutes. No idea what their plan is, but its terrible

Have to give it one star. Would give it minus one of I could. Please please please never take light rail to Levi’s. Sat on it for thirty minutes while they let a handful of random people wander in after a concert. Total waste of time. Would have been much easier to sit in traffic. Horrific. Probably killed a polar bear in the time we sat here being yelled at by the driver. Let’s ban public transit once and for all.

Not bad overall but not much more dependable than the bus in terms of arriving on time.

Instead of helping the homeless with mental health care or a place to live, santa clara valley transit authority hands out clipper cards. The winchester-​mntn view train is ripe with dope fiends and almost always reeks of urine. it is disgusting that vta us fabric seats. Gimme plastic and disenfect that shit multiple times a day. Oh and theres rarely a restroom near the stops.

The hubs and I decided (well I decided and drug him along) to take the VTA into downtown San Jose for Valentine’s Dinner. He was of course resistant wanting to drive but I knew that traffic would be bad at 6:00pm on a Friday and finding and paying for parking would be irritating and costly. So as always I argued my point and won!
We parked at the Winchester station which has plenty of parking and the train was already in the station waiting so we bought our tickets ($ 8 for two round trips) and hopped on board. To our surprise the cars were actually very clean, well lit and smelled … «fresh»? Even though the train has quite a few stops on the way into downtown, the ride was relatively quick (20 minutes). There were only a few passengers for the first few stops but as were got closer to downtown the cars began to fill up with collage kids, folks getting off work and the random creeper for two.
When we were ready to head back into Campbell the ride was a little more «festive». By this time it was after 9pm and the cars were pretty full. Looking around there was alot of 40’s and 50is folks obviously coming back from date night with their friends and Valentine’s. Fun classy crowd. Not the typical homeless, creepy folks you think you’d find. Overall it was a mellow ride until … two very intoxicated teens got on board. One looked like he was going to puke at any moment and of course they chose to sit right behind the hubby and I. While the one hung his head low trying to keep what he drank in his tummy, the other decided to entertain us with he volger, loud, offensive rap. I work with inner city and troubled teens so not much shocks me but this was just completely offensive. I found the lyrics very sad since he was reading his words from a notebook so he’s probably rapping about his life or at least his outlook on life. It was demeaning to women, lots of swearing, talking about murder, drugs and beatings. What a horrible way to end a romantic evening!
Looking around I could see the woman across from us eying him in disgust and on the verge of saying something. I was hoping she wouldn’t. This kid was drunk, angry and probably would not take being told off very lightly. I could tell my husband was getting really irritated so we got up and just moved. This little episode was entertaining and extremely sad at the same time.
We made it safe and sound and back to the Winchester station along with quite a few other couples who came in from Los Gatos, Campbell and Saratoga. I really think it’s the best way to get into Downtown San Jose and by far the cheapest!

I’ve taken this line a few times now and it is pretty disappointing. The downtown Campbell station may be the only stop on the entire line where you won’t have to stand around with a bunch of homeless crazies while you wait for the train. The trains themselves are slow and filthy. When I’ve taken it to downtown SJ or the airport, on my way back I always get stuck standing around waiting for a late train. At least two southbound Santa Teresa trains come by for every Winchester train. I only gave it two stars because it still beats paying for parking near Diridon or at SJC.

I took the VTA Light Rail for the first time yesterday evening, travelling from the Downtown Campbell station to Paseo de San Antonio in downtown San Jose. The train was on time, clean, and quiet. Overall it was a pleasant experience and very inexpensive ($ 2.00 for my 8-​hour senior pass). And the train enabled me to avoid the hassles of rush-​hour traffic and downtown parking fees. The Campbell station is an attractive red brick building & there is plenty of free parking.

Pretty simple: it’s a public transport station. There are some bike lockers here, many bus terminals, and the Winchester-​Mountain View lightrail line ends/​starts here. The place isn’t too sketch at night and you’ll usually see a secuirty guard hired by VTA to keep an eye on the place.

Clean, quiet and safe!

Granted I usually only go a couple stops on Lightrail but it generally runs on time. Compared to Muni it’s an absolute dream!
It’s clean, well maintained, and doesn’t seem to have the long waits Muni is known for. I do agree that the doors could be open for a bit longer, but I’m young, I can run and I’ve gotten used to waiting in the general area they stop at.
Two dollars is asking a bit much for a five minute ride, but it’s comparable to SF transportation and much nicer for what you pay for. Heck they even announce which side you’ll get off of! Madness I tell you. Madness.

An easy to get to station from Saratoga. On weekdays you can take 37 from West Valley College directly to the Lightrail Station and on weekends traffic is not so bad and you can get to the station in about 10 minutes. Either way its a 10 minute ride. Or if you want breakfast in Los Gatos the 47 and 48 lines run 7 days a week.
I used lightrail to get to the airport. I got dropped off at West Valley College and wheeled my suitcase over to the waiting bus, I tagged my Clipper Card and then was on the way to the Winchester Light Rail. Usually I get a ride to the airport but on this day it did not work out. I had loads of time to make it to my flight so I didn’t care.
I then went to the waiting light rail and logged on to their free WiFi to listen to some music from my favorite France radio station while taking the 45 minute ride to Metro Airport
At Metro Airport I boarded Line 10 to SJC (Free bus) and was at Terminal B in 10 minutes. It was nice being able to take lightrail to SJC.
One could park free for 3 days at the Winchester Light Rail (a great way to avoid the costs of a taxi or parking). Another option is take a cab to lightrail and then go the rest of the way on public transportation.
I guess if you had a student/​staff parking permit you could park for a few days at West Valley College (by the bus stop). It says Parking Permits must be used 24 hours a day 7 days a week. One option is in the morning drive your car to West Valley College with your luggage and pay $ 2 for day parking and have your friend drive your car to their house and then drop it off the day when you return so you don’t have to worry about overnight parking.
On weekdays you can take Line 53 from West Valley to Caltrain or Lightrail to DIridon and take Caltrain to Milbrae and then BART to SFO.
I also take Lightrail to Downtown Campbell and Downtown San Jose. I can’t wait for VTA to open up the Vasona Station at Netflix hopefully soon so its a quicker ride down 85(:

I’ve lived in Campbell for nearly 2 years yet I have never taken the light rail … so I thought I better test it out and what better excuse than going downtown to check out the furry friends convention! The station was clean and buying the tickets was as easy as 1−2−3.
After spending years on buses and trains in Europe I was quite surprised to see how clean and on time the trains were here. I liked how the next stations name is displayed on the overhead displays in the carriage too. That’s going to come in handy when I am a bit worse for wear (hic!).
If you’re in a hurry this is not the form of transportation I would recommend but like I previously said, its clean, its on time (albeit slow) and the trains run quite regular — even on sunday nights.

Clean station, easy way to get to the Sharks game, and only takes about 10 minutes. Tonight was the first time I’ve used the light rail system in San Jose, and I was quite impressed with it. $ 4 to go to the game and back instead of paying $ 15+ for parking and dealing with that hassle. Only annoyance was the fact that we had to wait so long after the game before heading back to the origin.

Route 902 — Trip 41 & 42 are late majority of the time! The light rail arrives on average 10 minutes late to the Mountain View station. This causes me and other disgruntled riders to miss their Cal-​train connection several times a week! Horrible, horrible service…
If you experience the same consistent light rail delays as I do, then let the VTA know by filing a complaint at the URL below:

I have taken Light Rail many time to get to place including San Francisco, Oakland and Sacramento. I have not had a problem with the system, security or any passenger’s so far.
I will have to say the VTA Light Rain does get me there on time according to their schedules. Yes, the trains could be cleaner but as public transit goes, they are clean.
I am not giving this higher than three stars due to the cleanness of the train and the lack of communication with any employees with VTA, everything is automated, so unless I have some need for an employee of VTA, three stars is where my review will stay.

Takes forever to get to Mountain View after you leave Tasman… why all the speed changes???
Its dead after the folks at Cisco go home, VTA could run 1 train an hour out there & still not be busy!

I took the VTA Light Rail yesterday with my extended family to go see Christmas in the Park. You can purchase your tickets on the waiting dock and tickets vary based on age. Children under 5 ride free. We got on at the Evelyn station and took the light rail all the way to Convention Center. The light rail stops at every stop so if you’re in a hurry don’t take this. Make sure to plan your trip (s) accordingly. Make sure you have cash or a pass because the machine does not take debit or credit cards (machine says it’s coming soon).
You can listen to your headphones and throw your trash away according to what is allowed on the light rail. You cannot eat or drink on the light rail nor can you leave your unattended packages lying around.
There are a wide variety of characters on the rail. I’m pretty sure most of them don’t pay and they just ride for free. There was this cracked out dude who was playing the drums in his head. There were these super shady characters who looked like they just rode the train just because they felt like it. They didn’t have anyone checking for tickets. It seemed like all of the young adults and families were the only ones who paid for the light rail.
Apparently the VTA doesn’t have enough money to pay someone to walk up and down to check to see if everyone has tickets.
The good thing about the light rail is that it is clean. The one that we have in LA (aka the Gold Line, Blue Line, etc) is a lot more dirty.
If your stop is coming up, hit the stop request button on the side. Get up before you arrive at the desired station. They have the station’s name on the overhead display and they will announce it. If you need more time and you’re slow to get out contact the conductor.

No one TOLD ME the light rail train only keeps its doors open for literally only TEN SECONDS after stopping before closing. W-​T-​F.
We waited on a Sunday at the Diridon Station to take the light rail trolley back to the Winchester station after a race in downtown San Jose. The train came in, we immediately got up and started walking briskly to the train… we were within 3 – 5 feet of the doors and the doors close and the f*cking train leaves the station. I know the driver has a mirror on the side to see. There were 3 of us waiting and only 1 got on. When we got the next train 30 minutes later, I timed the the length the doors were open. Ten seconds. Pity the person with a walker, in a wheelchair or just plain old and slow – there would be NO WAY they would be able to get on the train. The asshole driver must have seen us but closed the doors and took off. And they wonder why ridership doesn’t go up. Eff it. I’m driving to the next race downtown. I-​am-​not-​impressed with light rail.
Note: apparently the train stops at the far end of the track to your right facing the rails at the end of the platform. If you are seated in the middle area of the platform, you would have to sprint like Carl Lewis to get your ass on the train before it takes off. We know that now… but they have lost two riders. Screw VTA light rail.

Okay, most of you know that I did not have a car for six years than in 2007 I got the red rocket and last year I thought it be a good idea to get back on the bus so to speak. Then I got a job and well now without a job, I am back to hoofing it on VTA.
Yes, I am close enough to Campbell that I trot over to the downtown Campbell spot and catch my daily dose of light rail b/​c for $ 61.25 I better use up this handy pass or else somebody is going to get hurt.
I really do agree with my other commentors and while I have taken a full hour to get from downtown SJ to Mtn View it was an hour to spare twice.
My big complaint is the piss smell that seems to haunt the cleanest of lightrails and buses.
but like Thomas said 1.75 one way is so cheaper and $ 5.75 for a day pass rocks about 50 + miles (Gilroy to Palo Alto).
I am seriously bummed how VTA is hijacking the Outreach and elderly …

Damn rent-​a-​cops!
LR security: passes, passes
Me: Here you go.
LR: this expired yesterday
Me: looked at the eco pass — I’m so sorry I didn’t even notice.
LR: Well you’re going to have to get off at this stop and buy a pass.
Me: Can’t we get off at the stop after that? If I have to wait for the next rail then I’ll be late for work and I’ll get written up.
LR: no.
So we get off, he makes me buy another one and asks for proof that I’m a student. WTF? My student ID isn’t enough proof? What does he want from me? Luckily I didn’t get a ticket this time, but he questioned me some more about school and told me I was now on a LIST. How ominous does that sound?
So I went and got another pass because my school gives them out, but I got written up for my trouble. Just another great day on the light rail.