Ac Transit Annual Report 1978-1979

AC Transit Annual Report Fiscal Year 1978-1979
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ALAMEDA-CONTRA COSTA TRANSIT DISTRICT ANNUAL REPORT 1978-79 BOARD OF DIRECTORS William E. Berk President Jean A. Holmes Roy Nakadegawa Vice President John l. McDonnell William J. Bettencourt Michael H. Fajans Ray Rinehart I ~ ' SUMMING UP During Fiscal 1978-79, AC Transit accomplished a smooth transition in top leadership, laid a firm foundation for future increased and modernized the bus fleet, expande cooperative activities with other Bay Area propertie in the areas of jOint procurement and regional promotion of public transit patronage, and responded quickly and positively to external events which placed unusually heavy demands on both equipment and personnel. In addition, efforts to improve day-to-day operations yielded important breakthroughs - particularly the opening of an exclusive, buses-only access to the Bay Bridge to speed early-morning transbay commute service. Key events of the year included: • AppOintment by the Board of Directors of Robert E. Nisbet as General Manager. • Extension of service into western Contra Costa County. • Achievement by Distr ict drivers of the highest monthly safety average in the System' s history. • Delivery of new 60-foot art iculated coaches (ordered in 1975) and training of drivers in operating these new models, employed on heavily-patronized lines. • Emergency institution of transbay shuttle service to handle thousands of extra passengers displaced by sudden shut-down of BART train service following a tunnel fire . • Swearing-in of four incumbent Directors returned to office by voters and appOintment of Director Michael H. Fajans to fill a Board vacancy. • Endorsement of state guidelines assuring availability of diesel fuel for transit operations during any shortfall situations. • Completion of AC Transit Five Year Plan - Fiscal Years 1980-1984 and its presentation at three public meetings. • Completion of an on-board passenger profile survey based on information from 43,000 bus riders. • Decision to purchase 175 " new look" buses with wheelchair lifts for anticipated delivery in mid-1980. RIDERSHIP A shortage of gasoline coupled with rising prices, and an interruption of BART transbay train service, prompted many residents of the District to rethink their workday travel habits during the latter part of this fiscal period. And many of them opted to take the bus. Patronage on the transbay bus lines - operated between the Transbay Transit Terminal in San Francisco and dozens of East Bay neighborhoods - soared at record rates following a fire which put BART's transbay tube out of commission from mid-January to early-April. In February, nearly 1.3 million people made the transbay trip by AC Transit bus - a 29 percent increase over ridership one year earlier. During this same period, AC Transit supervised an efficient " shuttle" to bridge the gap in train service, carrying addit ional tens of thousands between San Francisco and the East Bay. For the remainder of the fiscal period, transbay ridership and patronage on many East Bay urban and suburban bus lines remained high - as the price of gasoline soared and its availability became spotty. On newer bus services introduced in suburban communities in the 1970s, monthly increases ranged as high as 50 to 60 percent above passenger counts one year earlier . 3 On BART Express bus extension service, operated by the District under contract, ridership was up by 68 percent for the fiscal period, compared to the previous year. Patronage was up by similar levels in Moraga/ Orinda and in new service inaugurated in 1977 in Pittsburg, Antioch and Brentwood, in eastern Contra Costa County . In the urban East Bay, the increase averaged about 18 percent above Fiscal Year 1977 -78 levels. At year' s end, Directors authorized the seeking of bids to provide about 1 75 new buses - an addition to the fleet expected to be delivered i n mid-1980. Capital funds avai lable for this purchase amount to $22 .3 million. The number of one-way route miles i ncreased from 2191 to 221 0 miles at the end of this fiscal period. AC Transit operated a total of 201 peak-hour routes, about 75 percent of them adjusted to make transfer connections with train service at BART stations throughout the East Bay. An additional 31 passenger shelters were installed dur i ng the year, br i nging the total of convenient enclosures in place for bus riders to 243 shelters. And an addit ional 1 74 passenger stops were created, br inging the total number of bus stop signs maintained throughout the District to 7,350. MI LLIONS OF PEOPLE r-.=J ,= I .- 1= - 1:.;::= = = r 'T= I iI!I I 1970 197 1 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 197!' • "'-'Ie<" ,g •• ,,,,, .. ' .""'00<"$1_<10, ..,, .. ••• ""'ioelOl9-