AC Transit Board Approves December 2003 Line Changes
News Articles
07/02/2003
Adjustments in AC Transit bus service, approved at the July 2 Board meeting for implementation in December, will help the agency cope with a substantial projected financial shortfall, which directly results from the nation’s stalled economy.
The service adjustments and reductions affect routes and schedules in Western Contra Costa and Northern and Central Alameda counties, targeting primarily bus lines and scheduled trips with light patronage. These changes reduce service by some 680 hours daily – equal to about 11percent of the agency’s regularly scheduled service.
In West Contra Costa County, the Richmond, San Pablo, and the El Cerrito areas, AC Transit will be:
- Discontinue Lines 68, 75 and 78 (except for school day supplementary trips).
- Provide weekday service on Macdonald Ave. with Golden Gate Transit Line 42
- Extend Line 74, combined with Line 69, to Orinda BART via San Pablo Dam Rd.
- Introduce a new shuttle line connecting Hilltop Mall with Contra Costa College via Moyers
In Oakland, Berkeley, Piedmont, Emeryville and Alameda, plans are to:
- Discontinue entirely Lines 1, 2, 5, 17, 44,47, 49/49M/49X, 58/58X and 60; and replace Lines 3 and 4 in Piedmont with new Line 41
- Discontinue the Skyline Blvd. portion of Line 46 (while continuing service to Skyline High School)
- Adjust or reduce service on Lines 46/46A, 48, 50, 53, 56, 57, 62 and 63
- Retain Lines 35X and 36X, but with new $3 fare ($1.50 for discounted categories)
- Realign Line 50 to operate between BART/Fruitvale and BART/BayFair via Alameda, Bay Farm Island, the Oakland Airport, and the Eastmont Transit Center.
- Reduce Line 56 (four evening trips in each direction) and discontinue Lines 315, 345 and 354
- Add service on Line 57, which will operate only between the Eastmont Transit Center and Emeryville. From Eastmont to BART/BayFair, service will be provided by new Line 50 (described above)
- Realign Transbay Line N, providing service all-day between the MacArthur Corridor and downtown Oakland, continuing to San Francisco. This new Rapid Bus service, with stops every one-half to two-thirds of a mile, will replace Line 58
- Reroute Line 63 to operate between BART/Fruitvale and Oakland City Center via the Southshore Shopping Center, Alameda Point and the Posey & Webster Tubes
In Central Alameda County, the Hayward, San Leandro, and Castro Valley areas, AC Transit will:
- Discontinue Lines 87 and 89
- Combine Lines 84 and 90 to serve Jackson and Amador streets (discontinuing service on Santa Clara St. south of West Winton Ave.)
- Change Line 91 (absorbing segments of Line 89) to connect Castro Valley with South Hayward via BART/Hayward and BART/South Hayward
- Realign Line 92 to operate from the Cal State campus via Hesperian Blvd. to Chabot College
For TransBay service, plans are to restructure the MacArthur corridor lines, incorporating Line RCV into a new Line N-series of peak-period freeway expresses that enter I-580 at Fruitvale Avenue, High Street, Dutton Avenue and Benedict Drive.
- Operate Lines N/NL as Rapid Bus service between Eastmont and San Francisco via downtown Oakland (20th St. and Broadway) – replacing current Lines 58 and 58X
- Redesign Line B to operate (via the current BX route) as a one-way commuter express, westbound in the morning, eastbound weekday afternoons
- Discontinue Lines K, KH, LB, LC, LD, OX1, WA and Y
- Redesign Line L to operate (between Richmond and San Francisco) via San Pablo Avenue – serving only Rapid stops – through El Cerrito and Albany to Pierce Street and I-80
- Reroute Line LA in Richmond to directly serve Hilltop Mall.