Zsa Zsa Taylor and Linda MacLeod are two South Bay women who rely on public transportation. MacLeod is legally blind and uses a seeing eye dog. Taylor is wheelchair-bound after her cancer and multiple sclerosis diagnosis.
“I have to take care of myself for as long as I physically can,” said Taylor.
Taking care of themselves and preserving their quality of life means being able to get to and from different locations on their own. Both women have used Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority’s (VTA) ACCESS paratransit service, which is a public ridesharing program that provides curb-to-curb rides to individuals with disabilities.
Both say the service is a logistical nightmare.
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“It was so unpredictable. You just didn’t know for sure when or how you would get there,” said MacLeod.
While MacLeod and Taylor point to frustrating inefficiencies they say they’ve experienced with the paratransit service, NBC Bay Area’s Investigative Unit uncovered another costly inefficiency with the program.
95 paratransit vehicles left on lots
The Investigative Unit found that 95 decommissioned VTA paratransit vehicles sat for more than four years in the agency’s South Bay lots, eventually becoming a target of catalytic converter thieves.
Why weren’t the vehicles resold or auctioned off to recoup some of that public money?
After NBC Bay Area reached out to the agency, VTA confirmed the auction process was delayed due to multiple staffing changes and the COVID-19 pandemic.
“That seems like a waste,” said Taylor. “They really should be selling these back.”
Across rail, bus and shuttle services, Bay Area transit agencies are adjusting to steep declines in ridership and the resulting budget shortfalls brought on by the pandemic. The state announced an aid package of more than $1 billion for the region’s transit agencies in June 2023.
“We know that all transit agencies have been extremely overwhelmed with a lot of other priorities, from funding scarcity to staffing issues,” transportation expert Giovanni Circella who serves as the program director at UC Davis’ 3 Revolutions Future Mobility Program.
Satellite imagery reviewed by the Investigative Unit confirms dozens of Toyota Priuses and Dodge Caravans purchased by VTA were positioned in the lot as early as March 2019, one year before local officials first issued a stay-at-home order to combat the surging COVID-19 pandemic.
More than four years after the agency decommissioned the fleet, many of the vehicles remained in place at VTA’s Cerone Division lot off Zanker Road in San Jose.
More than $3M spent on fleet
VTA documents the Investigative Unit obtained through public records requests show the agency spent more than $3,000,000 on the fleet of Toyota Priuses and Dodge Grand Caravans.
“Usually what happens after the vehicles get decommissioned, the vehicles get put on an auction, or they get resold for other uses,” said Circella. “Something went wrong with the process of retiring them from active duty.”
Something went wrong with the process of retiring them from active duty.
Giovanni Circella, Ph.D., UC Davis transportation expert
On top of standard vehicle depreciation, multiple sources told NBC Bay Area thieves targeted the decommissioned fleet for their catalytic converters in 2022. In one incident, a suspect with “a carjack in his hands” allegedly fired shots near a VTA employee. The employee was not injured and the agency told NBC Bay Area it’s since improved security, added lighting and moved some of the vehicles to a more secure location.
Altogether, the agency spent more than $10,000 fixing the chain link fence that surrounds one of the lots in which the vehicles are currently parked, according to VTA maintenance records obtained by the Investigative Unit.
“This is probably a lesson learned for all the other agencies,” said Circella.
VTA now taking action on retired vehicles
VTA declined NBC Bay Area’s requests for an interview about its handling of its decommissioned fleet of paratransit vehicles.
In an email, the agency said the 95 vehicles were decommissioned because they were “past their useful life.”
Vehicle records provided by VTA confirm that many of the now-retired cars were driven at least 100,000 miles.
After the Investigative Unit started asking questions, VTA said the vehicles are now “currently in the process of being scheduled for auction.” The agency went on to say that the issues with its decommissioned vehicles did not impact paratransit services.
“I love public transit, and I am such an advocate for it. I want so much for it to work,” said MacLeod.
When asked about the negative experiences of some paratransit users like Taylor and MacLeod, the agency said, “Paratransit service is public transit, not a private car service.”
Taylor said the comment was callous.
“I hope they never get to the place where they’re in a wheelchair,” she said.
Candice Nguyen was the investigative reporter on this story. To contact her about this issue or if you have a tip for another potential investigation, contact Candice by emailing candice.nguyen@nbcuni.com.
