Cupertino gets an $8.5M state grant to expand shuttle service
Near the end of its three-year pilot program, Cupertino's on-demand shuttle service is set to receive state funding to transition to electric vehicles and expand into areas like Sunnyvale and San Jose.
The $8.5 million grant from the California State Transportation Authority will also allow Via-Cupertino to continue operating for five more years, and the fleet to grow from nine to 16 vans.
Electric vehicles, or EVs, are due to be phased in as soon as they are available.
The city decided to move to EVs and expand the shuttle service after conducting several surveys to learn how people use the app-based ride-share program and how it could be improved.
The most common requests were to add service to El Camino Hospital and the Mountain View Caltrain station, and to make Via-Cupertino an EV program.
Cupertino's Transportation Division has been in discussions with Sunnyvale and San Jose officials about serving portions of those cities. A partnership with the city of Santa Clara is already in place, and Via-Cupertino is due to expand its service into that city in April.
The two cities will hold a contest for students to come up with a new name for the shuttle program that reflects this partnership.
The shuttle, which currently serves the Sunnyvale and Lawrence Caltrain stations, will add the Mountain View and the Santa Clara stations to its service area. El Camino Hospital will also be added.
Popular destinations currently served by ViaCupertino are Apple Park, Kaiser Permanente Hospital, Main Street Cupertino, De Anza College, Rancho San Antonio and West Valley Medical.
One-way fares for ViaCupertino are $1.75-$3.50 for those who live or work in the city. For more information, visit cupertino. org/shuttle.