Michael Burns is the General Manager of the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority. His annual salary is $290,000.
When he was recruited from San Francisco Muni in 2005, Burns elected not to move from San Francisco to the South Bay. Consequently, he has a daily commute of at least 50 miles.
Burns — remember, he manages a transit agency — uses his $9,000 annual car allowance to drive to work every day. Except on those days when he’s fed up with the traffic — on those days, he uses taxpayer money to pay for a room at the Holiday Inn near his office on North 1st Street in San Jose. He decides “it’s too much” to drive home after experiencing “two or three horrendous commutes.”
Here’s a radical suggestion for Micheal Burns to avoid that nasty congestion on 101 or 280: take the train! He could even drive part of the way to someplace like Millbrae, which has a huge parking lot. From San Jose Diridon, he can hop on the light rail to his office, though it might be a little faster to use the DASH shuttle to 1st and then hopped on the LRT line. From the River Oaks Light Rail station, which is served by two LRT lines, it’s a short walk to his office. He just has to walk across the big Park-and-Ride lot and he’s there.
The last Caltrain train leaves San Jose at 10:30, so there’s probably plenty of time to catch a train after those late night meetings.
See also:
- Thursday: Bike or transit?
- Why transit needs bikes
- Tuesday Transit Quiz: Caltrain express, limited, and local runs
- SF Bay Area free transit New Year’s Eve
