Community shuttle to service Shoreline Boulevard

By Alicia Crank

Two of the biggest venues in Mountain View are not serviced by public/mass transportation: Shoreline Amphitheater and Shoreline Regional Park

The last few things I mentioned are located off of Shoreline Blvd. Unfortunately, there is a small problem: It's not easy getting to those venues without a vehicle.

Sure, it's not THAT far of a walk or bike ride, depending on where you're coming from, but it does take a bit of effort to get there, nonetheless. Many people, both residents and visitors to the area, are surprised that there isn't some type of bus or shuttle service to Shoreline Amphitheater, especially during concert season. We worked hard to make sure that most regular and baby bullet trains stopped in downtown MV...but then what? You still have a healthy walk to the venue. Those who can't make the trek end up spending money on a taxi.

Or what about the movie theater? It's conveniently located right off of Hwy 101. That's great if you're driving in. If you're commuting on the bus, you may luck out depending on where you're coming from. If you live off of El Camino and Shoreline, for example, you could be looking at getting on at least two buses just to get 1.8 miles to the theater. If you try doing this in the evening, well, bus service may not be available to you at all.

For most of us, we have workarounds for this. We can carpool with a friend who has a vehicle (if we don't have one ourselves). We can even catch a film during daytime hours (since bus service in the area stops after a certain time of day). Maybe we can even invest and/or use that bicycle that we've otherwise procrastinated about. However, what about the senior citizens in our community, or those who can't hop on a bike? What about those visiting from other parts of the Bay Area via train or bus who can only get 90% of the way to the amphitheater or Shoreline Park?

I believe it's time to invest in a community shuttle that would serve these major venues on Shoreline Boulevard. Do you agree or disagree? How do we make this happen?