Major Transit Stops and Buffers

Overview: This GIS data is part of the overall “Major Transit Stops and High-Quality Transit Corridors” data set which VTA has developed to show the locations of these features (which are defined in State law) in Santa Clara County. These GIS layers are intended to be a reference for local jurisdiction staff, consultants, developers, and members of the public in Santa Clara County. This information may be helpful in interpreting various State land use, housing and transportation laws that refer to these terms. USE OF THIS DATA IS SUBJECT TO THE DISCLAIMER AND TERMS OF USE POSTED IN THE ‘CUSTOM LICENSE’ SECTION OF THIS PAGE. Descriptions of the individual layers in this data set are provided on the Data Catalog pages for each layer. VTA has developed a How-To Guide that provides more detail on the GIS layers as well as the assumptions and judgement calls involved in developing this data. This How-To Guide is available upon request by emailing [e-mail]. The bus stop locations in this data set are current as of January 2025. The VTA bus service / schedule information is current as of October 2025. Major Transit Stops are defined in State law (California PRC Section 21064.3) as follows: 21064.3. “Major transit stop” means a site containing any of the following: (a) An existing rail or bus rapid transit station. (b) A ferry terminal served by either a bus or rail transit service. (c) The intersection of two or more major bus routes with a frequency of service interval of 20 minutes or less during the morning and afternoon peak commute periods. Layer Grouping – Major Transit Stops and Buffers: Overview of Layers in this Layer Grouping: Within this layer grouping, there are nine GIS layers, named MTS1 through MTS9 with additional information added to the names to help indicate what each layer contains. MTS1, MTS2, and MTS3 contain different components of the Major Transit Stop definitions – rail stations, and bus stop intersections interpreted two different ways (Scenario 1 = more limited, and Scenarios 1, 2 & 3 = more expansive). Refer to Appendix A for more information about how bus stop intersection Scenarios 1, 2 & 3 are defined. MTS4, MTS5, and MTS6 contain the combination of rail stations and bus stop intersections in Scenario 1, and buffers around these combined locations MTS7, MTS8, and MTS9 contain the combination of rail stations and bus stop intersections in Scenarios 1, 2 & 3, and buffers around these combined locations. Detailed Summary of Each Major Transit Stop Layer: MTS1_rail contains currently active rail stations. For the purpose of this mapping, VTA defined active rail stations as those stations that served at least one round trip per day on weekdays in October 2025. MTS2_busintersect1 contains bus stops in proximity to the intersection of two or more routes with a weekday peak period frequency of 20 minutes or better. The bus stop intersections in this layer are defined as Scenario 1 intersections; see Appendix A for more information. Attribute Fields: Bus Stop-Related MTS3_busintersect23 contains bus stops in proximity to the intersection of two or more routes with a weekday peak period frequency of 20 minutes or better. The bus stop intersections in this layer are defined as Scenario 2 & 3 intersections; see Appendix A for more information MTS4_rail+ busintersect1 contains currently active rail stations along with their key attribute fields (MTS1_rail), combined with bus stops intersections defined as Scenario 1 intersections (MTS2_busintersect1). MTS5_rail+busintersect1_buffer contains half-mile circular buffers around all the points in MTS4_rail+ busintersect1. The attributes of each individual buffer are picked up from the rail station or bus stop point that generated the buffer. MTS6_rail+busintersect1_dissolve contains one dissolved multipart polygon combining the buffers in MTS5_rail+ busintersect1_buffer. There are no attributes to this polygon. MTS7_rail+busintersect123 contains currently active rail stations along with their key attribute fields (MTS1_rail), combined with bus stop intersections defined as Scenario 1, 2 & 3 intersections (MTS2_busintersect1 & MTS3_busintersect23) MTS8_rail+busintersect123_buffer contains half-mile circular buffers around all the points in MTS7_rail+busintersect123. The attributes of each individual buffer are picked up from the rail station or bus stop point that generated the buffer. MTS9_rail+busintersect123_dissolve contains one dissolved multipart polygon combining the buffers in MTS8_rail+busintersect123_buffer. There are no attributes to this polygon. Attribute Fields: None