El Camino Corridor

Email your elected representatives now.  Several cities have yet to commit to a "complete streets" approach to the El Camino Bus Rapid Transit project, which would meets the needs of pedestrians, cyclists, and transit riders.

For more information and to get involved, contact Chris Lepe.

The El Camino corridor Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) project will introduce rapid transit service between HP Pavilion in Downtown San Jose to the Palo Alto Intermodal Center along The Alameda and El Camino Real. The corridor is currently served by bus lines 22 and 522 which together carry one fifth of the bus riders in Santa Clara County. The El Camino corridor BRT project will serve important destinations such as Santa Clara and Stanford Universities, Santa Clara and Sunnyvale’s government offices, downtown Mountain View and Palo Alto, and Stanford Shopping Center.

The extent to which BRT is effective, to a large degree rests on how much of the project has its own exclusive lanes so that buses can bypass traffic. Exclusive bus lanes will become even more critical in the future as our population is expected to grow considerably over the coming decades. Cities along the corridor will have an opportunity to decide whether to incorporate exclusive bus lanes, bike lanes, and pedestrian improvements within their boundaries in 2012. A more complete-street will help pave the way for the vision of The Grand Boulevard Initiative, help reduce traffic, decrease our dependence on foreign oil, help curb climate change, and reduce household transportation costs.  

TransForm has formed the El Camino For All Coalition with South Bay organizations, community groups, and community leaders to ensure that the proposed El Camino BRT project meets local community needs while improving conditions for pedestrians, bicyclists, and transit users.

Costs, timeline, and funding

Planning, engineering, design, and construction for the El Camino Corridor Bus Rapid Transit Project is expected to cost $216 million. BRT service along the corridor is planned to start in 2016, and funding is expected to come from a combination of Santa Clara County’s Measure A sales tax, Prop 1B state funds, and a portion of funds designated for the Palo Alto Intermodal Center.

Learn more and get engaged

• Email your elected officials if you live in Santa Clara County and let them know that you support a transit, bicyclist, and pedestrian-first approach to Bus Rapid Transit.
• Contact TransForm's Silicon Valley Community Planner to join other Santa Clara County residents in advocating for rapid transit service that creates vibrant complete-streets for all.
• Visit VTA’s Valley Rapid website and "like" our Friends of Silicon Valley BRT Facebook page to find out about upcoming public meetings and additional project information.
• Watch a video on how BRT will affect pedestrian and bicycle access on El Camino Real and how BRT will affect traffic along the corridor.
• Read TransForm's El Camino BRT FAQ handout for answers to frequently asked questions (FAQ).