04/17/2026
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Councilmember Peter Ortiz, who represents East San Jose, said his district is the most transit-dependent in the county and should “see the greatest benefit” from any new funding.
“These dollars can go further, supporting more activity along our corridors, strengthening our small business community and making our neighborhoods more connected,” Ortiz said. “When we invest in transit for the communities that rely on it the most, we’re investing in workforce access — local small businesses gain access to customers, to workers, and to the overall vitality of these neighborhoods.”
But Ortiz also raised pointed concerns about whether VTA could win over voters, criticizing the agency’s outreach in his district as “unsatisfactory.”
He alleged that VTA has canceled public meetings, that his office has struggled to get basic updates from the agency, and that construction along the Capitol Expressway corridor — happening overnight, he said, with inadequate dust mitigation — has frustrated residents.
“It’s hot in District 5. They’re not able to close their windows because of the heat, and there’s not proper dust mitigation,” Ortiz said. “I have to practically yell and cc everybody and the VTA board to get updates, and that’s not acceptable.”
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A coalition of transit and advocacy groups — including Seamless Bay Area, the Transbay Coalition, and Public Advocates — urged the City Council to direct at least 80% of the funding toward service improvements and transit priority investments. In a letter submitted the day before the vote, the groups noted that VTA runs far less service per resident — just 1.1 service hours per year — than almost any comparable transit agency in the country.
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Adina Levin, Seamless Bay Area’s executive director, said the gap was exactly why the council should direct even more than 50% toward service improvements.
“It’s a unique opportunity for increasing ridership,” Levin said. “Over time there are a lot of different funding sources for capital, and it is historically more difficult to fund basic service.”
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“It is just incredible to see how attitudes have changed on service and how our leaders are prioritizing investments that will impact riders and residents right now,” Monica Mallon said. “Not having flexibility has hurt us quite a lot. We should learn from our past mistakes and do better.”
More from the Mercury News in the article.
Funding plan splits $264 million between service improvements, construction projects and road repairs.
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![[...]Councilmember Peter Ortiz, who represents East San Jose, said his district is the most transit-dependent in the cou...](https://img4.ngos1.com/427/551/1378841094275518.jpg)
