2000 Measure A Transit Improvement Program

In November 2000, the voters in Santa Clara County approved Measure A, a 30-year half cent sales tax devoted to specified public transit capital improvement projects and operations. Measure A passed by a 70.3 percent majority vote.

The Measure A ballot listed 14 specific projects or project areas:

• Extending BART from Alameda County to the cities of Milpitas, San Jose and Santa Clara.
• Providing connections from the Norman Y. Mineta San Jose International Airport to BART, Caltrain and VTA light rail. 
• Extending light rail from downtown San Jose to the East Valley. 
• Purchasing low-floor light rail vehicles. 
• Improving Caltrain by double-tracking to Gilroy and electrifying from Palo Alto to Gilroy.
• Increasing the level of Caltrain service.
• Constructing a new Palo Alto Intermodal Transit Center. 
• Improving service in major bus corridors. 
• Upgrading the Altamont Commuter Express (ACE) Service.
• Improving Highway 17 Express Bus Service. 
• Connecting Caltrain with the Dumbarton Rail Corridor. 
• Purchasing zero-emission buses and constructing support facilities.
• Developing new light rail corridors.
• Funding operating and maintenance costs for increased bus, rail and paratransit services.

The 2000 Measure A ballot also specified the following mandatory requirements:

• The sales tax would end 30 years after implementation.
• An independent Citizens Watchdog Committee of private citizens, not elected officials, who comprise VTA's Citizens Advisory Committee, would, among other duties, review all expenditures and issue reports to Santa Clara County residents on how the funds are being spent.

Collection of the 2000 Measure A sales tax began on April 1, 2006 and will continue through March 31, 2036. The VTA Board of Directors is responsible for implementation of the 2000 Measure A Program and for all policy-related decisions including the composition, implementation schedule and funding level of projects.