M Mallon

sanjosespotlight.comMallon: Building momentum toward a better future for public transit - San José SpotlightThis summer, tens of thousands of riders got onto VTA, BART, and Caltrain for the World Cup matches at Levi’s Stadium, breaking ridership records. Those numbers can often feel abstract, but as a daily...

3 Sept

“After many struggles and challenges, the Bay Area is finally building momentum toward a better future for transit. We shouldn’t stop now.” My latest column: sanjosespotlight.com/mallon-build...

Good morning and happy Tuesday from the bus 🚌✨

Good morning and happy Monday from the bus 🚌✨

First time on the Caltrain South County Connector 🚂✨ caltrain.com/southcountyconnector

Good morning and happy Friday from the bus 🚌✨

Good morning and happy Thursday from a fancy bus 🚌✨

bit.lyBay Area could see its most rain since May. Here’s how much to expectWednesday is expected to be the rainiest day of the week across the region. Wet weather could slow down the evening commute.

Good morning and happy Wednesday from the bus 🚌✨

M Mallon reposted

San Francisco Chronicle

@sfchronicle.com

Wednesday is expected to be the rainiest day of the week across the region. Wet weather could slow down the evening commute.

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steven monacelli

@stevanzetti.bsky.social

Remember when a purported BLM group called Dallas Justice Now sent letters to rich white people telling them not to send their kids to Ivy League schools, and it turned out that Dallas Justice Now was a hoax created by Crowds on Demand at the behest of a Republican megadonor? I do!

steven monacelli@stevanzetti.bsky.social

The "Texas Transgender Student Union" that sent out mailers, which have become a major controversy among Republicans, is a real organization — but it was only formed in September in Wyoming as an LLC and is entirely separate from TENT, the organization marketed in the fliers.

Good morning and happy Tuesday from the bus 🚌✨

Pulling up to Cambrian Park Plaza on a 60ft bus 😂

I've taken the 61 almost every day for over 10 years, and I've never seen this before. Unreal times in the VTA universe.

Something is a bit different today on the 61 🤔😂

Butternut squash vegan mac and cheese 🍂🧡🧀 @noahsbwilliams.com

M Mallon reposted

mercurynews.comCohen: Santa Clara County and, especially, San Jose will benefit from Bay Area transit tax‘The survival of our regional transit systems is critical to San José. Our systems depend on one another.’

“The Regional Transit Measure will dramatically improve VTA service to offer faster, more frequent service and improved efficiency to bring back riders and take more cars off the roads.” www.mercurynews.com/2026/10/16/c...

Such an amazing piece from CM Cohen. The best one I've seen so far, accurately highlighting the RTM benefits in Santa Clara County.

Good morning and happy Friday from the bus 🚌✨

Also, the observation that Santa Clara County is the most populous county in the Bay Area is not “meaningless.” SCC has the most voters. How much our residents pay into the tax and what we get in return is absolutely relevant. The measure is unlikely to succeed without us.

M Mallon@mmallon.com

I support the RTM, but facts matter. This post from the Yes on RTM campaign is misleading. Santa Clara County already funds BART ops through a dedicated sales tax. RTM offers an opportunity to significantly improve VTA service countywide. That’s what we should be talking about.

Details from the VTA board endorsement vote and discussion: santaclaravta.iqm2.com/Citizens/Det...

Good morning and happy Thursday from the light rail 🚈✨

Good morning and happy Tuesday from the bus 🚌✨

First soup of the szn 🥣🍂🧅🧄 @noahsbwilliams.com

Full recipe (highly recommend, I came up with it lol)

M Mallon reposted

You haven't lived until you've tried @mmallon.com's butternut squash & tomato soup with kale chips and roasted chickpeas + squash seeds 🤤🥣

M Mallon@mmallon.com

First soup of the szn 🥣🍂🧅🧄 @noahsbwilliams.com

night (?) morning (?) bus vibes 🚌✨

It’s after midnight, but I finally made it to Washington 🙌

I was stuck at OAK for like 3 hours lol

~90% of VTA service is bus service. ~82% of VTA ridership is bus ridership. The bus is the main and most-used service by a long shot.

M Mallon@mmallon.com

Last month, VTA bus ridership was 6.7% higher than pre-pandemic and 7.9% higher than September 2025!!!

Last month, VTA bus ridership was 6.7% higher than pre-pandemic and 7.9% higher than September 2025!!!

M Mallon reposted

sanjosespotlight.comMallon: VTA has a vision for a better transit system - San José SpotlightLast month, the VTA board unanimously approved the Visionary Network, a bold vision for transit service in Santa Clara County that aims to bring service levels up to what’s appropriate for today’s mar...

83%!?!?! That's a bigger percentage service increase than Metro's long term plan, Metro Connects, which calls for a 70% long term increase (though our baseline is much higher) This is GOLD, the kind of thing anyone with political wits should be shouting from the rooftops.

M Mallon@mmallon.com

It was so dumb to see the VTA Board come up with a plan to increase service by 83%, get support from the cities, approve the first phase, and then never talk about it again 🤦🏻 Piece I wrote about the full plan: sanjosespotlight.com/mallon-vta-h... Phase 1: santaclaravta.iqm2.com/Citizens/Det...

Noah 🚎@noahsbwilliams.com

I know that in Cali everyone things that the way to get people to vote for things is to scare them and do sensationalism about a “transit fiscal cliff” but the plan was literally to make improvements that would provide a tangible benefit to the people of SCC and they just…didn’t talk about it???

Also, if you are involved in the campaign and want to do something, it’s not too late!!! And you have permission to use ANYTHING I’ve written about this topic (search “Visionary Network” or 2027 Transit Service Plan” on my posts). SJ Spotlight pieces just need to credit SJ Spotlight + me.

It’s almost as if RTM and SCC leaders should have told a positive story about bus service and ridership recovery and plans for future growth 🤯 (I’ve been saying this for years and no one listened)

We need to stop having VTA press conferences about development and start talking about the primary product (bus service).

Good morning and happy Friday from the bus 🚌✨

Praying 🟧 has this 1920s fuse. I found it on eBay, but it won’t arrive before these guys get mad (they’re already mad) lol

caltrain.comCaltrain offers convenient ride to San Francisco Fleet Week main events | CaltrainFleet Week returns to San Francisco, and Caltrain offers a convenient way for Bay Area residents to avoid traffic and get close to the waterfront festivities.

Update: they had a more modern version of it lol

M Mallon reposted

Caltrain

@caltrain.com

Caltrain offers a convenient ride to San Francisco Fleet Week main events, read more: https://www.caltrain.com/news/caltrain-offers-convenient-ride-san-francisco-fleet-week-main-events .

Good morning and happy Thursday from the bus 🚌✨

Before and after. Love getting rid of 90s carpet!!!

Good morning and happy Wednesday from the bus 🚌✨

M Mallon reposted

amb

@amb.fyi

sexy party bus forever

Taylor Griggs@taylorgriggs.bsky.social

Portland if everyone knew how vibey TriMet buses are when they turn on the pink lights at night

Good morning and happy Tuesday from the bus 🚌✨

Good morning and happy Monday from the light rail 🚈✨

Night bus vibes 🚌✨

M Mallon reposted

Night bus vibes ✨🚌

M Mallon reposted