Bus pilot errors

Efforts to encourage more Redwood Middle School students to take public transportation to school were derailed by unreliable service, according to discussions at the Sept. 2 Saratoga City Council meeting.

Traffic commissioner Dory Albert introduced a Valley Transportation Authority bus pilot program last month, and around 50 students signed up to try it out. Students could take either Route 26 or 51 to get to to the West Valley Depot station to get to school. Route 26 is a frequent route that comes from East San Jose every 15 minutes. Route 51 is an hourly route that comes from Mountain View. However, Albert said it “hasn’t been a smooth ride,” and ridership numbers have decreased to just 25 as a result.

Within the first couple of weeks, one student reported that the bus on Route 51 picked up the students late one day, causing everyone to go through the office to get tardy slips for class. A VTA representative said =there were two cancelation errors: one where a bus was actually canceled due to a lack of personnel and another where a flaw in the VTA app reported that a bus was canceled when it wasn’t.

Some proponents of the program asked if VTA could schedule the buses to pick up students earlier, but the representatives responded that pick-up times vary because buses have to wade through the same traffic as other do vehicles, and the VTA’s actions are limited due to a federal law that prevents public buses from providing explicit transportation services to schools.

VTA representatives said they could change schedules again to have buses pick up students an additional five minutes earlier starting in October, when operators change again. They also said they would assign Route 51 as a “no cancellation” route.

The future of the Blossom Festival

While no vote was taken on the issue, the Saratoga City Council on Sept. 2.voiced its support for an Asian American nonprofit to run the city’s Blossom Festival in coming years

The Blossom Festival is a historically significant event that has been celebrated since 1900. The Saratoga Historical Foundation has hosted the event for the last 10 years. This year, the Blossom Festival was scheduled for June 13 in the Heritage Orchard, but it was canceled because the museum “did not have the requisite resources needed to manage the large and complex festival.”

Saratoga-based nonprofit Asian Americans for Better Community pitched the group as a community partner with the historical society and the city to continue the tradition. The organization is dedicated to cultural exchange, community engagement and education activities. They have organized the annual Dragon Boat Festival at West Valley College as well as Lunar New Year events.

Alexandra Nugent, president of the Saratoga Historical Foundation and the museum it oversees, said over Zoom during public comment that the foundation had to step back from leading the Blossom Festival because they were overwhelmed with a lot of tasks at the museum, like finding and training volunteers and docents and putting time into the museum’s education program.

“We don’t have the capacity to manage it,” Nugent said.

She suggested getting together with other community groups to see if the festival could continue, given budget constraints and the need for a “robust group of volunteers.”

Councilmember Belal Aftab spoke in favor of allowing Asian Americans for Better Community to help organize the event. He clarified that the city does not host the festival and said that he doesn’t think the city should put it on either, because it could be subject to budget cuts or slowdowns if it was a city event.

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