Traveling to work can be more enjoyable and better for our environment when you don't have to drive alone. Traveling in a sustainable way, essentially anything other than driving alone, is better for the environment, your health, and your wallet! The Metropolitan Transportation Commission has a wealth of commuter information available at 511.org.

There are many transit options that can help you get around San José or to other parts of the Bay Area, and beyond!

Park & Ride 

You do not have to commit to one form of transportation for your entire trip. You can split your mode by driving to a park & ride lot and taking public transit, riding your bike, catching a carpool ride, or any other sustainable mode to your destination. Reduce the wear and tear on your car, save on gas, and do something you enjoy, like read a book or scroll social media, for the rest of your commute.

• Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) parking
• Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) parking
• Caltrain parking

Plan Your Trip

Transit app can help you with your travel plans on VTA, BART, Caltrain, and many other agencies! Enter your start and end point and it will show you public transportation options available. It even provides bike directions using safe street data if you choose to ride your bike.

Helpful Programs 

Did you know our local public transit operator VTA has some free programs to help you if you commute in a sustainable way?

• Guaranteed Ride Home will get you home in case of an emergency. Up to 6 trips a year a maximum of $125 per trip, or $500 per year, whichever comes first. You must pre-register for this program which is available to anyone who is age 18 or older and working or attending college/university in Santa Clara County and traveled sustainably to work or school on the day of need.
• SmartCommute by VTA is a platform where you can log your travel and ride toward rewards. VTA will run campaigns where you can win gift cards, games, bikes, and more! The platform also does carpool matching.

Drive with Others... Lots of others!

In addition to carpools (two or more individuals traveling together in a car), there is also a form of travel called vanpools. Vanpools are groups of seven to 15 individuals, including the driver, traveling to work together. The best part, there are programs to help you pay for this!

• The Bay Area Vanpool Program offers $500 per month to qualifying vanpools that start or end in the nine-county Bay Area region.
• VTA offers an additional $400 per month for the first year to qualifying vanpools that start and end within Santa Clara County.

Take Two Wheels 

We also have Bay Wheels bike share and Spin shared e-scooters available in San José to help make connections between home, transit, and work. Learn more on our Micromobility page.

If you have a bicycle and are interested to start using it for your commute trips, you can find information about bike lanes, bike lockers to park your bike securely, and ways to request bike parking if there is none near your destination on our Biking page.

Two Feet Ahead

Walking is the original form of transportation. Walking can be a part of your trip by getting you to a transit stop or your carpool meetup spot.

Learn More About Green Transportation

You can learn about all the ways San José is looking to improve sustainable transportation by checking out our Move San José Plan.