Football fans welcome return of VTA light rail
On the first day of VTA light-rail service in more than three months, San Francisco 49ers fans from across the Bay Area expressed excitement and relief as they again were able to arrive at Levi’s Stadium without the hassle of parking and traffic woes.
“VTA reopening is a wonderful thing,” said Patricia Carter, 60, of Palo Alto. “And that doesn’t just go for the game. Imagine the people who have to go to work and depend on it because they don’t have a car.”
Carter and her friend, Karen Voorhees, 51, said their feet swelled like balloons after walking home from the 49ers preseason opener earlier this month. So, when they realized that light-rail service had resumed in time for Sunday’s 49ers-Raiders game, the two lifelong 49ers fans jumped at the opportunity to resume their normal game-day routine — arrival by light rail included.
“It’s just so much more convenient, specially during these kinds of things,” Voorhees said.
VTA trains have been shut down for nearly three months, following the Bay Area’s largest mass shooting. On May 26, a disgruntled employee went on a shooting rampage at the agency’s main Guadalupe rail yard, fatally striking nine co-workers with bullets before killing himself as law enforcement arrived.
On Sunday, the transit agency resumed limited service with free rides
until Sept. 13.
Ian Zhou, 23, of San Francisco took an early light-rail train from Mountain View to volunteer for the Silicon Valley Bicycle Coalition’s bike valet service outside of the stadium. Zhou was one of fewer than a dozen riders on a quiet train rolling into the Great America station near Levi’s Stadiumabout11a.m.
“I was thinking, ‘Are people still having fear about the shooting and worried it might happen on the train?’” he said. “I’m not really that worried. It’s sad when it happens but it’s not going to stop me from taking it.”
VTA employees who declined to speak with a reporter stood outside the Great America stop near Levi’s Stadium keeping tabs on how many riders were using the service. Despite Zhou’s empty train car, the closer it got to game time, the more people began pouring out of each train.
Richard Lomos, 50, came off the train with a chair in his hand, smiling and ready to head to his family’s tailgate. Lomos has used VTA light rail for years to get to work and special events like this.
“I wish it would have opened up sooner,” he said. “It’s just very convenient for so many people, so I think it would be good for everyone to forget about the tragedy that happened and get transportation back going again.”
The Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Office and an independent law firm hired by VTA continue to investigate the cause of the tragic mass shooting earlier this year.
Since that day, the transit agency has focused on providing services and counseling to its workers and moving its administrative offices out of the rail hub, which became a crime scene after the shooting. There were concerns that returning to that office could trigger post-traumatic stress for workers.
Many VTA employees resumed work at new locations early this month and the transit agency began doing test runs with trains last week after months of being dormant.
While grateful for the restoration of limited service on Sunday, some also expressed frustration with how long it took VTA to bounce back.
“I understand that it was a tragedy, but life goes on,” Carter said while waiting at the Fair Oaks station. “When you build this thing, you have to think of everyone. They need to keep it open.”