Source: East Bay Times
GILROY-- After being shut down for three years during the pandemic, public bus service between Monterey and Santa Clara counties returned on Monday, marking a move towards regular, affordable transit service connecting Silicon Valley to the Central California coast.
“The restoration of this service is a vital connector for thousands who rely on public transit in our communities,” said Greg Richardson, chief financial officer of the Valley Transportation Authority at a press conference on Monday. “Our world is getting smaller, we’re becoming more connected, and anything that we as a transit service can do to help that connectivity is an advantage for all of us.”
The press conference and ribbon cutting at the Gilroy Transit Center was presented jointly by the VTA and Monterey-Salinas Transit District; in attendance were Congresswoman Zoe Lofgren, California Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas, Gilroy Mayor Marie Blankley and more.
“These new transportation projects are lifelines – lifelines for families, for friends, for working, for recreation. And they are reducing our region’s carbon footprint,” said Rivas at the event. “This is something that ties our region together.”