Mountain View uses $704,000 VTA grant to expand community shuttle service

by Tony Hicks, Bay City News Foundation December 24, 2021December 27, 2021

An all-electric Mountain View Community Shuttle bus gets a recharge in an undated image. The transit program is getting a financial boost through a VTA grant that will allow for expanded operating hours starting in January. (Photo by Grendelkhan/Wikimedia Commons)

The Mountain View Community Shuttle will expand weekday hours from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. as of Jan. 3.

The expanded service comes from a new Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) grant. Weekend hours (10 a.m. to 6 p.m.) will remain the same.

The $704,000 VTA grant comes to the city of Mountain View through their 2016 Measure B Innovative Transit Service Models Grant Program. The grant program supports affordable new innovative transit service models to address first/last-mile connections to transit, serving vulnerable, underserved and transit-dependent populations.

The city will provide a minimum match of $176,000 for the expansion of the community shuttle’s weekday service hours for two years. The shuttle provides free service between residential neighborhoods and key destinations in Mountain View and has 50 stops. The service began as a pilot program in 2015 through a city partnership with Google, which has committed $20 million to the service through June 2024.

For more information, call customer service at 855-730-RIDE (7433) or visit Mountain View Community Shuttle online.

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