NO on B!

VTA wants to gut North County bus service under its "Network
90" plan at the same time that they're asking voters to approve yet another bump in the sales tax. Santa Clara County residents are already paying three sales taxes to VTA, a permanent 1/2 cent that was approved in 1976, plus the more recent Measures A and B, whose revenues are mostly going down the BART sinkhole.
Plus, we're paying a Vehicle Registration Fee on top of that. Yet this is not enough, they want more tax money to flush down the BART toilet while eliminating local routes.

VTA is asking the voters for a fourth sales tax increase yet they refuse to “value engineer" their expensive projects. There is no reason that the BART extension needs to duplicate existing bus and train service between the San Jose and Santa Clara stations. And the proposed Bus Rapid Transit on El Camino could be constructed at lower cost by eliminating the dedicated center lanes and converting the curbside lanes to HOV use during peak hours.

Money saved from cutting the “gold plating" from big capital projects could be spent on supporting the bus system, including saving routes threatened under Network 90. Until VTA learns to use its existing resources more efficiently, vote NO on more taxes.

This tax is being pushed by Carl Guardino and the grossly misnamed "Silicon Valley Leadership Group," whose rich corporate members stand to benefit most from the hugely expensive BART extension. Rather than increasing sales tax A FOURTH TIME, maybe these rich companies need to step up and pay higher corporate tax.

Three pro-transit and environmental groups, BayRail Alliance, the Sierra Club, and Silicon Valley Transit Users are urging a “no" vote on the upcoming VTA sales tax increase. VTA proposes to use Measure B funds to extend BART beyond San Jose Diridon Station to Santa Clara Station, completely duplicating existing Caltrain service. This is a clear example of VTA's poor decision-making. It explains why Caltrain supporters like BayRail Alliance still cannot trust VTA.

The groups believe that the funds to run BART trains between San Jose and Santa Clara would be better used to boost Caltrain frequency to a BART/light rail level of service between Palo Alto and San Jose.

Visit Web Link to read more and join the No on B Campaign.

If it costs me money, I'm voting no. Can hardly afford to live here as it is.

No on B, because:

BART is coming to San Jose and has already been overfunded. What has not been completely funded is extending it from Berryessa to downtown, largely in an expensive underground tunnel. The big lie is that people are given the impression that the extra money in Measure B is needed to get BART to San Jose at all. The timing of the request for extra money is misleading.

Vote no on B. VTA can take the remaining $5 Million from the previous funding measures and use it to do other projects which benefit the county as a whole. It's already too much to have spend almost all of this funding on BART to San Jose, but that's water under the bridge. Don't let them compound the misallocation by spending the $6 Billion plus on the subway in downtown San Jose. The nature of the subway makes it ONLY benefit those in downtown San Jose, who have already received 90% of the benefit from the previous tax measures. When approved, they had many other projects for the rest of the county that were cast aside when BART costs rose over time.

No on both. Because as usual they will take your money and never use it for the intended purpose. Typical government never does what it says it will do they already have the money to do it. stop wasting all the money you already get. They already have enough money to do everything they want don't be fooled they just want to steal more of your money. They just waste and channel it to self-serving accounts. Always vote no to any new tax it's always a lie they have the money.

A tax is a tax. A bond is a tax. Both take more money out of your wallet and put them in the hands of people who can't balance a budget.

Personally, I think I pay enough in taxes. The government should cut wasteful spending and use the recuperated funds on worthy projects (including some proposed in various measures and propositions).

This is great to get the CalTrain improvements.

But there is far too much that is wrong with the VTA Measure B Tax:

- It's a political solution full of pork barrel projects to appease politicians but wasting at least $2 Billion on roads that will do nothing to improve the commute but will instead cause "Induced Demand"

- Does not offer robust solutions for the South Bay portion of the 2 million new commuters that will be in the SF Bay Area by 2040. We can expect to get at least 1/3 of the new influx of commuters if not more as they'll come from all nine counties of the SF Bay Area and the "Super Region" that includes the Central Valley. Transit is the ONLY way to address this!

- BART duplication of CalTrain from SJ Diridon to Santa Clara is for NO reason. Supervisor Cindy Chavez says that riders do not want to transfer and Rod Diridon Sr. says that transfers dramatically reduce riders. This is wrong. People transfer from BART to Muni all the time. This is wasting at least $1-4 Billion.
(there is no way that Measure B money will complete even BART to Diridon, so this is another LIE that this will complete BART to Santa Clara)

- VTA claims to add bus service, but they gutted it as they spent 80% of the proceeds on BART to Berryessa

- VTA has a history of "Bait and Switch"

- VTA's auditing promise is a sick joke - it will have NO power! Just look at the scathing 2004 Grand Jury reports and 2007 External Audits to determine how VTA's culture does NOT change.

- VTA's promise to keep these projects and not to overspend on BART can be changed in one meeting and will likely be changed in 2017-2018 timeframe (the ALL transit 2000 Measure A was changed in 2002 and 75% of the funds were diverted)

- VTA is insisting on the BRT down El Camino but has NOT (after 30+ years) increased bus service where cites like Mt View and Sunnyvale and Palo Alto want it

- VTA is offering NO innovative programs and this tax measure does NOT follow transit best practices that are used across the country and the world

- VTA continues to offer taxation without representation as they power is to strongly with San Jose. There must be direct voting for VTA Board Members and more fair representation. (VTA has no intention of doing this)

- VTA is not fully embracing California's laws regarding Climate Change and continues it's mindset and methodology from 20-30 years ago, repeating the errors they have been making since the 1970s

- This is a regressive tax hurting lower income people the most

- Fear tactics of losing Federal funding and blaming critics for the deficiencies of the SVLG/VTA tax are desperate tactics and are untrue

- The Federal government does not contribute to plans like much of what VTA is proposing because the Federal Government knows that it does not work, is not sustainable, does not scale and only leads in "Induced Demand" and worse gridlock.


Bottom Line: SVLG has created this plan in 2013/2014 and worked with VTA yet again to create a tax that will ensure money and projects and a jobs program for VTA and contractors and labor unions but will NOT provide the solutions

Don't buy into the fear that we must pass this tax. We may shift our place in the queue, but IF our transit plans are robust enough, they have a strong chance of getting funded. Big transit is such a long development timeframe that we have time to apply for the Federal Funding we need.

VTA does not need a 4th tax on my paycheck. If they need money they should cut costs. That's how it is done in the real world.

Don't forget VTA's lack of oversight of fraud that has occurred at Outreach. The FBI had to get involved and shut them down today. If VTA can't provide oversight for a small paratransit contract, do you trust them with the rest of your wallet on measure B. We need investment in transit, but not if it involves the VTA or the politicians that are on the board. Just say no to VTA, and vote no on B