Eco Pass

What is Eco Pass?

Eco Pass is a less stressful way for Santa Clara County employees and residents to commute.   Eco Passes are purchased by employers, universities, private colleges, to give their employees, students unlimited rides on VTA Bus, Light Rail and Express Bus service seven days a week.  Eco Pass is deeply discounted below the standard cost of passes; making it an attractive, low-cost benefit or amenity.

Employer Eco Pass

Whether your employer has five or 50,000 employees, Eco Pass can make a difference. Eco Pass provides employers of all sizes with a way to offer an attractive, low-cost employee benefit and to lessen the demand for on-site parking.

Employers purchase annual Eco Pass stickers for all full-time employees at a given worksite, paying one low cost. Pricing levels - which are based on proximity to VTA services and your number of employees - are just a fraction of the cost of standard monthly passes.

Your employees simply affix the stickers to the back of their VTA-produced photo ID cards, and the entire VTA fleet is at their service.

Residential Eco Pass

It's fast. It's cheap. It's easy. It's legal. Now all residents in a residential community can get their hands on Eco Pass, a perk once reserved for employees of major Silicon Valley companies.

Residential Eco Pass is a photo ID validated with an annual sticker to provide unlimited rides on VTA Bus and Light Rail seven days a week. The Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) sells Eco Pass at a deep discount to housing developments like condominiums, apartments and townhouses.

It's the kind of benefit and convenience that will make you glad you live where you live.

Benefits for employers include:

• Low cost, tax-deductible, employee benefit
• Employees arrive at work less stressed
• Reduced demand for on-site parking
• Less traffic congestion and air pollution

Benefits for employees include:

• Emergency Ride Home Service for emergencies
• Relief from traffic jams and parking hassles
• Reduced commuting costs and less automobile wear & tear
• Potential for lower auto insurance rates

To Get Started

• Send an email to the VTA Eco Pass Program at ecopass@vta.org. Or call (408) 321-7519, TDD only at (408) 321-2330.
• Decide when you want to start. Most employers begin at the first of the month and run through the remainder of the calendar year. The annual rate is prorated if you join midyear. Eco Passes are renewed on an annual basis.
• Get VTA's personalized assistance for your company's Eco Pass kickoff, including route and schedule information helpful to employees.