Walking precincts I meet lots of people that don't use transit services. I point out to them that one reason many of us don't use transit is because the service is so bad that nobody would want to use it. I have seen gas prices rise dramatically over the past few years, and I expect them to continue to go up in the future. We can only get away from driving if we have a viable alternative, and good transit could be a viable alternative. What follows are some suggestions that would make Mountain View's transit system a few steps closer to being a viable alternative to driving.

My Transit Service Wish List:

A shuttle bus to bring people from the Shoreline businesses so they don't all have to park downtown at lunch time would be great. A Castro - Middlefield -  Shoreline - Charleston - Rengstorff (or San Antonio) - California - Shoreline - El Camino - Castro type looping route that runs regularly. The model to copy would be the DASH shuttle in downtown San Jose or the Margrite at Stanford. I use the DASH every time I take the train to San Jose. It totally works!

A shuttle bus between Shoreline and the Caltrain/VTA station with a stop that connects to the 22 bus line on El Camino that ran just before and after concerts would make those events more accessible.

Toilets at the downtown Mountain View Train Station would also be an improvement. One way to pay for this is to get a coffee shop with bathrooms who will let the public use them as a condition of the lease. That business would be a natural fit in the train station building near Castro St. that seems to be just a breakroom for bus drivers right now. Another way would be to get one of those coin operated toilets you see in other towns.

Walking precincts near Cuesta Park, I talked to a guy that said "I wish the city would intermediate a system so I could rent a parking spot in some small businesses parking lot near El Camino so I could do the bulk of my commute by bus on the 22 and do the last mile comfortably."

Walking precincts in one of the Senior Mobile Home Parks off Sylvan, somebody told me "The seniors need a bus that goes from here to the senior center before lunch and comes back after lunch so they can go their for it."

Have a suggestion for this list?

Please email it to TNHarter@ispwest.com!