Move to Transbay Temporary Terminal Set for August 7
News Articles
07/01/2010
DON’T FORGET . . . the move is on Saturday, August 7! There will be giveaways and raffle prizes during Opening Week (August 9-13).
Read a message from AC Transit’s Interim General Manager, Mary V. King
Historical Tours of the current Transbay Terminal on Friday, July 30
Temporary Terminal Open House on Tuesday, August 3
It’s confirmed – AC Transit will move all of its transbay operations to the Transbay Temporary Terminal on Saturday, August 7, 2010 from the current San Francisco Transbay Terminal. The old facility, which opened in 1939, will be demolished to make way for a new, world-class Transit Center designed to serve commuter buses and trains, as well as high-speed rail. The Transit Center will be completed in approximately seven years.
In the weeks leading up to the move, staff from AC Transit and the Transbay Joint Powers Authority (TJPA), will be doing everything possible to ensure a smooth transition. Transbay passengers may want to bookmark this page, as information will be added to it regularly.
IN THIS ARTICLE:
Location of the Temporary Terminal
Phase I and Phase II
Temporary Terminal Entrance
Bus Stop Locations
Bay Bridge Access
Paying Fares
Amenities and Safety
How to Stay Informed
Location of the Temporary Terminal
On August 7, all AC Transit transbay buses will drop off and pick up passengers at the Temporary Terminal. It is located at 250 Main Street (at Howard Street) about 1 ½ blocks from the old terminal and bound by Main, Beale, Folsom and Howard streets.
The Temporary Terminal will serve as home to AC Transit, Muni, Greyhound, Golden Gate Transit, Lynx, and SamTrans during the construction of the Transit Center.
Phase I and Phase II
Because a significant portion of the Temporary Terminal lies below the elevated ramp leading to the current terminal, about one-third of the Temporary Terminal will be unfinished when the facility first opens. It will take two to three months after the existing terminal is closed to tear down the ramp and finish building out the Temporary Terminal. For this reason, operations within the Temporary Terminal will occur in two phases. Phase I will start on August 7, and Phase II will begin sometime in October once the Temporary Terminal is 100% complete.
Temporary Terminal Entrance
The best way to access the Temporary Terminal from downtown San Francisco is to walk down Main Street to the Terminal’s entrance on Main St. between Howard and Folsom streets. During Phase I, this will be the Terminal’s only entrance. When Phase II begins, two additional entrances for AC Transit passengers will be available on Howard and Beale streets.
Bus Stop Locations
During Phase I, more than half of AC Transit’s bus lines will be located inside the Temporary Terminal, and the rest will be outside along Main Street, on the block between Howard and Folsom streets.
For westbound trips into San Francisco, bus operators will drop off passengers along Main Street between Howard and Folsom streets.
Eastbound passengers at the Temporary Terminal will wait for and get on the bus at the assigned stop for their line — either inside or outside the Terminal.
Click here to see the location of stops for each bus line. The breakdown of stops inside and outside the Terminal is as follows:
Inside: Lines B, BA, C, CB, F, J, NL, NX1, NX2, NX3, NX4, NXC, O, S, SB, and Z
Outside along Main St.: Lines E, FS, G, H, L, LA, LC, OX, P, V, and W
Note to BA and NL passengers: You will enter the Terminal on Howard St. directly at your bus stop.
We encourage passengers to become acquainted with the location of the Temporary Terminal and their bus stop before August 7 and to allow extra time to catch their bus during the first few days of the move.
Bay Bridge Access
For westbound trips into downtown San Francisco, AC Transit buses will approach the Temporary Terminal after exiting the Bay Bridge via Fremont, Folsom, and Beale streets and take a right turn into the bus entrance. For eastbound trips leaving the city, buses will exit the Terminal by taking a right turn onto Folsom Street and then a left onto Essex Street.
Several steps have been taken to mitigate traffic concerns, including:
* Removal of parking meters along the streets surrounding the Terminal
* Transit-only lanes along Folsom and Essex streets in the eastbound direction to facilitate access to the Bay Bridge
* Creation of bus-only staging areas along Folsom and Fremont streets
Paying Fares
During Phase I, fares will be paid in the same way they are currently paid – on the bus.
In Phase II, AC Transit will move to a Proof-of-Payment system. More information about this new fare payment system will be available later this summer.
Amenities and Safety
While the Temporary Terminal will be smaller than the old Terminal, passengers will enjoy some distinct improvements:
* Kiosks with digital schedule information
* 24-hour security * Increased supervision throughout the day
* Attractive landscaping and cleaner facilities
The Temporary Terminal is an outdoor facility, but each bus stop inside the Terminal will have an overhead canopy and windscreen. (There will be no canopies over the Phase I temporary bus stops outside the Terminal.)
How to Stay Informed
AC Transit and the TJPA will be providing lots of materials and information to transbay passengers so everyone is fully prepared to move on August 7. Outreach will begin in July and include:
* Signage at the current terminal
* Pocket map/diagram of the Temporary Terminal showing bus stop locations and other points of interest
* General brochure about the Temporary Terminal and Transit Center project
* Transbay Taskforce meeting on July 13 at the TJPA
* In-person outreach at the current terminal in the weeks before the move
* An Open House at the Temporary Terminal planned for Tuesday, August 3 from 4:00-7:00 p.m.
* On-street directional signs
* Extra staff to assist passengers during the opening week at the Temporary
Terminal
The TJPA has also set up a Web site, www.temporaryterminal.org, that you may want to bookmark. This site will be updated continuously and serve as a clearing house for all information related to the move, not just AC Transit-specific news.
And finally, we encourage you to sign up for AC Transit e-News if you are not already a subscriber, as we will be sending important updates as needed regarding the move. Sign up for e-News.