AC Transit Board of Directors approves new bus service realignment plan

The Alameda-Contra Costa Transit District (AC Transit) Board of Directors has approved the Realign Final Network Plan with a vote of five to two during its recent public meeting. The plan was initially presented in Spring 2023. The new realignment plan is an equity-focused review of all bus lines, designed to address significant shifts in ridership and commuting patterns since the pandemic.  

The Realign Plan offers several key benefits for AC Transit riders and East Bay communities, including: 

• Line 7 will serve Stanford, Powell and the Emeryville Public Market every 60 minutes.
• Line 10 will provide a new one-seat ride from San Leandro to Union City every 15 minutes.
• Line 19 will serve Alameda Point every 60 minutes. Rather than traveling directly to and from downtown Oakland via Marina Village Parkway and the Webster and Posey Tubes, the line will serve Alameda Point in both directions.
• Line 20 will operate as it does today, with the proposal for Line 19 serving Alameda Point. 
• Line 21 will provide new service to Chabot Space & Science Center, Roberts Regional Rec Area, Redwood Regional Park and Joaquin Miller Park. On weekdays, service will run every 60 minutes and every 30 minutes on weekends.
• Line 29 will offer new 30-minute service on Stanford, Alcatraz, College and Bancroft/Durant, providing an additional crosstown connection between Emeryville, South Berkeley, North Oakland, the UC Berkeley campus and downtown Berkeley.
• Lines 70 and 76 will add 15-minute service in Richmond along the Cutting and Harbor corridors.
• Line 96 will provide new service every 30 minutes to Brooklyn Basin and parts of Jack London Square.
• Lines 210 and 299 schedules will be coordinated so buses run every 15 minutes along Fremont Boulevard between Decoto and Walnut.
• The frequent network of service every 15 minutes or better will be available on lines 1T, 6, 10, 18, 20/21, 40, 51A, 51B, 52, 57, 70/76, 72/72M/72R, 97, 210/299 and NL.
• Schedule reliability improvements on lines operating worse than 70 percent on-time performance.  

Realign was made possible through extensive public engagement with 49 outreach activities, including community events and city council presentations resulting in over 1,200 touchpoints recorded throughout AC Transit's service areas. To better understand the post-pandemic transit needs of disabled, elderly and underrepresented riders, the realign plan incorporated their lived experiences with support from United Seniors of Alameda County, Community Resources for Independent Living, La Familia, the Oakland Chinatown Chamber of Commerce and several other Community-Based Organizations.  

Additionally, the board of directors conducted four public hearings on September 9, 10 and 11, 2024, to gather formal public comments from communities and stakeholders. 

Ultimately, in its 5-2 vote, the board removed Realign+, a package of service improvements for prioritized bus lines that would have increased service to 100 percent of pre-pandemic levels, contingent on the transit district hiring more bus operators. Similar to other transit agencies, AC Transit is experiencing a decline in the number of applicants entering the industry. This, coupled with retirements, turnover and competition from delivery and transportation companies offering higher wages, continues to make hiring new bus operators a significant challenge. 

The board approved the overall Realign Plan as it incurs no additional operating costs, which aims to maintain service levels at 85 percent of pre-pandemic levels while keeping bus operator positions at their current numbers.