The following is a list of Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority bus routes. Route numbers are classified as follows:
VTA embarked on a large network redesign that was implemented on December 28, 2019. This eliminated the DASH shuttle, Almaden Light Rail shuttle, limited-branded bus service, community bus service, and many express routes but established a core frequent network and increased service on numerous local bus routes.
In 2023, VTA's bus system had a ridership of 21,419,200, or about 75,500 per weekday as of the second quarter of 2024.
Santa Clara VTA operates numerous bus lines that operate on most major thoroughfares throughout Santa Clara County. Several of these lines converge at key transfer points, including Downtown San Jose, several Caltrain stations between Palo Alto and Gilroy, the Milpitas and Berryessa BART stations, and most light rail stations. Some lines also provide connecting services to other transit agencies, including AC Transit, Dumbarton Express, Monterey-Salinas Transit, and SamTrans.
Included in this listing are VTA's limited-stop Rapid services, as those levy the same cash fares as regular local buses.
Line Number | Direction | Terminals | Days of Operation | Schedule Information | Major Destinations | Notes | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
20 | East-West | Milpitas Milpitas station | Sunnyvale Sunnyvale station | Weekdays | Line 20 | Downtown Sunnyvale, North Santa Clara, Mission College | |
21 | East-West | Palo Alto Stanford Shopping Center | Santa Clara Santa Clara Transit Center | Daily | Line 21 | Palo Alto Transit Center, San Antonio station, San Antonio Center, Downtown Mountain View, Downtown Sunnyvale, Santa Clara University | |
22 | East-West | Palo Alto Palo Alto station | San Jose Eastridge Transit Center | Daily | Line 22 | Stanford University, San Antonio Center, Santa Clara Transit Center, Santa Clara University, SAP Center, Downtown San Jose, San Jose State University, Eastridge Mall |
|
23 | East-West | Cupertino De Anza College | San Jose Alum Rock Transit Center | Daily | Line 23 | Westfield Valley Fair, Santana Row, Downtown San Jose, San Jose State University |
|
25 | East-West | San Jose Valley Medical Center (short turn) | San Jose Alum Rock Transit Center | Daily | Line 25 | San Jose City College, Fruitdale station, Tamien station |
|
Cupertino De Anza College | |||||||
26 | East-West | San Jose Westgate Center | San Jose Eastridge Transit Center | Daily | Line 26 | Downtown Campbell, Pruneyard Shopping Center, Curtner station |
|
Saratoga West Valley College (select weekday trips) | |||||||
27 | East-West | Campbell Winchester Transit Center | San Jose Santa Teresa station | Daily | Line 27 | Downtown Los Gatos, Good Samaritan Hospital, Princeton Plaza, Westfield Oakridge, Blossom Hill station (light rail), Cottle station | |
31 | North-South | San Jose Eastridge Transit Center | San Jose Evergreen Valley College | Weekdays, Saturdays | Line 31 | Eastridge Mall | |
37 | East-West | San Jose Capitol station (light rail) | Saratoga West Valley College | Weekdays | Line 37 | Winchester Transit Center | |
39 | North-South | San Jose Eastridge Transit Center | San Jose The Villages | Daily | Line 39 | Eastridge Mall, Evergreen Village Square, Evergreen Valley College | |
40 | North-South | Mountain View Mountain View station | Los Altos Hills Foothill College | Daily | Line 40 | San Antonio Center, Googleplex, Shoreline Amphitheatre, Downtown Mountain View | |
Los Altos San Antonio Rd & Lyell St (Sundays & holidays) | |||||||
42 | North-South | San Jose Santa Teresa station | San Jose Evergreen Valley College | Weekdays | Line 42 | ||
44 | North-South | Milpitas Milpitas station | Milpitas McCarthy Ranch | Daily | Line 44 | Great Mall, Alder station |
|
47 | North-South | Line 47 | Downtown Milpitas, Milpitas Kaiser | ||||
51 | North-South | Mountain View Moffett Field | Cupertino De Anza College (short turn) | Weekdays | Line 51 | Downtown Mountain View, El Camino Hospital |
|
Saratoga West Valley College | |||||||
52 | North-South | Mountain View Mountain View station | Los Altos Hills Foothill College | Weekdays | Line 52 | Downtown Mountain View | |
53 | East-West | Sunnyvale Sunnyvale station | Santa Clara Santa Clara Transit Center | Weekdays | Line 53 | Downtown Sunnyvale, Santa Clara Kaiser, Santa Clara University | |
55 | North-South | Santa Clara Old Ironsides station | Cupertino De Anza College | Daily | Line 55 | Downtown Sunnyvale, Reamwood station |
|
56 | North-South | Sunnyvale Lockheed Martin Transit Center | San Jose Monterey Rd & Old Tully Rd | Daily | Line 56 | Apple Park, Westgate Center, Hamilton station, Tamien station | |
Sunnyvale Fair Oaks Ave & Tasman Dr (Weekends & holidays) | |||||||
57 | North-South | Santa Clara Old Ironsides station | Saratoga West Valley College | Daily | Line 57 | California's Great America, Levi's Stadium, Mission College, Westgate Center |
|
59 | North-South | San Jose Baypointe station | Santa Clara Saratoga Av & Stevens Creek Bl | Daily | Line 59 | Old Ironsides station, California's Great America, Levi's Stadium, Mission College, Santa Clara Transit Center, Santa Clara University, Westfield Valley Fair | |
60 | North-South | Milpitas Milpitas station | Campbell Winchester Transit Center | Daily | Line 60 | Metro/Airport station, San Jose International Airport, PayPal Park, Santa Clara Transit Center, Santa Clara University, Westfield Valley Fair, Santana Row, Downtown Campbell |
|
61 | North-South | San Jose Sierra Rd & Piedmont Rd | Campbell Good Samaritan Hospital | Daily | Line 61 | Berryessa station (light rail), Berryessa/North San José station, San Jose Civic Center, San Jose City College |
|
64A | North-South | San Jose McKee Rd & White Rd | San Jose Ohlone/Chynoweth station | Daily | Line 64A | McKee station, San Jose State University, Downtown San Jose, SAP Center, San Jose Diridon station, Almaden Valley, Willow Glen, Westfield Oakridge |
|
64B | San Jose Almaden Expwy & Camden Ave | Line 64B | McKee station, San Jose State University, Downtown San Jose, SAP Center, San Jose Diridon station, Princeton Plaza, South San Jose, Almaden Valley |
| |||
66 | North-South | Milpitas Dixon Rd & Milpitas Blvd | San Jose Santa Teresa station | Daily | Line 66 | Milpitas station, Great Mall, San Jose State University, Downtown San Jose, Capitol station (Caltrain), Snell station |
|
68 | North-South | San Jose Diridon station | Gilroy Gilroy station | Daily | Line 68 | Downtown San Jose, San Jose State University, Capitol station (Caltrain), Cottle station, Santa Teresa station, Morgan Hill station, San Martin station |
|
70 | North-South | San Jose Berryessa/North San José station (short turn) | San Jose Capitol station (light rail) | Daily | Line 70 | Hostetter station, Eastridge Mall |
|
Milpitas Milpitas station | |||||||
71 | North-South | Milpitas Milpitas station | San Jose Eastridge Transit Center | Daily | Line 71 | Eastridge Mall |
|
72 | North-South | San Jose 2nd St & Bassett St | San Jose Monterey Rd & Senter Rd | Daily | Line 72 | Downtown San Jose, San Jose State University, South San Jose |
|
73 | Line 73 | ||||||
77 | North-South | Milpitas Milpitas station | San Jose Eastridge Transit Center | Daily | Line 77 | Berryessa/North San José station, Eastridge Mall |
|
83 | North-South | San Jose Ohlone/Chynoweth station | San Jose Almaden Expwy & McKean Rd | Weekdays | Line 83 | Westfield Oakridge, Almaden Valley |
|
84 | North-South | Gilroy Gilroy station | Gilroy St. Louise Hospital | Daily | Line 84 | Gilroy Outlets |
|
85 | North-South | Daily | Line 85 | West Gilroy | |||
86 | North-South | Gilroy Gilroy station | Gilroy Gavilan College | Weekdays | Line 86 | ||
87 | North-South | Morgan Hill Civic Center | Morgan Hill Burnett Ave at Sobrato High School | Weekday Peak Periods | Line 87 | Morgan Hill station | |
89 | North-South | Palo Alto California Avenue station | Palo Alto V.A. Hospital | Weekdays | Line 89 | Stanford Research Park |
Currently, the VTA operates one arterial rapid transit line, a precursor to Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) service, the Rapid 522 . This service operates along one of Santa Clara County's major commercial corridors, El Camino Real, between Palo Alto and East San Jose. It stops at 30 intersections and transit centers that provide timed and extensive connections to other bus and light rail services, a far fewer number of stops than line 22 that operates on the same corridor.
On January 6, 2014, VTA expanded the Rapid 522 hours on weekdays and Saturdays to end at approximately 10:30 pm while introducing a new Sunday schedule operating between 9 am and 6 pm. [1]
This service operates daily; for service outside of operating hours, use Line 22.
Similar to the BRT systems for which it is a precursor, Rapid Line 522 utilizes queue-jump lanes, traffic signal priority, and enhanced bus stop designs that provide riders with quicker service to and from major attractions in Palo Alto, Mountain View, Sunnyvale, Santa Clara, and San Jose.
VTA started construction in March 2014 on the Santa Clara-Alum Rock Bus Rapid Transit Project , which will upgrade the section of the Rapid 522 between Eastridge Transit Center and the SAP Center at San Jose to BRT service. The new BRT service will feature special hybrid vehicles with Wi-Fi on board, enhanced stations, dedicated lanes on Alum Rock, transit signal priority, electronic real-time information message signs, off-board payment and all-door boarding to speed up stops, and service every 10 minutes at peak times.
In the future, VTA has plans to upgrade the rest of the Rapid 522 route to BRT service with the El Camino Real Bus Rapid Transit Project .
VTA replaced Express line 168 with line 568 in October 2021 due to many passenger complaints that line 68 took too long to get between Gilroy and San Jose. Line 568 is a weekday service that has fewer stops than line 68 with quicker travel times between Gilroy and San Jose, but utilizes Monterey Road rather than using local freeways like most Express routes except for most of Morgan Hill. [2] [3]
Line Number | Direction | Terminals | Days of Operation | Schedule Information | Major Destinations | Notes | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Rapid 500 | North-South | San Jose Berryessa/North San José station | San Jose Diridon station | Daily | Line 500 | Downtown San Jose, San Jose State University |
|
Rapid 522 | East-West | Palo Alto Palo Alto station | San Jose Eastridge Transit Center | Daily | Line 522 | Stanford University, San Antonio Center, Santa Clara Transit Center, Santa Clara University, SAP Center, Downtown San Jose, San Jose State University, Alum Rock station, Eastridge Mall | |
Rapid 523 | East-West | Sunnyvale Lockheed Martin Transit Center | San Jose San Jose State University | Daily | Line 523 | Lockheed Martin, Downtown Sunnyvale, De Anza College, Westfield Valley Fair, Santana Row, Downtown San Jose, San Jose State University | |
Rapid 568 | North-South | San Jose Diridon station | Gilroy Gilroy station | Weekdays | Line 568 | San Jose State University, Downtown San Jose, Downtown Morgan Hill, San Martin, Downtown Gilroy |
|
VTA's Express Bus routes operate along many of Santa Clara County's freeways, including Highway 85, Highway 237, Interstate 280 and U.S. Route 101. The buses used on these lines are suburban-style Gillig low-floor buses that have Wi-Fi capability on board.
These services mainly operate during weekday peak periods only, operating in the typical commute direction.
Due to the large subsidy per rider to operate express bus routes, VTA eliminated most express bus routes in the December 28, 2019 network redesign, except for those serving the Stanford Industrial Park, which funded the cost of operating the service. Fares are higher than standard bus fares.
Line Number | Direction | Terminals | Days of Operation | Schedule Information | Notes | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Express 101 | North-South | San Jose SR 85 at Camden Av Park and Ride | Palo Alto Stanford Industrial Park (Page Mill Rd & Hansen Wy) | Weekdays | Line 101 |
|
Express 102 | North-South | San Jose Santa Teresa station | Palo Alto Stanford Industrial Park (Page Mill Rd & Hansen Wy) | Weekdays | Line 102 |
|
Express 103 | East-West | San Jose Eastridge Transit Center | Palo Alto Stanford Industrial Park (Page Mill Rd & Hansen Wy) | Weekdays | Line 103 |
|
Express 104 | East-West | Milpitas Milpitas station | Palo Alto Stanford Industrial Park (Deer Creek Rd at VMware) | Weekdays | Line 104 |
|
Express 121 | North-South | Gilroy Gilroy station | Sunnyvale Lockheed Martin Transit Center | Weekdays | Line 121 |
|
VTA operates a collection of routes timed specifically to serve students at local high schools. These services only operate around bell times when schools are in session.
Line Number | School Served | Other Destinations | Schedule Information | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
School 246 | Milpitas Milpitas High School | Central Milpitas | School Trippers | |
School 247 | Central Milpitas | |||
School 255 | Sunnyvale Fremont High School | North Sunnyvale |
| |
School 256 | San Jose Willow Glen High School | Central San Jose, Tamien station | ||
School 270 | San Jose Independence High School | East San Jose, Hostetter station |
| |
School 287 | Morgan Hill Live Oak High School | Morgan Hill, San Martin | ||
School 288 | Palo Alto Gunn High School | Central Palo Alto |
| |
School 288L | Central Palo Alto | |||
School 288M | Central Palo Alto |
The VTA, in conjunction with many private entities and high-tech companies, as well as in coordination with Altamont Corridor Express, operates free shuttles to and from various light rail stations and Great America Station to serve businesses in Sunnyvale, Mountain View, Milpitas, Santa Clara, and San Jose. Passengers can ride these shuttles for free as funding for these services are provided by grants from high-tech companies and business associations based in Santa Clara County, as well as from the Bay Area Air Quality Management District. These mainly operate weekdays only (except holidays).
All shuttles listed below originate from Great America Station and are operated in coordination with ACE train arrival times in the morning peak and departure times in the afternoon peak.
For a map of these services, click here
Line Color | Direction | Origin/Destination | Companies served | Schedule Information | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
ACE Gray South Sunnyvale | North-South | Sunnyvale Kifer Rd & Uranium Dr | Gray Line |
| |
ACE Green North Santa Clara | East-West | Santa Clara America Center Dr | Green Line |
| |
ACE Orange Mountain View/Palo Alto | East-West | Palo Alto E Meadow Dr & Meadow Cir | Orange Line |
| |
ACE Purple West Milpitas | East-West | Milpitas McCarthy Ranch | Purple Line |
| |
ACE Red North Sunnyvale | East-West | Sunnyvale Lockheed Martin Transit Center |
| Red Line |
|
ACE Yellow South Santa Clara | North-South | Santa Clara Scott Blvd at Intel |
| Yellow Line |
|
ACE Brown North San Jose/Light Rail | North-South | San Jose N First St & Montague Expwy |
| Brown Line |
|
ACE Violet East Milpitas | North-South | San Jose Lundy Ave & Commerce Dr |
| Violet Line |
|
Line Number | Direction | Terminals | Days of Operation | Schedule Information | Notes | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
SCVMC | North-South | San Jose Diridon station | San Jose Santa Clara Valley Medical Center (SCVMC) | Weekdays | SCVMC Shuttle |
|
The VTA collaborates with other regional agencies that operate into and out of Santa Clara County with inter-agency transfers and commuter benefits. However, these lines do not use VTA's own buses nor levy VTA's bus fares; instead, these are operated by a consortium of operators, in which the agency is a participant, and the consortium sets the fares for such services.
Line Name | Direction | Terminals | Days of Operation | Communities Served | Schedule Information | Notes | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Santa Clara County Terminal | Regional Terminal | ||||||
Highway 17 Express | North-South | San Jose San Jose State University (weekdays) | Santa Cruz Santa Cruz Metro Center | Daily | San Jose, Scotts Valley, Soquel, Santa Cruz | Highway 17 Express |
|
San Jose Diridon station | |||||||
Dumbarton Express Line DB | East-West | Palo Alto Stanford University | Union City Union City station | Weekdays | Palo Alto, Menlo Park, Newark, Union City | Line DB |
|
Dumbarton Express Line DB1 | East-West | Palo Alto Stanford Research Park (Deer Creek Rd) | Union City Union City station | Weekdays | Palo Alto, Newark, Union City | Line DB1 |
|
Monterey-Salinas Transit Line 59 | North-South | Gilroy Caltrain station | Salinas Intermodal Transit Center | Weekdays | Salinas, Prunedale, Gilroy | MST Line 59 |
|
Caltrain is a commuter rail line in California, serving the San Francisco Peninsula and Santa Clara Valley. The southern terminus is in San Jose at the Tamien station with weekday rush hour service running as far as Gilroy. The northern terminus of the line is in San Francisco at 4th and King Street. Caltrain has express, limited, and local services. There are 28 regular stops, one limited-service weekday-only stop, one weekend and holiday-only stop (Broadway), and one stop that is only served on football game days (Stanford). While average weekday ridership in 2019 exceeded 63,000, impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic have been significant: in June 2024, Caltrain had an average weekday ridership of 24,580 passengers.
The Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority, more commonly known simply as the Valley Transportation Authority (VTA), is a special district responsible for public transit services, congestion management, specific highway improvement projects, and countywide transportation planning for Santa Clara County, California. It serves San Jose, California, and the surrounding Silicon Valley. It is one of the governing parties for the Caltrain commuter rail line that serves the county. In 2023, the VTA's public transportation services had a combined ridership of 26,610,000, or about 91,400 per weekday as of the second quarter of 2024.
Dumbarton Express is a regional public transit service in the San Francisco Bay Area connecting Alameda, San Mateo, and Santa Clara Counties via the Dumbarton Bridge, the system's namesake. The bus service is funded by a consortium of five transit agencies. Dumbarton Express is administered by AC Transit and operated under contract by MV Transportation.
The Blue Line is a light rail line in Santa Clara County, California, and part of the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) light rail system. It serves 26 stations entirely in San Jose proper, traveling between Baypointe and Santa Teresa stations, stopping at San Jose International Airport, Downtown San Jose, San Jose State University, and the Children's Discovery Museum of San Jose along the way. The line connects to Caltrain at Tamien. The Blue Line is one of three lines in the VTA light rail system; the other two being the Green Line and the Orange Line. It runs for 17 miles (27.4 km), making it the system's longest line.
San Jose Diridon station is the central passenger rail depot for San Jose, California. It also serves as a major intermodal transit center for Santa Clara County and Silicon Valley. The station is named after former Santa Clara County Supervisor Rod Diridon Sr.
People in the San Francisco Bay Area rely on a complex multimodal transportation infrastructure consisting of roads, bridges, highways, rail, tunnels, airports, seaports, and bike and pedestrian paths. The development, maintenance, and operation of these different modes of transportation are overseen by various agencies, including the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans), the Association of Bay Area Governments, San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency, and the Metropolitan Transportation Commission. These and other organizations collectively manage several interstate highways and state routes, eight passenger rail networks, eight trans-bay bridges, transbay ferry service, local and transbay bus service, three international airports, and an extensive network of roads, tunnels, and bike paths.
Alum Rock Transit Center is an at-grade intermodal transit center located at the intersection of South Capitol Avenue and Nuestra Castillo Court in the Alum Rock district of San Jose, California. The light rail station is located in the center median of South Capitol Avenue and is the current eastern terminus for the Orange Line of the VTA light rail system. VTA buses serve the transit center both on South Capitol Avenue and in a nearby bus plaza located adjacent to the light rail station.
Tamien station is an intermodal passenger transportation station in the Tamien neighborhood of central San Jose, California, served by the VTA light rail and the Caltrain commuter rail line, along with bus connections. The station has two elevated island platforms, one for each service. The two platforms are connected by a walkway at ground-level that is below the two platforms. The light rail platform is located in the center median of the State Route 87 freeway just north of the Alma Avenue overpass. The Caltrain platform is located just to the east, between Lick Avenue and State Route 87 and just north of Alma Avenue.
Santa Teresa station is a light rail station operated by Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA). This station is the southern terminus of the Blue Line of the VTA light rail system. It was built in the late 1980s as part of the original Guadalupe Line, the first segment of light rail that stretched to Tasman in northern San Jose.
Ohlone/Chynoweth–Almaden was a short light rail route operated by Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) in southern San Jose, California, with three stops. Service into the Almaden Valley was also provided by VTA bus route 13, which also entirely duplicates the light rail service. VTA proposed to end service on the Ohlone/Chynoweth–Almaden line in late 2019, and officially announced plans to terminate service on the line and replace it with bus 64a on December 28, 2019.
Santa Clara Transit Center is a railway station in downtown Santa Clara, California. It is served by Caltrain, Amtrak Capitol Corridor, and Altamont Corridor Express (ACE) trains. It is the planned terminus for the Silicon Valley BART extension into Santa Clara County on the future Green and Orange Lines. The former station building, constructed in 1863 by the San Francisco and San Jose Railroad, is used by the Edward Peterman Museum of Railroad History.
The San Benito County Local Transportation Authority (LTA) is the public transportation agency of San Benito County, California, immediately south of Silicon Valley (Santa Clara County). LTA provides fixed route inter-county and intra-city service as San Benito County Express; the Intracounty routes connect destinations in Hollister and San Juan Bautista to Gilroy in Santa Clara County, while the Tripper routes connect destinations within Hollister. LTA also provides demand-responsive dial-a-ride service within selected areas of northern San Benito County as County Express On-Demand.
Gilroy station is a Caltrain station located in Gilroy, California, United States. It is the southern terminus of the South County Connector service, and is only served during weekday rush hours in the peak direction, with trains going toward San Jose in the morning and returning southbound in the evening. The station building was constructed by the Southern Pacific Railroad in 1918 and restored in 1998. Future plans call for extended Amtrak Capitol Corridor service, as well as California High-Speed Rail trains, to also stop at Gilroy. The station was named to the National Register of Historic Places in 2019 as Gilroy Southern Pacific Railroad Depot.
The VTA light rail system serves San Jose and nearby cities in Santa Clara County, California. It is operated by the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) and has 42.2 miles (67.9 km) of network comprising three main lines on standard gauge tracks. Originally opened on December 11, 1987, the light rail system has expanded since then, and currently has 60 stations in operation.
The Highway 17 Express is an Amtrak Thruway route provided by a consortium of entities that provides regional service between San Jose and Santa Cruz County in the South Bay of the San Francisco Bay Area. The service is so called because it travels on California State Route 17. It is operated by the Santa Cruz Metropolitan Transit District.
The Eastridge Transit Center is a Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) bus terminal located at the Eastridge Mall in the Evergreen District of San Jose, California. The station is located alongside Capitol Expressway near Tully Road.
Milpitas station, also known as Milpitas Transit Center, is an intermodal transit station located near the intersection of East Capitol Avenue and Montague Expressway in Milpitas, California, United States. The station is served by the Orange and Green lines of Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART), the Orange Line of the VTA light rail system, VTA buses, and AC Transit buses.
Bus rapid transit creep is a phenomenon where bus systems that fail to meet the requirements for being considered "true bus rapid transit" are designated as bus rapid transit regardless. These systems are often marketed as a fully realized bus rapid transit system, but end up being described as more of an improvement to regular bus service by proponents of the "BRT creep" term. The Institute for Transportation and Development Policy published several guidelines in an attempt to define what constitutes the term "true BRT", known as the BRT Standard, in an attempt to avert this phenomenon.
The Orange Line is a light rail line in Santa Clara County, California, and part of the VTA light rail system. It serves 26 stations in the cities of Mountain View, Sunnyvale, Santa Clara, Milpitas, and San Jose, traveling between Downtown Mountain View and Alum Rock stations, stopping at Ames Research Center, Great America, and Levi's Stadium along the way. The line connects to Caltrain at Mountain View and to the Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) system at Milpitas station. The line runs for 20 hours per day on weekdays, with headways of 15 minutes for most of the day. On weekends, the train runs at 20-minute headways for most of the day. After around 8 pm on weekdays and weekends trains run at 30-minute headways.