Future of

VTA Light Rail

SPUR Presentation 11/12/2014

Almaden

Opening: 1991

1.1 miles

2 stations

Guadalupe

Opening: 1987-1991

19.6 miles

29 stations

Light Rail System: Guadalupe & Almaden

Tasman West

Opening: 1999

8.1 miles

16 stations

Light Rail System: Tasman West

Light Rail System: Tasman East/Capitol

Tasman East/Capitol

Opening: 2001, 2004

8.1 miles

11 stations

Vasona

Opening: 2005

5.3 miles

8 stations

Light Rail System: Vasona

Light Rail System

Light Rail System Facts

Average Daily Riders: 35,000

Boardings per revenue hour: 78.8

On-Time Performance: 84.5%

Track Miles: 79.6

Stations: 62

Park and Ride Lots: 21

Parking Spaces: 6,469

Vehicles: 100

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VTA Light Rail Ridership Standard (310 Daily Boardings)

FY2014 Ridership

Tasman East Tasman West North FirstDowntown San Jose Vasona Guadalupe Almaden

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Peer Comparison – Boardings and Route Miles

-

10

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20,000

40,000

60,000

80,000

100,000

120,000

140,000

160,000

180,000

200,000

VTA Salt Lake City Sacramento Denver Portland

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Average Weekday Boardings LRT Route Miles

1,0101,420 800 1,160Boardingsper Mile 460

Source: NTD 2010

Peer Comparison – Farebox Recovery Ratio

Source: NTD 2010

National Comparison of Light Rail and Heavy Rail systems

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VTA Light Rail Facts

Light Rail Bus

1 Driver for up to 500 people (one 3-car train)

1 Driver for up to 90 people (one full articulated Bus)

368,000 mile between chargeable accidents

73,000 miles between chargeable accidents

$5.95 Cost per passenger Trip $6.75 Cost per passenger Trip

53 passenger trips per revenue hour 27 passenger trips per revenue hour

85% on-time performance 86% on-time performance

4.3 passenger concerns per 100,000 boardings

20.2 passenger concerns per 100,000 boardings

Onboard Bike Storage Offboard Bike Storage

Onboard wifi Wifi on limited Express routes

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< 25

25 - 50

50 - 100

100 - 200

> 200

DestinationOrigin Both

Transit Competitive Factor

Source: Comprehensive Operations Analysis, land use data 2005

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Single TrackSegments

Merge Points

Light Rail System: Constraints

At-gradeIntersections

Future Transit Connections

Existing Transit Connections

Downtown Transit Mall

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2010 Light Rail Systems Analysis

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• Project began in September 2008

• Light Rail Comprehensive Operations Analysis. Comprehensive evaluation of the existing light rail system -- focus on making the system as effective and efficient as possible

• Operations and capital improvements analyzed and tested

• Evaluation of the Light Rail system to handle projected passenger growth to the year 2018 and 2035

Project Background

15

2010 Study Goals

• Increase Ridership• Calculate changes in ridership vs. No Build

• Speed up the System• Compute differences in average operating speed

• Spend Money Wisely• Check whether proposed scenarios lead to improved farebox recovery ratio

• Be More Relevant to the Needs of the Valley• Review how specific ridership gains compare to Market Analysis

opportunities

Capital Improvements

Grade Separation of North First Street at Montague Expressway

Fencing on North First Street ROW

Pocket Track at Ohlone/Chynoweth

Hostetter Turnback Tracks

New Great America Station

SJSU Extension to 11th Street

Install ATP/S Guadalupe Hwy

Almaden Branch Double Track

Mountain View Double Track

Vasona Double Track – Diridon to Fruitdale

Vasona Double Track – Bascom to Campbell

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Recommended Improvements

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Recommended Operating Plan

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Trip Key ImprovementsExisting

Travel Time

With LRT Efficiency

Project

Travel Time Savings

Estimateddrive time

2018

Ohlone/ Chynoweth to

Convention CenterAll Day Express Service 13 min 9 min

30% travel time

reduction13 min

Almadento

Santa Clara

No transfer required at Ohlone/Chynoweth

26 min 20 min 23% travel

time reduction

26 min

Milpitas (BART) to

Great America (49ers Stadium)

New direct connection, No transfer required at Tasman, Signal Timing

improvements

23 min 16 min30% Travel

time Reduction

17 min

Travel Times with LRT Efficiency Projects

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Express• Opened Oct 4th 2010 • Increased Ridership (490 per

weekday)• Wifi a big attractor

• Operates 13 minutes after local

• Travel time savings – 4 minutes

• No capital costs

• +$560,000 annual op. costs

Post Study Progress

27%

29%

25%

64%

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70%

WI-FI

Faster Service

Very Important

Somewhat Important

• 52% say availability of Wi-Fi is very/somewhat important in their decision to

use the Express service

• 93% say the faster trip/schedule is very/somewhat important in their decision

to use the Express Service

• 16% started riding VTA light rail because express service was added

• 42% changed from using the regular service to only using the express

• In Summer 2011 VTA added Wifi to all trains

Light Rail Express Passenger Feedback

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Santa Clara Pocket Track

Pocket Track is operationally complete

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Mountain View Double Track

Construction to be completed before the end of 2015

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Levi’s Stadium Service

Levi’s Stadium Service

• Average 8,000-9,000 Boardings on each game day

24

Future of

Light Rail

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Near-Term Focus: it is all about speed

• VTA has established "increasing ridership" as one of its top five 2014 priorities

• Land use density continues to intensify along the light rail corridors

• VTA is becoming an urban light rail system where demand will increase along with traffic congestion levels along the light rail corridor

• In the future light rail will play a greater role in meeting the changing needs of Santa Clara Valley

• The system needs more flexibility to respond to different ridership demands

• Timing is a critical component when it comes the the potential success of capital improvements

Grade separate N. First St. and Montague

Double Track Vasona

Opportunities for Speed Improvements

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Intersections onNorth First Street

Downtown San Jose

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At-Grade Intersections

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At-Grade Intersections

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North First Street Improvements

Example of Gated and Fenced Light Rail Intersection

Expo Line Los Angeles

Current maximum speed – 35 mph

Maximum Speed after improvements – 45 mph• Improvements include fencing and gates at select intersections• Required by CPUC General Order 143-B• VTA will conduct an intersection-by-intersection analysis

Intersections onNorth First Street

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Montague Grade Separation

Example: Great Mall Parkway and Montague

N. 1st and Montague• 32% of all trains delayed

• Average Delay of 44 seconds

• High automobile traffic volumes

Montague Grade Separation

Delay

(Sec/Veh)PM LOS

Existing 94.4 F

2040 215.7 F

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Downtown San Jose

Downtown San Jose Transit Mall

• Maximum Speed 10mph (slowest system wide, see string chart below)

• Embedded track, hard to distinguish from sidewalk

• Multiple intersections and junctions

Downtown San Jose

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Downtown San Jose

Bollard ExamplesEdmonton and Minnesota

Bollards can be used to create separation between tracks and sidewalk

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Downtown San Jose

Curb Alternatives Phoenix

• Separation can also be created with Curbs or other types of treatment

• Applications of New Technology

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Vasona Corridor

Freight Rail TracksVTA Tracks

Track SchematicVasona Corridor Improvements

- Vasona Corridor has two single tracked segments which contribute to delays systemwide

- VTA tracks are adjacent to Freight Rail tracks throughout corridor

- Platforms only allow for two-car trains (rest of the system can accommodate three-car trains)

Vasona Double Track

Near-Term Future Considerations

Near-Term Projects (To be completed before BART to Berryessa opening)

Complete Mountain View Double tracking (currently on track to be completed before the end of 2015)

Update Transit Signal Priority throughout system (Scheduled to begin construction by mid 2015)

Implement a new service plan (to happen in conjunction with the Milpitas BART station opening)

Mid-Term Projects (VTA would like to start these soon, but no specific timeframe)

Fencing on North First street to increase maximum speeds

Speed improvements in Downtown San Jose

Long-Term Projects (The projects will take a significant amount of planning and engineering)

Grade separate Montague Expresswayand North 1st Street

Double Track the Vasona Line

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What’s In The Far Horizon?

• Superbowl 50 at Levi’s Stadium early 2016

• BART to Berryessa Opening in 2017

• Being responsive to Santa Clara Valley job and population growth and the expanding needs of light rail passengers

• Improving service to meet the needs of future transit connections

• BART to Downtown San Jose

• High Speed Rail

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Future of VTA Light Rail

Questions & Answers