AC TRANSIT BOARD POSTPONES BUS NETWORK CHANGES FOLLOWING MAJORITY VOTE

The potential implementation of Realign is now moved to 2025

OAKLAND, Calif. – The Alameda-Contra Costa Transit District (AC Transit) Board of Directors decided during its Wednesday, January 24 public meeting to postpone the implementation of the Draft Final Service Plan Proposal for Realign.

This fourth phase of Realign was initially planned to include public hearings and engagement for proposed service changes and plan adoption in August 2024. Wednesday night's majority vote, however, has resulted in the potential implementation of Realign being moved to 2025. Additionally, the public hearings originally scheduled for March 13, 2024, are now on hold.

“When deciding to postpone, the Board of Directors considered various factors, such as the impact to various rider groups, Operations staffing levels, and ensuring an equitable distribution of resources for transit-dependent and disadvantaged riders,” said Board President Joel Young. “The Board encourages riders and the communities we serve to continue to provide input as the Realign process moves forward.”

AC Transit will now work with its labor union partners to assess the viability of implementing Realign in 2025.

AC Transit Realign is a comprehensive review of the total bus network, following post-pandemic revenue losses, funding shortfalls, Bus Operator workforce challenges, and was designed to right-size operations as riders travel patterns have demonstrably shifted in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. Realign's Draft Final Service Plan Proposal represents feedback received during three phases of public outreach, which incorporated rider and community input on essential transit needs and priorities.