City Council Staff Report Page 1 of 3 July 14, 2026
Staff Report
Agenda Item No. 5.7
DATE: July 14, 2026
TO: Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council
FROM: Joan Malloy, City Manager
SUBJECT: Adopt a Resolution Approving Union City Transit Fall 2026 Service Changes Effective Saturday, August 8, 2026
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Staff recommends that the City Council adopt a resolution approving Union City Transit Fall 2026 service changes effective Saturday, August 8, 2026.
STRATEGIC PLAN ALIGNMENT
There is no direct alignment with the Strategic Plan goals.
BACKGROUND
Prior to the Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) Pandemic, Union City Transit had not changed its routes and schedules since 2015. During 2020, Union City Transit went through multiple iterations of its service to adapt to decreased ridership, social distancing, and social unrest with curfews. After a public hearing held on March 9, 2021, the City Council adopted Resolution No. 5722-21, making permanent service changes to route alignments.
On May 24, 2021, Union City Transit began the twenty-two (22) month pilot of the Union City Flea microtransit pilot project that was initially approved through the adoption of Resolution No. 5535-19 by City Council on October 22, 2019. The pilot concluded on March 31, 2023, with Resolution No. 6111-23 on April 25, 2023, to coincide with the upcoming Bay Area Rapid Transit District (BART) fall service changes originally scheduled to take place in August 2023.
In Spring 2026, BART announced to transit operators that their proposed schedule changes for Fall 2026 would take effect on Monday, August 10, 2026. The schedule changes would continue BART’s response to a looming fiscal cliff that requires reducing service to preserve existing operating funds with continued significant impacts to the segment of the system between Bay Fair (San Leandro) and Berryessa (North San Jose).
Trains in both directions are now scheduled to arrive within four (4) minutes of each other.
This latest adjustment impacts Union City Transit schedules that have been in effect since Agenda Item No. 5.7
City Council Staff Report Page 2 of 3 July 14, 2026
August 11, 2025.
The City Council awarded a service contract to MV Transportation, Inc. (MV Transit) on March 14, 2023, with the adoption of City Council Resolution No. 6096-23. The new contract includes a provision for microtransit and an anticipated number of service hours pending an expansion or contraction of the service.
DISCUSSION
The Metropolitan Transportation Commission’s (MTC) Blue Ribbon Transit Recovery Task Force (BRTF) convened during the COVID-19 Pandemic to address transit issues.
The BRTF has evolved into the Transit Transformation Action Plan (TTAP) and seeks to implement the most viable recommendations that came from the BRTF. The TTAP includes schedule coordination, fare coordination, wayfinding coordination, technology coordination, procurement coordination, and fiscal responsibility amongst all the transit operators in the nine-county San Francisco Bay Area under the purview of MTC. Some of the collaborations described will come through a newly developed MTC committee responsible for Regional Network Management (RNM). One of the goals of RNM is to make local or sub-regional operators connect with regional operators. In Union City, Union City Transit would continue coordinating its schedule to connect with BART trains arriving or departing at the station.
Union City Transit staff has evaluated the new BART schedule for Fall 2026. Staff has developed a modified schedule for Routes 1, 2, and 5, with trip times shifting by no more than 9 minutes from the current schedule, to maintain the maximum number of BART connections possible. The new schedule preserves peak hours weekday mornings and evenings at twenty (20)-minute peak service intervals for Routes 1, 2, and 5.
The new schedule adjusts the number of trips on Routes 3 and 4 based on prior year ridership. Route 8, originally a route for New Haven Unified School District’s (NHUSD) seasonal supplemental service, will now operate year-round in lieu of certain Route 5 runs in the morning and evening, plus seasonal service in line with NHUSD’s calendar.
Route 8 will now serve the BART station at the Route 5 bus stop.
The new weekday schedule for fixed route service will start at approximately 5:00 AM and end at approximately 10:45 PM. The new weekend schedule will start at approximately 7:00 AM and end at approximately 8:00 PM. There are no changes to the bus route alignments with these schedule changes. Flea service will begin at approximately 4:30 AM and end at approximately 10:45 PM on weekdays, with no weekend service.
Union City Paratransit’s Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) service hours will adjust to complement those of the fixed-route service as required by law. There will be no change to Paratransit Plus service on weekdays, while weekend service hours will align with the weekend fixed-route service.
FISCAL IMPACT
The service changes proposed were included in MV Transit's pricing, and MV Transit’s pricing was used to develop Union City Transit’s funding in the approved Biennial Budget for FY 2025-2026 and FY 2026-2027, so there is no anticipated cost increase to Union Agenda Item No. 5.7
City Council Staff Report Page 3 of 3 July 14, 2026
City Transit. Union City Transit staff continues to explore additional funding sources like LCTOP to fund service enhancements, but this is to preserve funding reserves since the San Francisco Bay Area Transit operators are all potentially facing financial issues after FY 2027-2028.
There is no impact on the General Fund.
RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends that the City Council adopt a resolution approving Union City Transit Fall 2026 service changes effective Saturday, August 8, 2026.
Prepared by: Steve Adams, Transit Manager
Submitted by: Marilou Ayupan, Public Works Director
Attachments
1. Attachment 1 - UC Transit Routes: Proposed Fall 2026
2. Draft Resolution