Public transit is a viable option for visitors wishing to visit downtown San Jose, the busiest commercial corridors throughout the Santa Clara Valley, major tourist destinations, the airport, and offices located to the north of downtown. Public transit becomes more difficult to use in the more far-flung residential neighborhoods. Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) operates bus and light rail service throughout Santa Clara County, and Caltrain also provides train service throughout a portion of the County.

Downtown San Jose is compact, and one can reasonably walk to all destinations since there are no hills or other significant geographic restrictions in the area. Most major points of interest are downtown: the Tech Museum, San Jose Museum of Art, San Jose Repertory Theatre and other live performance venues, Convention Center, HP Pavilion (the Arena), several major hotels (the Fairmont, De Anza, Montgomery, Sainte Claire, etc.), and countless night clubs. Downtown also is well served by several bus and light rail lines. On weekdays the free DASH shuttle circulates throughout downtown and stops at Diridon Station, the area's primary train station located on the west side of downtown.

Transit lines to the Bay Area's major destinations and other points throughout California can be caught in downtown San Jose. Caltrain operates from Diridon Station to San Francisco, with easy connections to SFO via BART trains in Millbrae. The local Caltrain trains take about 90 minutes to/from San Francisco, limited trains take about 75 minutes, and "Baby Bullet" trains take just one hour. (The Baby Bullets operate only during peak weekday times. Only local service is available nights and weekends.) Caltrain operates every 30 minutes on weekdays, with more frequent service during weekday peak periods. Trains operate only every 60 minutes during the evening and on weekends. Diridon Station is a little over half a mile from the heart of downtown San Jose. The free DASH shuttle operates between Diridon Station and other downtown destinations during weekdays. Additional bus and light rail service is available at all times on all days, but these services are not free.

Amtrak and ACE trains can be caught at Diridon Station, too. Amtrak trains operate to/from Sacramento, with connecting bus service to Stockton and San Luis Obispo and limited train service to Los Angeles and Seattle. ACE trains operate to/from Stockton.

The Highway 17 Express operates between downtown San Jose, Diridon Station, and Santa Cruz. Service operates daily at various frequencies, with more service during peak weekday periods and less service during the evening and on weekends. All weekday service operates to/from downtown, but on weekends the bus can be caught only at Diridon Station.

Monterey-Salinas Transit Route 55 operates three times daily between Diridon Station, downtown San Jose, and Monterey. Like the Highway 17 Express, departure times are coordinated with arriving Amtrak and Caltrain trains.

One can reach downtown San Jose from BART by transferring to VTA Route 181 (peak weekday periods) or Route 180 (all other times) in Fremont. Routes 180 and 181 operate through downtown San Jose and terminate at Diridon Station. The BART ride from Berkeley to Fremont takes about 50 minutes, less to Oakland Airport, and the bus ride takes about 45 minutes. Route 181 operates every 15 minutes during peak weekday periods, and Route 180 operates every 15 minutes throughout the day and every 30-60 minutes during the evening. Route 180 does not serve downtown San Jose during peak weekday periods. BART lines generally operate every 15-20 minutes, with more frequent combined service between stations served by more than one line.

The San Jose International Airport is served by VTA Route 10, which is a free bus connecting the Santa Clara Caltrain Station, airport, and Metro/Airport Light Rail Station. Route 10 operates every 15 minutes throughout the day, with less frequent evening service. Downtown San Jose can be reached from the airport by taking Route 10 to the Metro/Airport station and transferring to any southbound light rail train. Combined, light rail service operates every 7-15 minutes.

San Jose's small but non-touristy Japantown, located on Jackson Street, is a short walk east of the Japantown/Ayer light rail station. Direct bus service to Japantown from downtown San Jose is provided by Route 11, which operates Monday-Saturday only. The Great America amusement park can be reached by taking light rail to the Great America station. Light rail also serves the small but walkable downtowns of Mountain View and Campbell, which are suburbs of San Jose. VTA provides bus service to downtown Palo Alto and Stanford University, but train service in that part of the county is provided only by Caltrain. VTA Route 64 serves downtown Willow Glen, which is a popular business district southwest of downtown. Route 64 operates every 30 minutes and connects to downtown San Jose and Diridon Station.

The Winchester Mystery House and Santana Row are located a short walk south of the Winchester/Stevens Creek intersection, adjacent to the Valley Fair shopping center, which is served by VTA Route 23. Route 23 operates every 12 minutes on weekdays and 15 minutes on weekends to/from downtown San Jose. Additional bus service to the area is provided by VTA Route 60, which operates every 15 minutes on weekdays and 30 minutes on weekends to/from the Santa Clara Caltrain Station.

The regular VTA bus and light rail adult fare is $1.75 per boarding or $5.00 per day. Route 11 costs $1.00 per boarding. Routes 180 and 181 cost $3.50 per boarding, and the free BART transfer provides a $1.75 discount for passengers catching the bus from the Fremont station. VTA offers free transfers only between light rail lines; bus passengers are not offered transfers. Additional information on VTA bus and light rail lines and all other fares can be found at http://www.vta.org or by calling 511 in the Bay Area. The VTA information office is located at Santa Clara and First Streets in downtown San Jose and is open weekdays from 9 AM to 6 PM.