Bus Line Changes Could Cutoff Service to Parts of CV
Castro Valley may gain some bus frequency but lose some bus coverage under one of two competing AC Transit proposals now being considered as part of a post-pandemic “realignment.”
AC Transit held the latest in a series of public meetings on the realignment at its Oakland headquarters on Wednesday, December 13.
The two-county bus system lost much of its ridership during the pandemic with a related loss of revenues, and ridership has yet to recover, according to AC Transit spokesperson Robert Lyles. He said it is hoping to regain ridership, and thus revenue, by making changes to the system to match post-pandemic riders’ changed needs.
Currently, Line 28 runs through Castro Valley along Stanton Avenue, Lake Chabot Road, Castro Valley Boulevard, Castro Valley BART, Redwood Road, Seven Hills Road, Center Street, and A Street. It connects to San Leandro BART and Hayward BART at either end. Route 93 begins at Hayward BART and connects to Castro Valley BART via Grove Way and Redwood Road.
AC Transit is considering two competing service changes: a Balanced Coverage Scenario and a Frequent Service Scenario. A third “Unconstrained Vision Scenario” is also proposed and represents AC Transit’s hope to add more lines and frequent services should additional resources become available in the future.
The Balanced Coverage Scenario leaves the current Castro Valley service untouched on lines 28 and 93. The Scenario aims at shifting bus service throughout AC Transit’s service area to lines with higher ridership, while reducing service to less-ridden lines and parts of lines. Route 28 would be slightly rerouted near the San Leandro BART station to serve the Boys & Girls Club on East 14th Street, which bus service currently misses. Both lines would keep the current bus frequency.
In the Frequent Service scenario, though, Route 28 would drop service in Castro Valley on Redwood Road north of Castro Valley Boulevard and areas east of Redwood Road along Seven Hills Road, Heyer Avenue, Madison Avenue, and Center Street. Like in the Balanced scenario, it would be slightly rerouted in San Leandro to serve the Boys & Girls Club.
Lyles said that the transit district has been talking with the Castro Valley Unified School District about providing supplemental bus service specifically for schools in that area if the Frequent Service Scenario is adopted.
Weekday service along the 28, to be renamed the F28, however, would be increased to every 30 minutes, compared to the current 60 minutes. Weekend service would remain at every 60 minutes.
Route 93 service would be eliminated in Castro Valley under that scenario, with the renamed Route F93 ending at the Hayward BART station after coming from Bayfair BART. However, Route F28 would now connect Castro Valley BART with Hayward BART using the routing on Redwood Road, Grove Way, and Foothill Boulevard, formerly used by Route 93.
Public comments at the December 13 meeting were concerned about proposed changes on other routes in other communities AC Transit serves. One Castro Valley Zoom caller was concerned with schools losing service along the current Route 28.
Most commenters, however, were more concerned with proposed changes to Route 51, parts of which now serve Berkeley, Oakland, and Alameda; Route 72R, currently a limited-stop service between Richmond, El Cerrito, Berkeley, and Oakland; and with proposed Flex service using smaller vehicles instead of regular buses in the Fremont area.
The AC Transit project team is expected to recommend a single plan, utilizing what they’ve heard in the public meetings, at the transit district’s board of directors meeting on January 24, 2024. Additional public meetings will then be held to discuss that proposal.
More information on AC Transit Realignment, including upcoming public meetings in the months ahead, is available athttps://www.actransit.org/realign.