AC TRANSIT IS OFFERING FARE-FREE BUS RIDES EACH FRIDAY IN SEPTEMBER

Welcome back, it hasn’t been the same without you!

OAKLAND, Calif. – The Alameda-Contra Costa Transit District (AC Transit) wishes to offer a special thank you to our frequent riders for their continued support and welcome new riders aboard for the return to in-office work, back to school, and back to friends and family, with the offer of Fare-Free Fridays in September. 

On September 3, 10, 17, and 24, riders may board any AC Transit local and Transbay route without fare payment from 12:01 am to 11:59 pm. At boarding, farebox and Clipper card readers will be covered. Additionally, Tempo Line 1T platform ticket vending machines, and mobile fare payment systems will also be deactivated each Friday in September.

Enhancements & Ridership

Despite the pandemic-induced closures of most schools and many offices over the past 17-months, AC Transit never stopped rolling. Our reliable service was made possible by the development of new and industry-leading enhancements designed to safeguard your commute, including the installation of the highest-level filters for the heating, air conditioning, and ventilation systems of every bus; daily antiviral fogging and cleaning; new contactless payment options, and free facemasks and hand sanitizer on every bus.

Riders are demonstrating their confidence in our evolving safeguards by steadily returning to transit. At the close of July, there were just over 70,500 daily weekday riders across our system. As of August 16, average weekday ridership rose to 83,900, a positive 6.5 percent week-over-week increase.

Fare-Free Fridays are now an ideal opportunity to experience the totality of AC Transit’s health and safety advancements in motion. Learn more about how we stay transit-ready at actransit.org/covid-19.

We remind East Bay riders that there is now considerably more bus service to meet your commuting needs. In early August, our transit district launched the service restoration and expansion plan, which restored supplementary 600-bus lines to schools, Early Bird Express bus lines to support BART, All-Nighter 800-bus lines, and select Transbay bus lines.

Onboard physical distancing requirements have also ended, and our original passenger bus capacity limits are restored. However, AC Transit will continue to enforce federal mandates, which require public transit riders to wear face coverings at all times.