1 To: Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council
From: Gerry Beaudin, City Manager
Date: September 15, 2026
Supplemental Memo regarding the Presentation on the State of AC Transit by Director Sarah Syed and General Manager/Chief Executive Officer Salvador Llamas
SUPPLEMENTAL INFORMATION
This memo is being provided to supplement the staff report already published for the September 15, 2026, City Council meeting. Agenda item 7-B contains an overview of the AC Transit Contingency Service Plan. AC Transit will implement this Contingency Service Plan only if the Connect Bay Area ballot measure does not pass in November 2026 and they do not have the long- term funding that measure would provide. To address budget shortfalls, the plan would implement significant cuts throughout the system while working to protect critical trunk line service.
City staff ( Staff) believe that AC Transit provides a crucial public service, should have stable funding, and should not need to implement the Contingency Service Plan. If this plan goes into effect, it will leave many transit -dependent riders stranded and cause others to start driving, increasing traffic and greenhouse gas emissions, and decreasing safety on our roadways.
In the Contingency Service Plan, all lines serving Alameda would be impacted except for Line 51A and the school service lines. Staff agree with AC Transit’s decision to prioritize the essential Line 51A. While we do not want any of the proposed reductions to Alameda services to go into effect, we believe the cuts to Alameda Point service are disproportionate and would have a cascade of negative effects.
Further description of the proposed service changes and Staff feedback is in Exhibit 1.
Respectfully submitted,
Abby Thorne-Lyman, Interim Director, Planning, Building, and Transportation Department
By,
Lisa Foster, Transportation Planning Manager
Exhibit:
1. AC Transit Contingency Service Plan Overview & City Staff Feedback
2 Exhibit 1. AC Transit Contingency Service Plan Overview & City Staff Feedback
Contingency Service Plan Overview
AC Transit’s Service Reduction Matrix for lines serving Alameda contains descriptions of proposed service changes compared to existing service for each bus line. To provide more context, Staff created the overview below with changes organized by Alameda region or service type. Note that all listed bus lines connect to BART in Oakland, except for the transbay and school services. Multiple lines serve Webster St, including Lines 19, 96, 51A/851, 30, O, and W.
• Alameda Point and Northern Waterfront
o Line 19 – Eliminate line
o Line 96 – Reduce frequency to 40 minutes on weekdays and 60 minutes on weekends
• Trunk line through Central Alameda
o Line 51A – No changes
o Line 851 (overnight service) – No changes
• Southern Alameda
o Line 30 – Reduce frequency to 40 minutes; after 7:00 PM, only operate on Park St/Fruitvale Ave (remove South Shore to Downtown Oakland portion) o Line W – Eliminate one westbound AM trip and 4 eastbound PM trips • Park Street/Fruitvale Ave
o Line 30 – Reduce frequency to 40 minutes; after 7:00 PM, only operate on Park St/Fruitvale (remove South Shore to Downtown Oakland portion) o Line 31 – Reduce frequency to 40 minutes; end service at 7:30 PM • East End
o Line O – Remove East End loop; operate peak hour, commute direction service only; and eliminate weekend service
o New Alameda East End Line – Add new hourly loop connecting East End to Line O and Fruitvale BART
• Bay Farm
o Line 31 – Reduce frequency to 40 minutes; end service at 7:30 o Line W – Eliminate one westbound AM trip and 4 eastbound PM trips • Transbay
o Line O – Remove East End loop; operate peak hour, commute direction service only; and eliminate weekend service
o Line W – Eliminate one westbound AM trip and 4 eastbound PM trips • Supplementary Service to Schools
o Lines 631, 663, 687 – No changes
3 Staff Input on the AC Transit Contingency Plan
Staff understand that every city would face draconian cuts in the AC Transit Contingency Service Plan, not just the City of Alameda. While all changes listed above are painful, we provide limited feedback in that context.
Staff agree with the prioritization of the critical 51A trunk line. Preserving this line is important as it has by far the largest ridership, including vulnerable and transit-dependent users. This line runs across central Alameda, connecting our community with key locations like Fruitvale BART, Park Street, Mastick Senior Center, Webster Street, 12 th
Street BART, Oakland Kaiser, and more.
Alameda Point to Downtown Oakland service should retain 30 -minute frequency on all days. This is crucial for four primary reasons:
1. The proposed cuts are disproportionate. City staff understand AC Transit’s justification for cutting Line 19 due to low ridership, even though this route now serves Alameda Point in addition to Alameda’s northern waterfront. However, combining this elimination with significant cuts to Line 96 is disproportionate.
2. The Contingency Plan would cut off socially vulnerable transit riders. The current 30-minute frequency on Line 96 is barely sufficient to serve residents of supportive housing on Alameda Point as well as those seeking services at the Alameda Food Bank and Alameda Point Collaborative. Elderly riders frequently wait long durations at Alameda Point bus stops after shopping at the Food Bank. Reducing frequency to 40 minutes on weekdays and 60 minutes on weekends would leave people without reliable transportation to shopping, jobs, and more.
3. The City’s Alameda Point growth strategy depends on transit. Alameda Point is envisioned as a transit-oriented development with limited car trips. It is a regional Priority Development Area (PDA), and the first transportation management area to participate in the regional BayPass pilot program.
Transit is foundational to the ongoing development of an area where the City has entitled more than 2,000 housing units and may have capacity for 1,000 to 3,000 more. This bus service reduction would undermine a PDA’s transportation demand management tools just as construction on 810 new homes is starting.
4. Alameda’s Transportation Management Associations (TMAs) rely on the AC Transit EasyPass and Clipper BayPass programs. The Alameda TMA and West Alameda TDMA serve Alameda Point, Alameda Landing, and the northern waterfront. Both invest heavily in public transit via passes: West Alameda TDMA recently replaced a shuttle program with EasyPasses, and transit passes represent Alameda TMA’s largest financial investment with $250,000 for EasyPass and $550,000 for BayPass budgeted last year.
Without sufficient AC Transit service to their areas, West Alameda TDMA would have little incentive to continue purchasing EasyPasses and Alameda TMA would find less value in the EasyPass and BayPass programs. If the TMAs opted to run 4 shuttles instead of purchasing EasyPasses, that would reduce AC Transit’s revenue and pull riders from AC Transit.
City staff would be willing to support AC Transit in exploring a new, more direct route for Line 96 if this helps AC Transit deliver greater frequency.
Next Step
On October 14, 2026, the AC Transit Board of Directors will hold a public hearing regarding the Contingency Service Plan. City staff will provide a public comment letter for that meeting based on this memo and any City Council feedback. AC Transit’s Contingency Service Plan timeline is on slide 15 of the presentation for Agenda item 7-B.