SJ Mayor Matt Mahan sits on the VTA Board of Directors. After supporting misguided VTA expansions like Eastridge and downtown SJ BART, perhaps Mahan is awakening to VTA’s systemic woes. From an SJ Inside op-ed.

If $20 a day seems like a lot it is important to remember it is actually less than what we pay now per ride for VTA’s traditional transit services. In other words, we can provide most riders right now with faster and more personalized service using rideshare than with VTA. (And that is not even considering capital costs.)

VTA isn’t sitting on endless funding. The vast majority of the money comes from sales taxes, which already hit low-income families hardest. And when service is cut to fund payroll increases, those families pay the price again—with longer waits, fewer buses, and fewer opportunities.