Do You Know the Way to San José State: Deep Dive in Five with Anthony Montes of Transportation Solutions

Anthony Montes is San José State University's new transportation program manager. He took over the position this June after serving as a community relations manager for the City of San José and the associate director of advocacy and development for the Silicon Valley Bicycle Coalition. He brings passion for collaboration and ensuring that every student at San José State has access to safe and affordable transportation. In today's deep dive, Montes is sharing how SJSU students can access transportation-related resources as they earn their degrees.

What is the new Bay Pass program and how will it benefit SJSU students?

Anthony Montes (AM): The SJSU BayPass is a transformative, student-led initiative that provides unlimited access to all nine Bay Area county transportation agencies without paying a fare. The Bay Area is unique in that its transportation system is fragmented and cobbled together in a way that adds unnecessary complexity to navigate. This is a barrier, and when coupled with the cost of riding transit, it can make public transportation even further out of reach for students.

With BayPass, students no longer have to include cost as a consideration. They now have access to the entire Bay Area, opening doors to internships, jobs, and opportunities for professional and personal growth. It transforms the student experience at San José State by offering stability at a time in their lives when every cent and every minute counts.

It also directly supports student retention. Data from the 2022 to 2025 BayPass pilot at San José State found that student retention improved by 6% within the population using BayPass compared to those without it. That's why we do this work: to support our students. I am proud to share that this program is a shining example of what it looks like when students take the lead to tackle their own issues. At Transportation Solutions, we will continue to engage students and place them at the center of our policy and programs.

How do you plan on engaging students and boosting their confidence in campus transportation and parking programs?

Anthony Montes (AM): In my time as a community organizer for the Silicon Valley Bicycle Coalition, I learned that it is important to meet people where they are. You cannot change hearts and minds without acknowledging each person's unique life experience and ability to navigate complex systems. At Transportation Solutions, we have a responsibility to our students. We exist to serve them and break down barriers to ensure a safe and sustainable commute is available to everyone. That means we need to create programming and communications that address a wide range of needs - from lifelong transit users to those who have never walked, biked, or taken transit to school.

Our team is planning informal and formal opportunities to engage with students through various channels, including online, social media, and in-person events. In addition to our in-person help desk, we are hosting a series of BayPass virtual informational sessions, along with a Transit Month event in September to connect students with resources and programs that help them commute to campus.

How will you engage with transit and city partners?

AM: Coming from a council office in the City of San José, I've seen firsthand the power of collaboration across sectors, including with our transit and city partners. Through partnerships, you can secure a range of investments and safety improvements for communities. At Transportation Solutions, we have already demonstrated our ability to collaborate with transit partners through the implementation of the SJSU BayPass program. But that only breaks down one (very important) barrier for our students: cost. We know there are additional barriers to make sustainable transportation a safe and convenient choice for our students.

Beyond our campus, our team will aim to tackle issues of street and pedestrian safety to ensure SJSU students have safe routes to school; collaborate with transit partners to provide feedback on the quality and comfort our students experience using public transit; and identify partnerships to fund and offer on-campus amenities and programs - such as bike education programming and upgraded, modern bicycle enclosures. In a silo, our department and the university cannot tackle these issues, but together with our partners, we can make public transit, walking, and biking to campus the safest and most convenient choices.

Parking is always a main topic of conversation among students. How do you plan on helping them deal with issues they may experience when commuting to campus?

AM: Transportation Solutions has a close relationship with our partners in the Parking Department. We work together to coordinate communications to students and partner on events where students can access both departments at the same time.

On the first day of the fall semester, we hosted a Morning Moves event at the South Campus Garage, where we shared resources and registered students for the SJSU BayPass. Our friends at Parking share our mission to drive more sustainable commutes to campus. They see the value in guiding folks toward programs like BayPass because of its potential to reduce demand on the parking system.

When more students use alternative, more sustainable transportation, we can reduce our carbon footprint, ease congestion around campus, and preserve parking for students who, for one reason or another, cannot utilize public transit.

What are your plans for revamping and reinvigorating the biking infrastructure on campus?

AM: As someone who bicycles to my local light rail station every morning to commute to campus, I understand the challenges students may encounter when they bike near campus and around San José. First is the issue of access to bicycles. Frankly, this department has made great strides in improving access through its Lyft Bike partnership, and a bike rebate program.

But we need additional programming to build confidence within our students. Many of our students have never ridden a bike in an urban environment where they share the street with large vehicles and vessels like buses and light rail. Our team plans to partner with organizations to bring bicycle education to campus to support their development, teaching them how to ride with confidence in a safe manner.

In terms of physical infrastructure, the city is currently transforming San Fernando Street into a priority bikeway corridor, improving safety and comfort for students riding to campus. However, we understand that with BayPass, students may have varying access to bicycle infrastructure depending on their hometown or where they live while attending SJSU. Our team is committed to partnering with cities and transit agencies to identify ways to improve bicycle access to major transit hubs and stations throughout the Bay Area.

Finally, for students who bring their own bikes to campus, they need to trust that our bicycle enclosures will deter theft and provide real security. Our current bicycle enclosures are in dire need of reimagination. We must accommodate the wide range of micro-mobility devices students use today, especially given the prevalence of electric scooters and e-bikes on campus.

Our partnerships with city and transit agencies will be essential in identifying funding sources to achieve our vision for biking at SJSU. There is incredible energy around this effort, and we are at the beginning of a burgeoning era for sustainable transportation on our campus.

Learn how to get a BayPass.