Almaden

California is known for its car culture, but many summer students use public transportation and the ARC shuttle to get to work. Of course, the true die-hards will be biking up the hill to work. The links below has some resources & information to get you here.

ARC Shuttle Service
Airport Service
Car Pooling
Hertz Rental
Public Transportation
Bicycle


ARC Shuttle Schedule
The schedule provides departure times for the locations serviced by the ARC Shuttle. To best use this service, please plan to be at the shuttle stop a few minutes before the scheduled departure time. The times shown may be further affected by driving conditions or the delayed arrival of County Transit buses or the light rail trains.

Airport Service

Three international airports are within a short distance of San Jose:
  • San Jose International Airport is only 10 min from downtown San Jose. For information, call (408) 277-4759.
  • San Francisco International Airport is about 1 hr drive. For information, call (415) 876-7809
  • Oakland International Airport is about 45 min from San Jose. For information, call (510)577-4000.
All three provide national and international services and serve most major commercial airlines.

Car Pooling

Another alternative is to share a ride with one of your peers who has a car. Try connecting with people in your department or other summer students who can offer a ride or who need a ride.
Almaden Research Center has two road accesses: Harry Road and Bernal Road.
  • Harry Road: off Almaden Expressway. Make a left where Almaden Expressway comes to an end. The entrance gate is a quarter of a mile down, on your right.
  • Bernal Road: off Santa Teresa Boulevard. Take Bernal Road towards Santa Teresa County Park. Drive up a few miles through the park. The gate is at the top of the road, close to the main building. This is the fastest access to/from highways 101 and 85.
  • There is ample parking space outside the ARC building. On your first day, park in the area reserved for visitors, next to the main lobby. Ask someone in your department which parking area has most convenient access to your work place, probably using a side entrance. Do not use the visitor parking area after your first day.



Hertz Rental

You will be able to rent a car (compact-size) from Hertz at the IBM rates. If you share the vehicle with two to three others you can defray your transportation costs, and still have flexibility.

Hertz Rental Option Q & A:
Q: What if I choose to rent a vehicle other than compact-size?
A: Students can choose to rent any sized vehicle from Hertz. Remember, rates will vary.
Q: When do I get the IBM Rate?
A: The IBM rate will be applied when the student receives their IBM Badge, on their start date, and rents the vehicle at the Hertz Office.

Q: What if I need a car at the airport? Can I rent a car from Hertz there?
A: If you need transportation at the airport, you can obtain the IBM rate for the car, provided you show the Hertz representative a copy of your offer letter from IBM. A drop-off charge will still be applied when you drop the car off.
Q: Where can I obtain more information?
A: Access Hertz's website, or call (408) 437-5700 to speak with a Hertz Representative in San Jose. You can also call the Hertz IBM Desk at 1-800-654-3070 with reference code # CDP40000 for the IBM contract rate.

Public Transportation

Valley Transportation Authority (VTA)
The Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority runs buses and light rail in Santa Clara County. IBM provides EcoPasses free to all its Almaden employees. An EcoPass gives unlimited use of VTA transport, both on weekdays and weekends. For specific transit information to IBM, go to www.vta.org/ecopass/members.htm or call the ECO Pass hotline at (800) 894-9908.

Santa Teresa light rail station is on the main light rail line which runs through downtown San Jose. The light rail main line runs from Santa Teresa through downtown San Jose and Santa Clara to BayPointe in Mountain View. One leg serves Almaden light rail station from Ohlone-Chynoweth station.

The Harry Road gate can be accessed by VTA bus number 13, which runs from Ohlone-Chynoweth light rail station.

A number of bus lines also service the Santa Teresa station. Caltrain users transfer to light rail at Tamien station.

Other VTA buses go all over the county: Gilroy, Milpitas, Palo Alto, San Jose, Los Gatos.

For detailed route, maps and scheduled information, go to: http://www.vta.org or call (800) 894-9908.

CalTrain
Trains run from Gilroy to San Francisco, with numerous stops along the way. Transfers to buses are available at most stops and to light rail at Tamien.
For information, call (800) 660-4287 or go to http://www.caltrain.com/

Bicycling

A fair number of our employees brave the uphill ride every morning to reach work at ARC. Showers and lockers are available on site. Regular cyclists can have a locker assigned to them. The ARC shuttle service and almost all VTA public transportation are equipped with bike racks.