Hotel 22 (aka "The Bus') (San Jose, Palo Alto: where to stay, home, transfer)

[BayAreaHillbilly]

Homeless turn overnight bus route into Hotel 22 - San Jose Mercury News

I've definitely noticed the homeless on this bus line.

I recall during late childhood, a friend who took it to go to school.

He'd lament: "(Sigh ... ) .... The bus ... (sigh)"

[bigdumbgod]

Been like that for years. We have been in the habit of carefully checking our seats on 22 before sitting down. Luckily, VTA seems to do a pretty good job of cleaning those buses before the sun comes up.

[NickB1967]

THis has sadly been going on since I was a boy in the 1970's. Line 22 has not changed.

[never-more]

This isn't the first time the Mercury has reported on Hotel 22. If the plans for 24/7 service on Line 23 get going, there will be a second hotel.

[neutrino78x]

Yeah, I overheard homeless people talking about that on 22 when going home from Stanford a few months ago.

I think most buses should be 24/7, when possible.

Perhaps an ordinance needs to be passed stipulating that one needs to have a destination and cannot stay on the bus for long periods of time without getting off, and if they don't, a police officer will speak with them, and possible arrest them and/or send them to talk with a social worker. I'm not sure how to implement that, though.

[sonarrat]

Originally Posted by bigdumbgod

Been like that for years. We have been in the habit of carefully checking our seats on 22 before sitting down. Luckily, VTA seems to do a pretty good job of cleaning those buses before the sun comes up.

During the day, #22 is no different from any of the other bus lines. I've taken #22 and 522, the 68 to Gilroy, and the VTA light-rail often and for many years. When I was living in other areas, I took Samtrans, Muni, Caltrain, and BART as well. Whatever the system, I would just see people going to work or school, or sometimes to court appearances downtown, or to go do some shopping. You know, using it for transportation.

The 22 does change quite a bit at night. The sheer length of the route - 25 miles - plus the frequency of stops, plus the policy of the VTA to idle at specific points if the bus gets ahead of schedule (except on the Rapid 522 buses), means that for those boarding at either end of the route, they can ride for up to 2 hours. So the same factors that make it agonizingly slow during the day make it attractive to those who have nowhere to stay at night other than St. James Park or some dark downtown alley.

The sharp decline in mental health services since the 50's is very likely to blame for the scope of the underlying problem. There are 3 times more mentally ill people in jail or prison than receiving care in hospitals, and many more are living on the streets. The 22 line is a positive example of a public service giving unintended benefits for some of our most vulnerable fellow men (and children, as the linked article reveals).

[Wintermomma]

They need to sleep somewhere. It's a shame there are not better facilities for them to do so.

[bigdumbgod]

Originally Posted by Wintermomma

They need to sleep somewhere. It's a shame there are not better facilities for them to do so.

Well, there are always plenty of sprawling, empty tech campuses around North First St...

[KaaBoom]

VTA could make this situation a lot more pleasant for everybody involved, if they would just park one out of service articulated bus at the Eastridge Transit Center overnight, and one more at the Palo Alto Transit Center. Then as the busses finish their trips the drivers could just transfer all the homeless people over to the parked out of service busses. That way the homeless people could get an uninterrupted nights sleep on a bus without all the bumpyness and constant stopping and going, and it would free up seats for people who are actually trying to get some place.

They would probably have to hire a security guard to watch each bus, and keep the engines running and heaters going in the winter time. But over all I think the cost would be worth it for all involved.

[Wintermomma]

What a nice solution. Can you imagine if all the empty buses did that at night? Some people would have a much better winter and VTA would win some needed brownie points.