On the Right Track

Throughout all we have done this year, the themes of innovation and imagination have taken precedence.

This past year has been one of the most exciting

ever for the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority.

From hitting the halfway point in construction of the BART Silicon Valley

Berryessa Extension to providing inaugural service to the new Levi’s® Stadium, VTA

has tackled big challenges and has realized big successes.

At the beginning of the year, the VTA Board of Directors established five priorities which have

guided our actions throughout 2014, and while we have made significant progress on these priorities, there

is still more to do.

Throughout all we have done this year, the themes of innovation and imagination have taken precedence. We

have endeavored to think holistically and organically about the transportation network in Santa Clara County and how we

can make it even better. Through thinking differently, being nimble and challenging ourselves and our stakeholders, we are working to develop solutions that make the best of the assets we have and wisely plan for the future.

This report will take a look at the major accomplishments of VTA in 2014, the progress we have made and the steps we still need to take. We will also provide a snapshot of the financial condition of the organization, new endeavors we have undertaken, and look at those we plan to undertake to determine how our future meshes with the future of Silicon Valley.

Join us on the ride to make getting around our county better than ever!Be safe,

Throughout all we have done this year, the themes of innovation and imagination have taken precedence.

On the Right Track

Nuria I. Fernandez VTA General Manager/CEO

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Financials

VTA is a responsible steward of the public’s money – you wouldn’t expect anything less

and neither would we.

As of November 2014, the latest numbers before this publication, VTA’s revenues and expenses were holding

steady. There is always some fluctuation throughout the year, but we are on track to meet our budget targets, and maybe

even do a little better than we expected.

We have managed to hold our expenditures steady, even

while rolling out new buses to meet service demands and improve

the rider experience. New to the fleet are 38 new hybrid diesel-electric

community buses, and 40 new 40-foot low-floor buses, 20 of those with Wi-Fi for

popular Express Bus service.

As transportation funding at the federal and state levels wanes, we continue to seek other opportunities to generate revenues that could fund transit and capital

improvements.

We are on track to meet our budget targets, and maybe even do a little better than we expected.

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Bus & Light Rail Operations $272.2M

ADA Paratransit Operations $15.7M

Debt Service $17.8M

Commuter Rail and Other Contracted Services $11.8M

General Administration $29.3M

Finance and Budget $10.4M

Public Affairs and Marketing $7.7M

Before Reimbursements*

Passenger Fares $35.6M

1976 Half-Cent Sales Tax $175.9M

Transportation Development Act (TDA) $82.4M

2000 Measure A Sales Tax- Operating Assistance $32.5M

State Transit Assistance (STA) $12.6M

Federal Operating Grants $17.5M

Other Revenue $16.8M

Expenses

*Note: does not reflect Engineering and Transportation Infrastructure Development or Planning and Program Development Division expenses which are funded through capital programs, grants, federal, state, local and other funds.

RevenueSources

Bus & Light Rail Operations $272.2M

ADA Paratransit Operations $15.7M

Debt Service $17.8M

Commuter Rail and Other Contracted Services $11.8M

General Administration $29.3M

Finance and Budget $10.4M

Public Affairs and Marketing $7.7M

Before Reimbursements*

Passenger Fares $35.6M

1976 Half-Cent Sales Tax $175.9M

Transportation Development Act (TDA) $82.4M

2000 Measure A Sales Tax- Operating Assistance $32.5M

State Transit Assistance (STA) $12.6M

Federal Operating Grants $17.5M

Other Revenue $16.8M

Expenses

*Note: does not reflect Engineering and Transportation Infrastructure Development or Planning and Program Development Division expenses which are funded through capital programs, grants, federal, state, local and other funds.

RevenueSources

2014 Financial Picture

This data reflects calendar year 2014 through November 30th

actual Revenues and Expenditures for the VTA Transit

Operating Fund.

Financial Highlight:

Sales tax based revenues through November 2014 were $19.8M or 7.3% higher than the previous year.

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Financial Highlights:

Operating Revenues through November 2014 were

$12.1M or 3.3% higher than budgeted.

Operating Expenditures through November 2014

were $5.5M or 1.6% lower than budgeted.

Safety

VTA has always made the safety of its passengers, employees and infrastructure a priority, and this year, we have made some organizational changes to facilitate our focus on safety:

• Established a Director of Safety and Security position, reporting directly to the General Manager/CEO and responsible for all VTA safety, security and risk management functions.

• Consolidated all security functions under the Sheriff’s Office Transit Patrol, including contracted Protective Services and VTA’s Fare Enforcement team.

We have increased our safety awareness efforts in the community, with outreach to schools, residences and businesses near our light rail system. Efforts include disseminating safety materials and educating students on safe behaviors riding our system and around our light rail tracks. We have also partnered with school districts to raise awareness about safety near our tracks.

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VTA’s 2014 Priorities

RIDERSHIP

VTA’S BART SILICON VALLEY EXTENSION

BUILDING AN INCLUSIVE VTA

BUS RAPID TRANSIT

LEVI’S STADIUM

5

Up1.3%

Up12%

Up17%

Systemwide

ExpressBus

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Weekend Light Rail

Ridership

It’s no secret that in Silicon Valley, the automobile reigns supreme! But we are working tirelessly to modify behavior and have a self-imposed goal of improving ridership by 10 percent in 5 years.

We have made significant inroads this year alone on this endeavor. Our ridership systemwide has experienced a 1.3 percent increase, with a total of 483,183 more boardings in 2014 than in 2013. Although there is still a long way to go, we have developed a combined marketing and operations strategy aimed at achieving increased ridership and an improved fare box recovery.

Here are a few examples of actions we are taking:

Partnering with large employers to be their choice for the Bay Area Commuter Benefit Program, which requires them to offer their employees a benefit for using alternatives to driving;

Increasing our outreach to Millennials, a generation known for their preference for public transportation;

Expanding and aligning our service to accommodate ridership demand; and

Evaluating our service to refine it where necessary, to make public transportation a more attractive commuting option.

VTA’s BART Silicon Valley Extension

We have reached the halfway mark on construction of the first

phase of the BART Silicon Valley Extension, which brings the regional

rail line to the Berryessa neighborhood of San José.

We also reached a number of milestones associated with the project. These include the

opening of Warren Avenue after a year-long closure to build a trench for

BART trains to pass under the roadway, the

completion of the grade separation at Hostetter

Road, and significant progress on the foundations

for the two future stations.

This is the largest public works project in Santa Clara County history.

This is the largest public works project in Santa Clara County history, and we could not have funded it alone. We are using proceeds from the 2000 Measure A sales tax, passed by voters who chose to tax themselves to pay for the project, as well as state and federal money. This year, we received a $150 million allocation from the Federal Transit Administration New Starts Program, as well as our last allocation from the state for $39 million.

Even before we finish Phase I, we are resuming work on Phase II. We are engaging with the community as we prepare the state and federal environmental documents, an essential step to qualify for federal funding.

May 2011

Milpitas StationView from Montague Expressway Berryessa Extension

May 2011

Berryessa StationView from Berryessa Station Way Berryessa Extension

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Building an Inclusive VTA

VTA is part of the community, and we want to make sure the community has opportunities to participate in our processes and that we engage in others’ processes so that everyone has a seat at the table and a voice to influence the outcomes that will affect us all.

In order to enhance community engagement, we have reorganized our Community Outreach department, focusing staff on specific geographic regions, rather than specific projects, so they can be a one-stop shop for information and input for the community.

These representatives are out in force. Whether holding a meeting for a particular community or attending a community’s already-established meeting, they are making

The transportation system in the County belongs to everyone, and enhancing engagement will result in a system that is useful and thoughtful.

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Envision Silicon Valley, will give us a road map to follow when planning service in the future and when possibly asking the public to support a tax to fund transportation improvements.

We also established a Minority and Women-Owned Business Enterprise Program that helps ensure that small, minority-, and women-owned businesses are afforded an equitable opportunity to compete on VTA contracts and subcontracts.

The transportation system in the County belongs to everyone, and enhancing engagement will result in a system that is useful and thoughtful.

sure our neighbors and partners know their faces and can ask them questions or give them feedback that has been heard.

Silicon Valley is a wellspring of some of the brightest, most creative minds in the country. VTA challenged these minds todevelop ways to improve the transportation experience with our first-ever hackathon, “Hack My Ride: VTA’s Transportation Idea Jam.” The event was a success, and we are now examining the feasibility of the ideas participants proposed.

We are engaging the minds of stakeholders, elected officials and Board members as well in helping us determine where the gaps in our County’s transportation network are and how best to fill them. This effort, called

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The transportation system in the County belongs to everyone, and enhancing engagement will result in a system that is useful and thoughtful.

Bus Rapid Transit

This has been a busy year for VTA and for bus rapid transit, the bus service that is essentially like light rail on rubber tires. VTA broke ground in March on the first bus rapid transit project in the Bay Area, to stretch from the Alum Rock area of east San José to downtown San José by the SAP Center arena.

We also released the draft environmental document on the bus rapid transit project that is to pick up where the first project leaves off. Stretching from the SAP Center to Palo Alto, the El Camino Real Bus Rapid Transit project will begin the implementation of the Grand Boulevard Initiative, which cities along El Camino Real have adopted to make the corridor more people-centered instead of car-centered.

This bus rapid transit project will improve service on the busiest line in our system; provide faster, more frequent and more reliable service for everyone traveling the King’s Highway corridor; and will accommodate the growth anticipated along that line, helping to take cars off the road and thus reduce congestion for everyone.

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This bus rapid transit project will provide faster, more frequent and

more reliable service.

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Levi’s Stadium

The San Francisco 49ers built a new stadium right alongside VTA’s light rail line, and VTA is an integral part of the transportation network serving the high-tech stadium.

We knew providing transit service to this new facility would give us an opportunity to shine, and after buffing out some scratchy parts, we have been able to do so.

In this instance, preparation was key. We designated a project manager to plan, coordinate and oversee front-door transit service to the stadium; we convened a committee of members of the Board of Directors to discuss policy issues and offer guidance; we

constructed a light rail pocket track to facilitate game-day operations and meet ridership demand not just from the stadium, but also from our upcoming BART Silicon Valley Berryessa Extension; we even launched a mobile ticketing app, EventTIK, to allow riders to purchase their VTA tickets on their mobile devices.

This preparation, and the delivery of service itself, is complicated choreography, and our employees, from operators to fare staff, from ambassadors to supervisors, have been able to execute the dance with precision.

We continue to be nimble, refining our plan and our service based on customer feedback and observations from employees.

Farther Down the Line

VTA has many accomplishments from 2014 to be proud of. However, there is still much more to do.

The landscape of Silicon Valley keeps changing, and we need to have systems in place to meet those changes, which range from planned higher-density land uses to a projected significant increase in population to a variety of one-time events. We are preparing to meet the challenges and opportunities of the future.

Some of what we are planning for includes:

Phase II of the BART Silicon Valley Extension

While we are still building Phase I of the BART Extension, we must plan for Phase II, which will extend the line farther into Santa Clara County, connecting it with important destinations, including the San José Diridon Station, which will be the largest transit hub in Northern California.

Identifying and securing funding is an ongoing process that must start early. We hope to enter the race for federal dollars in 2016, and will continue to pursue local and state funding where possible.

We also must integrate this new service with our existing transit system, and our plan for that should be completed by 2017.

Super Bowl 50

VTA will have a chance to shine once again with Super Bowl 50 in early 2016. The eventis expected to attract more than 75,000 inside Levi’s Stadium. Security will be heightened, and eyes from around the country will be on us.

Even though this is more than a year away, we have begun preparing now to make sure we have the right service for this momentous event.

Future Diridon Station

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We must find the willingness to move past business-as-usual and into business-as-never-before.

Exploring the Future Through Technology and Alternative Services

The world is changing fast, and Silicon Valley is leading the way. To keep up with change into the future, we need a world-class transportation system where new, innovative options are the norm.

Our charge, then, as we march deeper into the 21st century, is to develop new ways of moving people, to move past the 20th century fixation on the car and to think of modes that no one else has thought of before.

We are at the world’s heart of innovation; we have the brainpower to do it. Now we must find the willingness to move past business-as-usual and into business-as-never-before. We must adopt new and emerging technology quickly and apply it to new methods of delivering service and improving infrastructure, and we must make the best, wisest use of public dollars to continue to be responsible stewards of the public’s money.

San Francisco’s Bid for the

2024 Olympics The city of San Francisco is in the running to host the 2024 Olympics, a great honor for the city and a great responsibility for the Bay Area. While the city is still forming its plan, it is expected that many of the events would take place around the Bay, including in Santa Clara County.

These Olympics are a decade off, but building new infrastructure or repairing what we already have can take time – time to find funding, as well as time to build and repair. We need to have this on our radar, and if the city is successful, we will need to form a plan to move throngs of sports fans quickly, efficiently and safely. The international committee will make its final decision in 2017.

We must find the willingness to move past business-as-usual and into business-as-never-before.

The Track to the Future

VTA sits on the cusp of something bigger in the world of transportation.

With younger generations moving away from the car, with more focus on creating people-centered communities and with an abundance of brilliant technological and creative minds in our midst, we have the opportunity to create transportation that is the envy of the rest of the world.

This is a great place to live, and with multiple, competitive transportation options, VTA stands poised to make it even better. We look forward to the future with excitement and encouragement, and hope that all of Santa Clara County will join us in creating a future where transportation forms the basis of freedom to move and access to opportunities for success.

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2014 VTA Board of Directors

Ash Kalra, Chairperson, City of San Jose

Perry Woodward, Vice Chairperson, City of Gilroy

Xavier Campos, City of San Jose

Rose Herrera, City of San Jose

Johnny Khamis, City of San Jose

Donald Rocha, City of San Jose

Gail A. Price, City of Palo Alto

Rich Larsen, Alternate, Town of Los Altos Hills

Jason Baker, Alternate, City of Campbell

Joe Pirzynski, Town of Los Gatos

Larry Carr, Alternate, City of Morgan Hill

David Whittum, City of Sunnyvale

Jamie L. Matthews, Alternate, City of Santa Clara

Jose Esteves, City of Milpitas

Cindy Chavez, County of Santa Clara

Dave Cortese, Alternate, County of Santa Clara

Ken Yeager, County of Santa Clara

Sam Liccardo, Ex-Officio, MTC

Board of Directors Email: board.secretary@vta.org

vta.org

Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority3331 N. First Street, San Jose, CA 95134

Administration (408) 321-5555

Customer Service (408) 321-2300