Ride the Rapid Along San Pablo Avenue

News Articles
10/20/2003

City, county and state officials joined the East Bay’s bus system in a series of seven ribbon-cuttings to officially mark launching of the bus system’s rapid transit along San Pablo Avenue. Rapid Bus service has already achieved a 22 percent increase in ridership compared with the 72L bus it replaced along the route.

AC Transit initially introduced this service on June 30, and spent the summer fine-tuning its operation.

It took very close cooperation between seven cities, two counties, a half-dozen regional and state agencies, and an army of high-tech vendors to create Rapid Bus service, says Pat Piras, AC Transit’s Board President.

This unprecedented public-agency partnership incorporated Rapid Bus into the Alameda County Congestion Management Agency’s ‘SMART Corridors’ program, now making travel on San Pablo Avenue safer, quicker and more convenient for all, Piras adds, noting that all 15 public agencies participating in ‘Smart Corridors’ formally agreed to continue traffic management improvements along the avenue.

Innovative and cost-effective, Rapid Bus provides trips that are already some 20 percent quicker than the earlier service. Project managers are activating final elements in a suite of Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) technology that makes the improved transit possible.

With Global Positioning System capabilities accurately tracking buses, AC Transit’s new computerized communications system enables radio room dispatchers, as well as road supervisors, to better monitor and manage Rapid service. Other ITS elements that support the new service include:

• Transit priority capabilities that give buses green lights at traffic signals to help speed trips
• Queue-bypass lanes that also helps to speed Rapid buses through traffic choke points
• Signal interconnections, coordinating more than 60 traffic lights, to improve traffic movement
• Upgraded streetscape, with medians and lanes designed to improve traffic flow and pedestrian safety
• With real-time data on the locations of buses, the new automation is allowing AC Transit’s partner vendors to electronically display trip-arrival times for passengers at Rapid bus stops.

The new Rapid Bus service overlays a long-existing trunk line that continues providing local block-to-block trips. By skipping many stops served by the local line, Rapid buses traverse the 14 miles between San Pablo and Oakland much more quickly.