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Mountain View starts bus lane construction, defers automated guideway transit

In April, the city of Mountain View started work on reversible transit lanes on Shoreline that will speed the route for buses connecting the downtown transit center to the North Bayshore area where Google is headquartered. The first steps are tree removal and utility relocation this spring and summer; the project, with a price tag of $14,5 million, is scheduled to be complete in 2022.

Later in April, the city council indefinitely deferred the study of an elevated automated guideway transit (AGT) system that would replace the connecting buses.  Earlier studies showed that a group rapid transit system would cost about $300 million to connect the transit center to Google.

At its priority-setting session in April, the City Council decided to indefinitely defer the $850,000 project to further study the AGT system, after it had been delayed in 2020.

The City Council will be able to see in several years how much benefit is provided by the bus lane, and how post-pandemic transportation patterns have evolved. 

Mountain View’s experience may be of interest to policymakers, commuters and transit supporters in South San Francisco, which is investigating the “Glydways” group rapid transit technology to connect its Caltrain station to office parks east of the tracks.

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