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April 16, 2010
Shelmi Liang
Students will have to find other bus routes to take now that the AC Transit has executed a major service change in Alameda County communities. Due to the California budget cuts, declining sales-tax revenues and other economic factors, there will be an 8.4% reduction in bus service around the Bay Area.
Some students find that the new routes provided are not that different than the previous route they took. There are slightly fewer people on this bus now because the route is geared specifically towards students who live in downtown Niles and the area around it.
“The change hasn’t really effected how I get home because they did replace the bus with another route that basically goes to the same stops,” junior Amber Yao said.
However, one concern was relaying information to the public about the change. Despite the signs posted on all bus stops about the change effect date, students were still confused and had a hard time adjusting. Ten days was not enough time to announce the effective change.
“When we tried to ask certain bus drivers for help with finding alternative routes, they were not helpful. Instead they blamed it on us, telling us to pay more attention to the ‘news’ when the signs were only up for about a week,” sophomore Natalie Yeung said. “But calling the AC transit number was indeed more useful. They found me the fastest routes possible, that was closest to my house.”
Besides relying on bus transportation as means of getting to and from school, students also carpool with their parents or friends to drive them.
Last year, a Service Adjustments Plan was drafted, revised and refined within a nine-month period. Thousands of bus riders and the public contributed their comments, concerns and suggestions to help conduct a good and beneficiary plan. The schedules and routes changed to improve reliability significantly. Also, the extended hours of service will increase the use of bus lines. The new “circulator” lines that operate bi-directional loops will offer quick trips from neighborhoods to major centers of activity and regional transit connections.
For a list of changes, maps and schedules, visit the local BART station or the AC Transit website at actransit.org.
