Public Comment

Over the last year, I’ve written several commentaries about AC Transit’s Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) proposal, the dedication of lanes on Telegraph for the 1R bus. I predicted that AC Transit could not afford to operate BRT without impacting other bus routes, and that prediction has come true sooner than I expected. It is now painfully clear that AC Transit can’t even afford to operate the 1R bus without cutting service on other routes. 

In the November election, voters approved Measure VV, giving AC Transit $14 million every year in additional funding, specifically to avoid fare increases and service cuts. But even with this additional money, AC Transit is now preparing for both fare increases and service cuts. They are hosting community meetings seeking public input on which routes to cut, so I’ll make the rather obvious suggestion to discontinue the 1R bus. 

Looking at the 1R schedules, it is clear that at least 13 buses are required to be in operation during the week, and seven on weekends. Two shifts of drivers are required, and when vacations, holidays, and sick days are factored in, this works out to roughly 35 full-time AC Transit employees, just to drive the 1R buses. Then there is the cost of maintenance, fuel, and depreciation of the buses. Add all this up, and the 1R looks like it costs around $7 million a year to operate, money that is wasted because the 1R duplicates the service of the 1 bus. 

Since the service started in 2007, AC Transit has wasted an estimated $14 million, driving the big 1R buses up and down Telegraph Avenue, East 14th Street, and International Boulevard every 12 to 15 minutes. The money AC Transit wasted on the 1R in the last two years, added to the projected cost of the 1R for next year, almost exactly equals the $20 million in service cuts they are planning for other bus routes. While there is no way for them to get back the money they’ve already wasted on the 1R to help their deficit for next year, they can at least stop wasting another $7 million or so every year. I think its time for AC Transit to admit that the 1R/BRT experiment has failed, and to cut their losses and avoid inconveniencing their riders even more. The BRT project, as planned by AC Transit, isn’t going to happen anyway. San Leandro Mayor Tony Santos recently told me they have decided not to allow dedicated bus lanes in their city. If Berkeley or Oakland follows San Leandro’s lead, AC Transit could easily be left with a “BRT system” having only a few miles of dedicated lanes. Or possibly none at all. Such a system might not even qualify for federal funding, which would leave AC Transit with no way to build it. 

Discontinuing the 1R bus now will significantly reduce AC Transit’s carbon footprint, and will prevent about one third of the planned cuts to other routes. And if AC Transit ever stops focusing on BRT, they can start planning for some real improvements for their other routes. In the years since BRT was proposed, new technologies have become available that can help solve the problem of bus bunching, and AC Transit should aggressively pursue them. The current situation, with two or three buses tailgating each other along their route, wastes money and fuel, and inconveniences riders. Solving this problem can free up resources and prevent even more of the planned service cuts. If AC Transit isn’t up to the job of keeping buses evenly spaced, they are welcome to contact me. I’ll be happy to help them do that. 

If AC Transit chooses to keep running the unnecessary 1R buses, and cuts service on other badly needed routes instead, it will be the height of irresponsibility for them. Greg Harper, the AC Transit Board member for Berkeley, claims to dislike the planned service cuts, because 75 percent of the riders are living below the federal poverty line. Is this a real concern for him, or just lip service to try to avoid responsibility for his actions? We’ll find out when AC Transit makes the service cuts. They can choose to support their failed pet project, and continue running big empty 1R buses up and down Telegraph, or they can keep running the buses that carry low income riders to and from their jobs, schools, shopping, and doctor’s appointments. 

Russ Tilleman is a Berkeley resident.