TO: AC Transit Board of Directors
FROM: Michael A. Hursh, General Manager/Chief Executive Officer
SUBJECT: Board Policy 501 Update
BRIEFING ITEM
AGENDA PLANNING REQUEST: ☐
RECOMMENDED ACTION(S):
Title
Receive an update on draft amendments to Board Policy No. 501, governing the District’s bus stops.
Staff Contact:
Ramakrishna Pochiraju, Executive Director of Planning & Engineering
Body
STRATEGIC IMPORTANCE:
Goal - Convenient and Reliable Service
Initiative - Service Quality
AC Transit currently operates across more than 20 cities and unincorporated areas in the East Bay, San Francisco and the Peninsula, serving a network of 5,400 bus stops throughout its service area. Bus Stops represent the “front door” to AC Transit’s service, and decisions regarding their placement and condition affect riders’ access to the service as well as the operation of the service itself.
BUDGETARY/FISCAL IMPACT:
There is no budgetary impact associated with updating the bus stop policy beyond regular staff time. This work falls within the boundaries of routine staff work responsibilities and can be completed using existing staff capacity. If the updated policy results in broad changes to the District’s bus stops, those changes could result in future capital costs.
BACKGROUND/RATIONALE:
The Bus Stop Board Policy (BP 501) was last updated in 2019 and staff is updating this policy to reflect the latest in best practices, customer preferences and operational needs to ensure it is consistent with District goals and bus stop-related activities. AC Transit plans to conduct bus stop assessments across our service area, with a focus on prioritizing improvements in Equity Priority Communities. The new policy will help guide this effort. Board Policy No. 501 sets forth AC Transit’s guidelines for future bus stop placement regarding spacing, location, and accessibility. The policy is due for its five-year update to reflect current District goals and priorities. Specifically, the goals of this update include making the policy more customer-focused, addressing safety concerns that affect bus stop placement, and clarifying navigation between different bus stop-related documents (including the Bus Stop Furniture Guidelines, Administrative Regulation 501A, and more).
This policy update is guided by five guiding principles: safety, accessibility, comfort, feasibility, and reliability. While these principles are not included in the policy itself, they form the foundation of our decision-making process and policy content development.
The Policy update timeline includes the following steps:
1. Create an internal project charter to initiate the process, conduct a peer review of other agencies’ bus stop policies, develop guiding principles, and gather internal feedback (Feb.-Mar. 2024).
2. Develop the Draft Policy in conjunction with internal stakeholders (Mar.-May 2024).
3. Gather additional internal and external stakeholder feedback and incorporate into the Draft Policy. (May-July 2024).
4. Receive Board of Directors comments on the Draft Policy (August 2024)
5. Finalize the Policy by incorporating comments from the Board and present the final Policy for Board approval. (Oct. 2024)
Since the last update to the Board in March, the Service Planning Team has completed steps 1 through 3 of the timeline.
The Draft Policy changes several aspects of the current Board Policy:
• Location: Advantages and disadvantages of far-side, near-side, and mid-block stops, based on local conditions.
• Decision-Making: Framework for considering tradeoffs among criteria and local factors in bus stop placements.
• Policy Criteria: Requirements for spacing, stop lengths, and accessibility.
• Attachments: Diagrams and related documents supporting BP 501.
The Draft Policy was developed through close collaboration with internal stakeholders, including the Bus Stop Committee and other departments that regularly interface with the bus stop program.
The Service Planning Team has actively engaged with various external stakeholders to gather comprehensive feedback on the Draft Policy. A key component of this engagement was the formation of a Technical Advisory Committee, which included planning and engineering staff from jurisdictions across the AC Transit Service Area, as well as representatives from the Alameda County Transportation Commission and Metropolitan Transportation Commission.
Public outreach was a critical element of the feedback process. AC Transit staff provided presentations on the policy update to the General Manager’s Access Committee, Interagency Liaison Committee meetings, and several meeting bodies throughout the service area. Additionally, staff developed a project webpage to share the draft policy and provide opportunities for public input through a variety of channels:
• Questionnaire: Staff created a detailed survey using SurveyMonkey to solicit feedback from the public. The questionnaire was promoted through multiple channels to ensure broad participation.
• E-News Blasts: Notifications were sent to elected officials, city partners, and community-based organizations to encourage feedback and participation.
• Social Media: Announcements were made on AC Transit’s social media platforms to reach a wider audience.
• Direct Feedback: The project webpage included options for providing feedback via email and phone.
These outreach efforts resulted in valuable feedback from riders, community members, and elected officials, which has been incorporated into the current Draft Policy. The feedback received from these various forums has played a crucial role in shaping the Draft Policy, ensuring that it aligns with the needs and priorities of the community.
This report serves as an informational update to the Board to gather more feedback on the Draft Policy before finalizing it and bringing it back to the Board for consideration and approval.
ADVANTAGES/DISADVANTAGES:
Advantages - Updating the Policy allows the District to make bus-stop decisions that better serve riders, prioritize their needs, and improve the rider experience. The updated policy will also provide a more effective framework for evaluating bus stops and decision-making for AC Transit staff.
Disadvantages - While we do not anticipate any disadvantages with the Policy update, the updated Policy may present new tradeoffs and unforeseen challenges during the bus stop placement decision-making process.
ALTERNATIVES ANALYSIS:
The only alternative to updating the policy is to continue to use the existing policy; however, AC Transit’s goal is to update Board Policies every five years and there have been discussions about bus stop-related issues that are not covered by the current policy. Therefore, staff elected to move forward with updating the policy.
PRIOR RELEVANT BOARD ACTION/POLICIES:
Board Policy 501: Bus Stop Guidelines
SR 19-201: Bus Stop Policy Update
ATTACHMENTS:
1. Board Policy 501 Update - 7.24 Board Presentation
2. Board Policy 501 Update - Clean Version
3. Board Policy 501 Update - Red Line Version
Prepared by:
Samah Itani, Assistant Transportation Planner
Shareen Ram, External Affairs Representative
Approved/Reviewed by:
Robert del Rosario, Director of Service Development and Planning
Ramakrishna Pochiraju, Executive Director of Planning & Engineering
Linda A. Nemeroff, Board Administrative Officer/District Secretary
Shayna van Hoften, Interim General Counsel/Chief Legal Officer