AC Transit dedicates low-emission, low-floor bus to people of San Pablo

Press Releases
08/09/2001

(Oakland, CA) San Pablo Mayor Joseph Gomes and Metropolitan Transportation Commission chairperson Sharon Brown (a San Pablo city council member) joined AC Transit Thursday, August 9, to celebrate a “Partnership in Motion” by dedicating a low-emission, low-floor bus to the people of San Pablo – owners and users of the public bus system that serves some 230,000 daily riders throughout the East Bay. This particular bus, a most recent addition to AC Transit’s fleet, incorporates state-of-the-art technology that contributes to cleaner air in the region, to easier boarding for passengers, and to greater operational efficiency in the transit system. The distinctively-decorated emerald green bus, dedicated to service on San Pablo Avenue, bears an eye-catching new emblem that showcases the City of San Pablo’s logo. San Pablo and other cities along the avenue are active in an unprecedented public partnership working to achieve substantial improvements in transportation and aesthetics along the corridor. In addition to upgrading its appearance, the municipalities are making travel along the avenue’s 16-mile length quicker, safer and more convenient. AC Transit is introducing improvements designed to speed bus service, offer greater reliability and introduce new passenger amenities. The distinctive new emerald-green buses are but one step toward this goal. The new “Partnership in Motion” emblem introduced in Thursday’s ceremony celebrates this ongoing constructive collaboration between the East Bay’s public bus system and the municipal, business, civic and community leaders, and the citizens of San Pablo, which has been an integral part of the bus system since the beginning. In September (when construction permits), northbound Line 40 and 43 trips will be detoured via Franklin Street (instead of Broadway) from 12th Street to 15th Street, serving a temporary stop on Franklin at 14th. That stop will also be served by northbound Line 88, which will shift from Broadway to Franklin between 11th and 15th streets. During this phase of construction, scheduled to take six months, all south and eastbound bus trips through 14th and Broadway will continue to use existing routes and stops. Today, AC Transit operates an extensive network of 150 local and transbay (to/from San Francisco) bus lines throughout the East Bay – including seven local lines that blanket the City of San Pablo plus two transbay routes that provide commute-hour connections directly to downtown San Francisco. San Pablo is northernmost of the 13 cities (in addition to adjacent unincorporated communities) that comprise AC Transit’s service area along the eastern shores of San Francisco Bay. The public has owned this bus district since the late 1950s, when East Bay voters passed a bond measure to buy out the Key System, AC Transit’s private-sector predecessor.