VTA faces harsh criticism VTA faces harsh criticism (June 25, 2004)

Report recommends scrapping BART project, dissolving board

By Jon Wiener

The Santa Clara County Civil Grand Jury called for major changes to the Valley Transit Authority's (VTA) operations in a report released late last week, saying the agency is mismanaged financially and makes too many promises to the public that it cannot deliver.

The VTA performs consistently far worse than average by almost every important financial measure, according to the report, including fare box recovery, employee absentee rates, and labor costs per rider. Among the most politically-charged conclusions was a recommendation that the VTA scrap the planned BART extension to San Jose. Completion of the extension will cost an estimated $4.1 billion, money the grand jury said could be used for more cost-efficient transit options.

The grand jury also suggested serious structural reform of the VTA's 12-member board. According to the report, the board is "too large, too political, too dependent on staff, too inexperienced."

Mountain View City Council member Greg Perry called it "the most strongly worded grand jury report I've ever seen. They think there's something seriously wrong there," he said of the grand jury.

"The VTA spends a lot more per bus than other agencies, even in the same area," said Perry. "Depending on the year, they're either the highest in the nation or second-highest in the nation."

Perry, whose January editorial in the San Jose Mercury News was included as a reference document in the report's appendix, said that scrapping the BART extension would free up money for improvements to light rail and Caltrain service, which would benefit commuters more.

The 19 members of the grand jury are appointed to one-year terms. Their report has no legal force, but requires VTA to issue a formal response. At press time, VTA staff was still reviewing the report and planned to comment by the end of this week, according to spokesperson Brandi Hall.

The stinging report, available on the grand jury's Web site (www.sccsuperiorcourt.org/jury/GJ.html), follows a series of unpopular increases in VTA's bus fares. VTA has said the fare increases were necessary to account for declining sales tax revenue.

E-mail Jon Wiener at jwiener@mv-voice.com

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