Case Study: Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority achieves a future-proof smart fare network with Allied Telesis

Simplified Commuting and Superior Passenger Experience with Smart Payment System at Santa Clara VTA

Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) needed to modernize its network to support Clipper smart cards across its bus and light rail system. Its legacy environment was a patchwork of unmanaged, mixed-vendor equipment with limited documentation, making troubleshooting difficult and preventing reliable expansion across 42.2 miles of rail infrastructure and 62 light rail stations. Allied Telesis was brought in to provide a new, highly reliable core-to-edge network for the fare system.

Allied Telesis designed and deployed a ruggedized, scalable solution using Gigabit Ethernet switches with VCStack technology, industrial edge switches, and fiber connectivity, while also training VTA staff and limiting outages during the transition. The result was a future-proof network that kept ticketing fully operational, improved passenger experience, and enabled remote troubleshooting instead of dispatching technicians for every issue. With Allied Telesis, VTA now has a high-performing foundation for future services like additional kiosks, Wi‑Fi, VoIP emergency phones, and real-time signage.

Santa Clara Valley Transit Authority

Richard Bertalan

Technology Manager