TO: AC Transit Board of Directors
FROM: Salvador Llamas, General Manager/Chief Executive Officer
SUBJECT: January 2026 Service Changes
BRIEFING ITEM
AGENDA PLANNING REQUEST: ☐
RECOMMENDED ACTION(S):
Title
Consider receiving a report on the District’s planned service changes associated with the January 2026 Sign-up.
Staff Contact:
Ramakrishna Pochiraju, Executive Director of Planning & Engineering
Aaron Vogel, Chief Operating Officer
Body
STRATEGIC IMPORTANCE:
Goal - Convenient and Reliable Service
Initiative - Service Quality
The January 2026 Sign-up service changes make reliability and service improvements to the network following the implementation of Realign on August 10, 2025.
BUDGETARY/FISCAL IMPACT:
Total daily vehicle platform hours will increase compared to the August 2025 Sign-up by 102 hours on weekdays, 17 hours on Saturdays and 27 hours on Sundays. This results in a projected annual increase of 28,268 platform hours or the equivalent of 20 additional Bus Operators.
With the percentage of the District’s service operated steadily increasing and consistently exceeding 98%, staff is able to confidently reduce the targeted Extra Board requirement to cover open runs from 38% to 36.4%. This allows the District to reallocate Bus Operators from the Extra Board to more assigned runs while staying within the 1,250 budgeted operator count for FY25-26, therefore no change is needed in the operating budget.
BACKGROUND/RATIONALE:
Sign-up Schedule Change
AC Transit typically conducts four Sign-ups each year as required by the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) with the Amalgamated Transit Union Local #192 (ATU). With the ratification of a new CBA on August 7th, the implementation of the upcoming Sign-up shifts from December to January. The District and ATU agreed to this change to align AC Transit’s winter service change with all of the major transit operators in the Bay Area. This provides consistency to public transit customers in the region and was part of a major Regional Network Management (RNM) initiative to improve coordination. Staff is coordinating with ATU on the exact implementation date in January since implementation of some CBA work rule changes requires assistance from our Hastus scheduling system provider and is taking longer than expected.
Per the CBA, the District will implement the next Sign-up in April, though it will be a “rehang”, which is a Sign-up that allows operators to select a work assignment from the same set of runs as the previous Sign-up. The next Sign-up with potential service changes will be in June, which normally includes the removal of Supplementary Service for the summer as schools are on recess.
Summary of January Service Changes
AC Transit implemented the Realign network plan on August 10, 2025. Staff anticipated that adjustments would be necessary after the implementation. Implementation of Realign also coincided with increased ridership demand as students returned to school and employees returned to the office, particularly on some Transbay lines and local lines. The January service change incorporates these adjustments and addresses many of the concerns identified post-Realign implementation by bus operators, customers and a review of initial Realign route performance data. The January service change also implements the relevant work rule changes in the latest CBA. The key changes that improve the experience for customers and operators include:
• Securing additional operator restroom access
• Improving layover times, running times and operator deadhead times
• Increasing rider capacity
• Increasing work travel connections for operators
• Improving connections for riders
Below is the summary list of the changes:
• Increasing schedule and/or layover time on the following lines to improve schedule reliability: 18, 19, 51B, 57, 72, 72M, 72L, 76, 86, 216, and NL.
• Increasing service capacity on the following lines to meet ridership demand and eliminate rider pass-ups: 60, 684, G, F, O, and P.
• Adjusting the running times on the following lines to improve schedule accuracy: 9, 22, 27, 28, 51A, 52, 70, 200, 210, 211, and NX.
• Eliminating Bus Operator street reliefs after 7 p.m. to improve safety conditions
• Providing a minimum 20-minute meal break for all straight runs longer than five hours (up from the previous 15-minute minimum). Per an agreement with ATU, Owl runs will be exempt from the new requirement.
• Reducing Owl runs to approximately six hours and 45 minutes in length to minimize operator fatigue.
• Removing Owl trips that overlap with local service.
• Additional service (and operator restroom access) at Skyline High School via Line 31 to serve more students, particularly those with after-school activities.
• Shifting layover location on Line 30 for improved operator access.
• Additional operator shuttle service between Division 4 and the Fruitvale BART Station via Line 54.
• Improved schedule timings on lines 7, 65, 96, 621, 623, 627, 629, 633, 639, 642, 646, 649, 650, 651, 653, 655, 657, 660, 663, 669, 677, 678, 689, 696 to better match school bell times.
• Work rule updates per the CBA.
Planned Long-term Detours
Alameda Point - The City of Alameda’s Rebuilding Existing Supportive Housing at Alameda Point (RESHAP) project will require multiple long-term detours in the Alameda Point area, with ongoing planned road closures. Several street segments in Alameda Point will be closed to vehicle traffic for months or even years (depending on the segment), affecting lines 19 and 96. Staff is working closely with the City of Alameda on viable route detours, temporary stops and operator layover locations.
Oakland Alameda Access Project - Staff is coordinating with the project leads, the Alameda County Transportation Commission (ACTC) and the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans), as well as the City of Oakland and the City of Alameda, on the upcoming construction of the Oakland Alameda Access Project. While this project will ultimately benefit traffic circulation between Oakland and Alameda through the Webster and Posey tubes, construction of this project will require Caltrans to potentially close one lane of traffic in each tube for an extended period, along with some full tube closures on nights and weekends. While a detour is not planned at this time, construction could result in significant delays to lines 19, 30, 51A, 96, 851, O and W. ACTC and Caltrans have agreed to implement transit mitigations prior to any lane closures through the Webster Tube. Mitigations include a dedicated bus lane along 7th Street between Broadway and Webster Street, and transit signal priority improvements along Broadway.
ADVANTAGES/DISADVANTAGES:
The January runcut responds to service needs that emerged after the rollout of Realign. To preserve passenger confidence and address operator working conditions, the January service changes enhance service for riders and operators where needed. The reallocation of Bus Operators enabled staff to increase runtimes, improve on-time performance metrics, and allow for additional capacity on some high-demand lines.
The potential disadvantages of implementing the January runcut include reducing Extra Board operators to cover open runs and making schedule changes with limited data since the Realign implementation. However, with improved service metrics and schedule concerns, staff believes the January service changes are justified and will enhance service performance across much of AC Transit’s network.
ALTERNATIVES ANALYSIS:
The primary alternative to implementing these changes is continuation of the August service change. If not implemented, scheduling concerns would persist through another sign-up. This would create undue challenges for both riders and operators. Also, the District would not be able to comply with the new work rule changes in the CBA.
PRIOR RELEVANT BOARD ACTION/POLICIES:
Board Policy 501 - Bus Stop Guidelines for Placement, Relocation, and Removal Administrative Regulation 501A - Bus Stops
Board Policy 544 - Service Adjustments
Board Policy 545 - Service Standards and Design
ATTACHMENTS:
1. Service Change Summary
Prepared by:
Christine Eduok, Transit Schedules Administrator
In Collaboration with:
Sean DiestLorgion, Service Planning Manager
Robert del Rosario, Director of Service Development & Planning
Approved/Reviewed by:
Aaron Vogel, Chief Operating Officer
Ramakrishna Pochiraju, Executive Director of Planning & Engineering
Chris Andrichak, Chief Financial Officer
Arlee Young, Interim Director of Transportation
Aimee L. Steele, General Counsel/Chief Legal Officer